Have Bag, Will Travel

She's done! Well, sort of.

I finally got the lining all sewn in, but I made a small boo boo. Remember the part where I said I wasn't following the directions exactly?

Yeah, I didn't see the part where I was supposed to tack the seams of the lining to the seams of the outer shell before I stitched the lining in. See how they're not tucked into the corners?

I may possibly go back in later and fix it, but it's the lining so I'm not too concerned with it's imperfections.

I used the quilt as you go method for mine too of course.

I've been wanting to make this bag for a couple of years now, but the thought of the cost of all of that interfacing, not to mention actually having to sew it all together, really scared me.

Once I saw it done this way I was gung ho about getting it done in time for my weekend retreat next month.

I did make the straps longer like so many others and it's a perfect fit over my shoulder. I think I cut them at 54" long and 5" wide. 

I used duck cloth for the interfacing, batting, and both Melody Miller and Echino prints for the outer to make sure it had plenty of strength.

For some reason I had a bit of trouble figuring out the zipper. Plus, I didn't stitch as close to the zipper as the instructions called for because I wanted to be able to see more of that beautiful coral color. 

It ended up making my bag bow a little bit in some weird places though :(

I have lots of fun little surprises in the pockets.

Laura Gunn in the main pocket

Tula in the side pockets (you didn't really think I would make a bag and not include some Tula in it somewhere, did you?)

And some Laurie Wisbrun in the inner pocket.

I say it's not technically done because it needs a false bottom. It's done enough to use though so I'm considering it a finish. I'm pondering the false bottom for a bit because I want something sturdy, but I don't think I want the feet or anything like that. I wanted it in the beginning, but I hardly ever travel and it just won't get so much use as to justify doing all that to it. I think I'll have the hubs cut me a piece of acrylic instead, strictly for structure and support. 

I finished this one just in time too. My Grandpa's memorial service is in a couple of weeks in Phoenix. I'll be spending a long weekend attending that and I'm not a huge fan of checked luggage. It's the absolute perfect size to both hold everything I need, and to use for a carry-on. I'm excited to test it out!

This is my finish for February for the 2013 Lovely Year of Finishes. 

Little by Little, I'm Getting There!

Do you ever feel like you just suck at life? Like no matter what you do, no matter how great of a day you are having, you just feel miserable overall? I don't know if it's because I've been unproductive on the crafting front or if it's because myself and my two toddlers are sick or a combination of the two (or something else for that matter) but something deep down inside of me just doesn't feel right.

I seem to be carrying on as normal, but there is this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I just can't shake. It's a feeling of dread like something is going to come crashing down on me at any second. Too many balls in the air maybe? I don't know. 

I finally started getting my act together and made some progress on my weekender last night. Here it is, ready to have the lining hand sewn in. I'm pretty sure I'm not doing things 100% according to the pattern, but whatever I am doing is working so I'm flowing with it.

I did make some changes, like everybody else who has made this bag has, I will share those when I finish it up.

I have had a pretty exciting week, starting with the arrival of this bad boy.

My husband and I discussed other ways that I can help contribute to our income. I've been pretty adamant that I want to continue to be a stay at home mom even when these two little ones start school. Plus, our trusty van, that I have been driving for 10 years now, decided not to be so trusty anymore. So now we have a new van payment. That goal to do a craft show is going to have to become a reality, x100. We're supposed to be getting a flea market this Spring, my hope is to be able to set up a table there and start getting customers from that. 

I have been practicing with it, this is the first thing I stitched up...

...which I promptly turned into a pouch.

It has a couple of mistakes and for that I will treasure it. It definitely helped me learn a few of the functions that the machine has!

This also came in this past week.

Know what that means? Those patterns I have been promising are going to be a reality very soon!! I have three in the works my friends, THREE. And one of them uses the Mod Pop templates which means if you have purchased those, you will have another option to use them. Whoo hoo!! 

Also, I am miserably behind on emails. My inbox is in quite a sad state right now, so bear with me while I work on replying to all of your wonderful comments. I do value each and every one that you leave for me, they definitely bring a smile to my face when I read them :)

A Lovely Year of Finishes-February

Linking up at the last minute like always!

For February I'm going to make it a goal to finish this bad boy up.

All I need is lining!! I put the shell together well before Christmas, it was the break I needed from all of the Christmas sewing I was forcing myself to do. But I had to put it down to get back to work on those deadlines so it's still just a shell. Nothing on my shelves is screaming at me so I'm going to try to find something at my sit and sew tomorrow night that will work.

I'm planning my annual sewing retreat where I go visit my friend Karen and spend a weekend being silly, we do that in March of each year. I'd like to have it done so I can use it for that weekend, wish me luck!