Selvage Bag # 3

As soon as I made my first selvage bag, my Mom asked for one. I had to collect a bit more selvages, though, so I waited.

Mom's birthday was Friday, July 24, and we spent a good part of the day together. I fixed a problem with her computer and we did some shopping.

When I got back to my house, I gathered my stuff. First, I needed the "extras," the fabric I would use for the lining, the pockets, and the trim, and thread and notions. I wanted several pockets, a zippered pocket and a key fob. I also knew my Mom would want the bag to close somehow. I had this funky pink button I had bought for another project, and never used. It would be perfect.

(you can click on all the photos to enlarge.)
My Mother is a professional artist, and she's not afraid of bright color. I made the big panel of selvages for the bag itself. The selection and placement of each selvage strip was carefully planned and deliberately placed. I knew exactly what I wanted.
Then I made the handles.Next I made the panels for the pockets and sewed them to the lining, and then assembled everything.Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I almost forgot to add the handles at the right time. One of the handles was twisted, and I had to rip it out and fix it. But the crowning glory came when I tried to insert the lining and sew the two big pieces together. Somehow I had mis-measured and the lining was way too small for the bag. In frustration, I threw it aside and did some housecleaning.After I cooled down a bit, I realized it was a simple fix. After dinner I went back into the sewing room, fixed my mistake, and finished the bag.It's really quite beautiful, and I am very happy with it. I brought it over to my Mom's house on Sunday morning. My Mom was thrilled, and immediately transferred the contents of her purse to this bag.Even Millie approves.