Denim Tote Bag

This tote bag belonged to my mama. I found it one day when I was in her house looking for something to put papers and stuff in to bring back up to my house to go through to destroy or keep. A painful job, but it had to be done.

She had a drawer full of tote bags from various groups and trips she had participated in over the years, but this is the only one that she had made, and it immediately brought back memories and a smile to my face.

In her late fifties-sixties, she belonged to a clogging group called the Riverbend Cloggers, where she had learned to clog and loved performing with the group at various places. One October they performed at a Halloween event, possibly a nursing home, and they wore costumes.

Mama dressed in patched overalls, straw hat, flannel shirt, sort of like a scarecrow, and she made this bag out of old jeans that she had gotten somewhere. She lined the inside and made the gussets with patchwork fabric. The embellishments were already on the denim. She sewed the denim pieces together, leaving the raw seams on the outside. And, wallah, she had a bag worthy of a scarecrow! :)

Front

Back

I thought it was cute at the time she made it, but I treasure it now that she's gone. It has made several trips back and forth between our houses, as I continue to sort slowly through her things, and I love it more with each trip. 

I have a picture of her in her costume somewhere, and I wanted to include it in this post, but haven't gotten around to finding it yet. I am missing her so much, and most days I feel so overwhelmed right now that I don't get anything accomplished, and there's so much to be done...

But I didn't mean to sound depressing, and time will help, so I will just say treasure the people you love while you still have them, because any day they can be taken away from you, and you can not even begin to imagine how much you will miss them.

Take care and keep making stuff! It feeds your soul!