I'm Ready For The Beach

I'm ready for a day at the beach, with my new beach tote. I got the idea about a year ago, from a photo I saw in Country Living magazine. I cut out the picture and saved it for future use (I do this a lot, though I don't always follow through).

I bought the basket from Pottery Barn; they call it the Seagrass Tote Bag and it is $39. It is roomy. In order to make the lining, I designed a pattern using newspaper then used the pattern to cut out the fabric. I am pleased with the way it came out. While the lining is not quite a perfect fit, it is pretty good considering the irrregular shape of the basket. I added a couple of pockets to the lining to hold smaller things like keys and my reading glasses. The fabric is from a Robyn Pandolph line called Hannah Bella. It has been in my stash for five or six years and I am happy to have finally found a good use for it. The buttons are vintage Czech glass, like milk glass.

I'll be putting this basket tote to work on our vacation to Cape Cod, coming up late this month. Speaking of Cape Cod, can anyone recommend a good restaurant in the Chatham area (fine dining, seafood shack or sandwich shop - we're looking for all types)? And, more importantly, are there any must-see quilt shops in the area? Our last trip to the Cape was eight years ago. I recall going to two quilt shops, one in/near Hyannis and another one close to the northerly main road. I hope they are still in business!