Working our way along

The Clueless Quilter? Some days I think I should change the name of my blog, Every evening when I think I should post, I always come up with five other jobs I should be doing instead. Not fun. It’s biting into my sewing time as well, although I still find time for that.

I was hoping to make a couple of messenger bags for a volunteer group I belong to – Communities in Bloom. I have to put together a community profile booklet for the two judges who will be here next week and I thought a bag to put it/them in would be so cute, but I’m not going to get the bags done. I’ve been working on a prototype for the past two weeks, and it’s not going anywhere. (You’ll notice that I’m back to the practice material!)

I would have been finished the bag a few days ago (still not enough time for me to make two more), except for the fact that… it turned out more backwards than usual. The flap was new and it turned out – with the great strap. But that’s the lining behind it in the picture, not the exterior fabric. I just haven’t had time to figure it out and correct it yet.

To your right is a picture of the bag right-side-out, but there’s no flap and no strap. :-( But there is a welt pocket. (Which isn’t stitched around to stabilize – I forgot.)

Great use of ugly fabric through – doesn’t it look like lawn chair material? Anyway, thrift store purchase. It’s all gone now, thanks to this project. Actually, it doesn’t look that bad…

Some outside pockets. I even measured my partner’s Smart Phone so I would have some usable pockets. The flap is supposed to cover them. I mean, what’s a messenger bag without a flap? There’s a regular double slip pocket on the inside as well, attached to the lining. But in this picture, it’s shoved inside, wrong-side showing, along with the flap and the strap which are now trapped inside. I’ll fix them when I have time, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks.

At leas the zipper turned out right! Yay! Except, if I want to see it, the lining, flap and strap have to be trapped inside. Oh, what to do, what to do? It’s always something, isn’t it? I’m not frustrated about it. I’m just waiting for some spare time to fix it. My holidays are in a week and a half. Have I mentioned that I absolutely cannot wait until then? I’m not sure that I’ll make it. I can figure out how to fix it – I just haven’t had time. The summer is too busy, and getting ready to take four weeks off for vacation leaves just too much of a crunch. But I’ll get ‘er done at some point. It’s actually come together too nicely for me to give up on it. Even if it is too late to make a couple for the judge’s visit next week. Too bad.

In other news, Bernie is back. I picked her up from the repair shop a couple of weeks ago but, like everything else, I haven’t had time to test run her. They says she works tick tock again, so I’ll take their word for it for now. What else can I do? A rather pricey repair job, but I think she’s worth it. My partner keeps asking me why I need three sewing machines!!! I finally asked him how many saws he had! He has a very well-stocked work shop. I can’t recall his answer, but it was more than three. He hasn’t asked me since. Actually, I’m thinking that I may give it to his granddaughter somewhere down the line. Maybe. Who knows?

Until next time,