Challenge No.2 Completed!

This post is dedicated to Lucy's BIG sister Ally who didn't believe we would get these bags finished until next week at the earliest! I don't often get the chance to prove her wrong so I'm not letting this one pass!!!!

Your bit Lesley............................

Yup, we got there. Mrs Locket got there first by a couple of hours as I was in a big school governor's meeting deciding the future of primary education in the city - at least that's my excuse!!!

Although I initially set out to make a more 'Spring-like' bag I'm pretty pleased with my more Wintery one. As the Scrapstore fabrics I use are remnants they can be funny sizes. This one wasn't quite big enough for all the bag panels so I improvised with some toning dark red fabric for the reverse that no-one will see anyway.

The light here is appalling today so I apologise for the dark photos.

This was the only place I could photograph it without showing the piles of clutter!

We do have a very bad dose of 'piles' in this house!!

Here's a bit of a close-up of the fabric. It actually has

lovely texture but the flash has washed it out a bit.

The main fabric panels are stiffened with Vilene.

I've taken to using flanelette in my softer bags

but felt this needed something more substantial.

It certainly made the stitching up interesting!!!

I also put 'very useful pockets' in the lining for 'very useful things' to go in and a key clasp on a ribbon as I am always losing my keys in the bottom of my bag!

I like to think of my bag as 'quietly sophisticated' (nothing to do with envying Lucy's delicious fabric at all your honour!).

Now for Lucy's extremely gorgeous take on the 'Messenger Bag Challenge':

My bag definitely has a dual-personality thing going on!

This is the calm, refined, bordering on elegant side, complete with dark blue velvet, vintage crocheted lace and mother of pearl buttons.

Sensible, almost grown up, and really fairly "quiet"..........................


.......................Just like me!????


But turn it round and something altogether different is going on!

Wild, wacky and very very LOUD!!!!!

Um, just like me????


Well, to be honest - neither side really matches my personality -
but the quirkiness and different-ness definitely does!

I put a couple of pockets on the inside - this large one on one side and a small thin one for my mobile phone on one of the gussets.

and even made a little detachable lipstick purse (although I very rarely wear ANY makeup!) because I was fiddling with a bit of fabric and this is what I came up with!

The bag is fairly sturdy because I layered the velvet with a fairly stiff canvas to stabilise it. I didn't follow a pattern for dimensions or method but I have made a couple of Amy Butler Messenger bags for Dorothy and her cousin so I just made it up based on what I had done before. I'm actually very pleased with how it turned out because I was beginning to think I wasn't going to have time to do it this week. And the great thing about it is that it is really quite big with plenty of room for knitting AND sewing AND a magazine AND a book AND my camera AND snacks for the children and anything else I want to drag around with me!