Mama's Got A Brand New Bag

First of all, I want to thank you all for your words of support and praise for Peter. I struggle with deciding how much personal info to share on this blog and sometimes I just choose not to talk about Peter because this is such a big part of who he is right now and a big part of what we do in our everyday lives (like me correcting him every time he doesn't respond yes/no to a yes/no question, like driving to speech and occupational therapy and pre-school and making sure he has playtime with other kids and such). I'm glad I shared - I certainly feel your support and appreciate it!
So, here it is, the new bag. Just try not to look at how much I need to vacuum my sewing room floor. This was the only room that is getting enough light for pictures today. It's been so dreary for the past few days. And if I had taken the time to clean it before taking pictures, the light would have been gone. Anyway, back to the bag - overall, I'm pleased with how it turned out. I wanted something a little more tote looking, but still with enough detail and uniqueness to look like more than just a tote. I think I might make this a little bigger by widening it a few inches. Right now, it's about the same size as my bell bag. One of my aims in creating a few new bags for the shop was to offer a wider range of sizes - some larger, some smaller. This one was supposed to be the larger, so it really needs a couple more inches in width. I also want to make the straps just a little bit longer. These just barely fit over my shoulder and they definitely need a little more room there. The bag is still totally usable though and it's definitely going to be mine! Hooray - a new bag for me!
Other than size and strap length, I'm very pleased with it - it has a lot of structure (I love that it sits up on its own - thanks to some stiff interfacing) and I like the shape. It was fun to put together. The quilted straps were a little tedious, but I love how they turned out, so they were definitely worth it. I'm hoping to have a couple in the shop by the end of the next week. And thank you to Sandi for the fabric - isn't it fabulous? It should be in stores soon.

Have a fun weekend everyone!