Apple Farm Tour

It's so lovely to be working with another collection from my sweet friend Elea Lutz! Her Apple Farm line for Penny Rose Fabrics is simply adorable and just right for back-to-school projects. I've been promising you a tutorial for the child's backpack tote that I made as a sample for Spring Quilt Market, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to write one while I worked on a sample for this blog tour. I'll have the tutorial up on the blog in the next few days.

This child sized backpack is really just a tote bag with extra straps -- really handy when you or your child would rather carry the bag at your side instead. I've included a leather fastener to keep the opening closed and a zipper pouch inside for holding the little things that might fall out the top if a child bends over while wearing the backpack. For this version, I added three rows of patchwork squares -- so much fun to fussy cut with this darling fabric!

Is there anything more useful than a zipper pouch? I never met one I didn't like!

Elea's fabric...what can I say? I love it so much. Her prints are always full of vintage sweetness and cheerful colors. They make me so happy, and I love to sew with them. Apple Farm reminds me of when my daughters were little. Every fall we would drive almost an hour away from our Southern California home to a farm in the hills where we could pick apples and pumpkins. The girls absolutely loved it, and we had so much fun there over the years. These prints bring back all those great memories.

There are so many amazing people on the Apple Farm tour. I've already been enjoying pictures of all the other stops this week on Instagram. Tomorrow be sure to visit Lindsey at Fort Worth Fabric and Ange at A Little Patchwork. Both of these super talented ladies will have gorgeous things to share, I have no doubt!