Shrinking

This little bag is a mini-me of a quilted tote made last month. It is the last special order from February's bag party and I could not picture how it was going to turn out while I was trying to adjust the pattern to be the desired size. At the party, the two of us actually stared at the quilted carry-on bag for quite awhile, with the measuring tape, trying to make sure we knew what size she wanted it shrunk down to. We ended up with 12x10, from a bag that was 19x17. That's a lot of shrinking. It actually took me almost as long to adjust the pattern as it did to quilt all the pieces. I had forgotten that the bag has a oval shaped bottom when I said I could shrink it down for her, and I played around with that piece longer than any of the other ones. 

I have never shied away from challenges. My mother is to be thanked for that. She raised us with the philosophy that we could do anything we set our minds to. I owe her a debt of gratitude for that. I've been asked numerous times how I can do so many crafty things...and my answer is always the same...because mom always said I could do anything as long as I tried. Since nobody said I couldn't do it, I always just tried. I haven't liked everything I have tried to do, and sometimes my arthritis makes it hard to do some things (like cake decorating), but I enjoy trying new things and becoming good at what I've tried. Anyways, all that to say, I never stopped to think it might be hard to shrink a quilted tote pattern, or that making a smaller version was going to make for seams that weren't fun to bind, I just figured even though it might be challenging, it would be fun to try. And it is fun to see the smaller version next to the regular sized ones that I have already made a handful of. (Wish I would have taken a pic of the two of them side by side).