Benartex Ambassador Tote Challenge

How is it almost February? We moved at the end of December into early January, and the month pretty much disappeared! With all the packing and unpacking, I have done very little sewing lately, but our first Benartex Brand Ambassador challenge came up, and I needed to dig out my machine. 

We were each asked to make a tote bag inspired by/with a nod to the Benartex logo. I opted to create X blocks - not quite as fancy as the X in the logo, but graphic and fun. 

For fabric, I received this fun box of Marbleized prints -an entire rainbow's worth - to play with. 

I knew I wanted black for the background so the Xs would pop. 

I decided to use two shades of a color for each X to add a little interest. I started pairing colors up and couldn't narrow it down, so I ended up making eight X blocks - four for each side! Here are some of my blocks in progress:

And here's the finished tote bag.

 Special thanks to Mom, who was here and pressed and trimmed units as I stitched them! 

Side 1:

Side 2:

Which side do you prefer? I started with the purple, orange, blue and lime on side 1, and I think that's my favorite. 

I have created another quilt with Marbleized fabrics - this Follow the Rainbow BOM. It looks pretty nice next to the tote bag, doesn't it?! (The rack they're both hanging on was a recent purchase for our new house - there's not a coat closet at the back door, and with 3 boys and Michigan winters, we needed someplace to hang everything.)