A Bag for Me

Work let us out early on Friday due to the holiday weekend. On the way home I thought "I am going to make good use of this time and start making my bag." So I went straight home and sat on the porch and played Angry Birds until my phone battery died. Then I thought "Well, there's no time like the present" so I read until the pizza guy got here. After dinner I finally laid everything out and snipped and fused to prep everything. I got the lining of that bag whipped up pretty quickly. I'd have finished the whole thing in an evening if my sister hadn't taunted me with comments like "Hey--let me know when you watch Harry Potter 1" (part 1 of the seventh installment). As such, I finished this little number yesterday and I adore it:

You may remember this bag from here, but this one is pretty much the same as the one made by Lisa Lam from u-handbag and used on the cover of her pattern. I loved these fabrics and couldn't find anything that looked like them, so when she put them on sale I used that as an excuse to snatch them up. The only changes I made were to add a zipper pocket on the inside, and to shorten the zipper a bit (the tabs stuck out waaaayyyy too much for my taste and made it feel awkward to open the bag). Now they're of a length to just tuck down a bit and they don't stick out too much:

I had a weird thing happen with the zipper. I have a bag of zipper pulls that are extra long that I use for bags. I just cut the zipper, pull of the zipper pull and attach a new one. I have never ever had a problem with this technique. But on this zipper (the same kind I always use) it spiraled up like a conch shell. I thought I had things backwards and tried a few times but it kept doing it. I put the old pull on and it was fine. Odd, and I still can't figure it out.

There is supposed to be piping around the top but I didn't feel like adding too much bulk to the seams, so I did a faux-piping sort of thing - I just pulled up the lining a little bit and stitched in the ditch. This reduced some bulk in the side seams, too. The pleat was the easiest thing ever, and the fabric covered buttons....oh, the buttons! I could have sat there and made them all day (but those little buggers are expensive!). I'm slightly concerned about how quickly I'm going to get this bag dirty, but it's one that I don't think I'd mind putting through the gentle cycle. The buttons serve no purpose but decoration - the straps are super-stitched down behind it. I fought with myself on this part - I like having the handles coming out seam of the bag instead of sewn down onto it, but it wouldn't have the same look so I followed the pattern. It fits all my stuff perfectly:

My bag has slowly been increasing in size and weight, so I recently went through and kept only the essentials out. I like having a big bag, but the down-side is that everything ends up in there and it's just an invitation to carry more junk around (in the words of my sister Alicia: "Really? When would you EVer need this?").

I've got a few little sewing things to tackle, and then it's a bag for my Grandmom. I'm going to make her the smaller version of the wavy top bag in a fabric I've had set aside for over a year now (I promise - my to-do list isn't all over a year old - just this bag and her bag). Have a marvelous Sunday! It's picnic day, so I'll try to snap some pics for you (I totally forgot on Memorial Day)! Back soon!

Linking up here this week:
Craft-o-maniac *** Ask Anna *** Sew Can Do *** Sarahndipities *** Sumo's Sweet Stuff *** Pinkapotamus *** Running with Glitter *** Funky Polka Dot Giraffe *** Creative Itch *** Sugar Bee Crafts *** Today's Creative Blog *** Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy *** My Girlish Whims *** Sew Much Ado *** Skip to My Lou *** Someday Crafts *** Free Pretty Things for You *** Fireflies and Jellybeans *** Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom *** Iron Violet Designs *** While He Was Napping *** Creation Corner *** The Shabby Nest *** Tatertots and Jello *** Be Different Act Normal *** To Sew With Love *** Not JUST a Housewife