My New Hobby

I recently looked all over for the perfect handbag. I already have a large hand-made tote bag that I bought at a farmers market before Christmas. I love it, but it's rather large. I wanted something smaller, with a certain kind of upholstery fabric and a certain number of pockets inside. Oh, and a handle long enough to go over my shoulder. (I'm not picky at all! :-) But I couldn't find one anywhere. Then I decided, as always, if you want something done right...do it yourself! It can't be that hard, right?

So, I went shopping on President's Day (lucky for me, because there was a 50% off everything sale at JoAnn Fabric). I found some GORGEOUS red velvet tapestry/upholstery fabric, some other coordinating fabrics to go with it, and a pattern of course. Then, my 4-year-old and I took a number and waited for OVER AN HOUR just to get the fabric cut. Everyone and their sister was shopping for fabric, apparently.

Today I made a "practice" bag with some cheap fabric just to see how the thing would go together, and to experiment a little bit with adding pockets, etc. After a little frustration, and some seam ripping, I actually finished the thing! It even has two pockets and a pen holder! The only problem...I forgot to put in the magnetic clasp before stitching the lining into the exterior of the bag...oops. And, I didn't make the handle long enough. So, this bag will now be handed over to my son to do with as he pleases. When I get brave enough to cut the expensive fabric, I'll complete the "real" bag. I will post pictures when the masterpiece is complete! In the meantime, here is a picture of the prototype.