new bag for anya

I suppose it was an unintentional April Fool's joke that we were leaving for Kentucky today! But not a funny joke, alas. Anya's been under the weather this weekend, so we have delayed departure until tomorrow, hopefully. First we have an appointment with the doctor to make sure her ears aren't infected.

In between packing and worrying, I spent most of my weekend sewing up Anya's messenger bag. It's the same pattern as Daniel's, only she wanted the smaller size. I also used different fabric and better strap hardware.



She likes it! (Poor girl with her raw, red, runny nose.)



Now, a few notes about the process. Since I made one of these before, and it wasn't so long ago, this time everything went much faster! And while the pattern instructions are quite excellent, it certainly helped to know where all the difficult parts of assembly were. I did more hand-basting this time around.



See all the layers you have to sew through? Hand-basting definitely makes a difference here!



Even when you don't have a zillion layers to stitch through, hand-basting helps immensely when you are sewing curves.



One of the fun parts about this bag was installing the strap hardware.



JoAnn's didn't have the right hardware, so I ordered from pacifictrimming.com. Each of these metal pieces was 1.50, and shipping was 1.95, so the whole package was about five bucks, which is quite reasonable if you ask me. Also, my order showed up in the mailbox just a few days after I placed it online, so thumbs up for expedience as well! I had used a parachute clip for Daniel's bag, but these metal adjusters are superior. They are lightweight, easy to use, and not expensive at all. Plus, I feel pretty spiffy for being able to do adjustable straps!



How about a few more pictures?




I did better on the bias tape detail this time (except for the front pocket flaps...should have been more careful there.)



Anya wanted to take a picture of me holding the bag!



Daniel is fascinated by my sewing machine. When I was working on his bag, I taught him how to wind the bobbin, insert the bobbin, and thread the machine. He can do this mostly by himself now. And this weekend, I finally broke down and let him try sewing some lines of stitching on his own. He's very proud of his work:




(I don't know why he has his shirt off. Sometimes he just doesn't want to wear one.)

Daniel is excited about trying out some more projects. I thought we could try sewing a scarf sometime, or, if Oma will allow it, choosing some fabric from her stash to make a small project with his stitched squares, such as a small quilt or a pillow.

I'm a proud mama, I really am, but sometimes I wish my kids would be as interested and enthusiastic about music! That's where my real talents are, after all.

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