The "Fits My Life" Bag

Hello, lovelies! Remember when it seemed all I ever made was bags? It was like every post was "Here's a bag. Here's another bag. Guess what I made? A bag." Then the holidays rolled around and I stopped taking custom orders for a bit. But it's that time of year when everyone wants to update their bag for the warmer months so I'm back at it. I've got a nice little to-do list already. This usually leads to me feeling overwhelmed, so yesterday I hunkered down with some Swedish Fish and Wheat-thins and cut and sewed and pressed away all day.

I now have this ready for delivery tomorrow:

I've made this bag numerous times now but I still love the way it turns out.

Someone once suggested pockets on the side for a water bottle or something...now everyone wants them. It takes a smidge of fabric to do, but it takes me forever to get the measurements with the elastic and the pleats just right.

 Look at that nice snug piping nestled in with the pleats. Mmm...cozy....

 Usually I do one line of stitching on each side but on this one I did a few. I like the look of it much more--I think it gives it a more professional kick...

 Here's a nice suspension-bridge style zipper. One day I will figure out how to do a zipper where the sides are enclosed but I haven't received any complaints with this method, so until then...this is just going to have to be acceptable.

Here's the inside--slip pockets up one side and a zip on the other. The pink is much prettier but I always have problems shooting the inside of a bag.

This baby fits everything and anything. The only reason I haven't made myself one is because I'm always trying to decrease the size of my bag--if it's a big bag I'll fill it with all sorts of things I don't really need just because I have the room. But for the ladies who love to carry their entire lives with them, it's perfecto.

The colors are just so perfect for spring and summer. I got all my fabric from Joann's, but some of it was already in my stash. I love decreasing my stash. It's my newest high (and totally legal, so yay!).

Yum.

I can't recall the last time I sewed so much in a single day. I also had a few dishcloths I needed to whip up, which I did during Ghostbusters, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and some SNL. I now need a weekend to recover from my weekend...

I'm sharing here this week: