Well perhaps not instant, it took me a few hours from start to finish, but close enough!

I’m really happy with how it turned out! Especially for a first run of a bag with lots of curves!

I made a few changes after I finished it. When attaching pattern piece B, the half circle piece with the snap on it, I had used the recommended seam allowance. After taking it around for a night, the focus fabric was already starting to come out and ravel. ¡No es bueno!

Today I unpicked the seam, took the whole top apart, and turned it back inside out. I used a zig zag stitch over the edge to basically overcast it on piece B, and then noticed the whole thing was fraying like crazy! So I overcast all those edges as well, even though they are on the inside and no one will ever see them. If I spend time and money to create something, I want it to last!

I also didn’t care for the top stitching method on the flap. I would rather have done it all at once, from one side, around the semicircle, and down the next side. She has you do the semicircle when you make it, then to the rest last. I’m just not skilled enough with curves to match the top stitching exactly.

And the last change I made is that I stitched in the ditch in addition to slip stitching at the end. I’m not kind to fabric bags, so it really needed the extra reinforcement.

Very relaxing yet a little challenging. The pattern comes in three sizes, and I wish I had enough of two coordinating fabrics to make the large sized one. This medium one is pretty nice, and the focus fabric is from a fat quarter. I think that one a little larger would be fabulous though. With the medium, I had to do quite a bit of rearranging to get my essentials tucked away safely.

Bonus: my 5 month old nephew, little Jack, apparently thinks the fabric looks particularly tasty. A little baby drool never hurt quilting cotton, and it kept him happy for a while.

I’m tired of being a scrooge, but I’m glad the holidays are over! Last night we went out to hang with family, ate, played with nieces & nephews, and played cranium. Getting to sleep at 4am is way too late for me these days! Today we had the traditional corned beef and cabbage with my parents & granddad. Last year my dad also made his own version of Hoppin’ John (called Hoppin’ Kevin) and it was amazing. Sadly we didn’t have repeat appearance of Hoppin’ Kevin this year. Maybe next year!! Or maybe I could step out on a limb and learn to make it myself… ha! Then it was off to celebrate one of my brothers-in-law’s birthday, and a cracked but delicious chocolate layer cake my mother-in-law made.

I’m just really looking forward to getting back into a routine. I like structure. Breaks are always hard for me to know what to do while balancing relaxation & productivity. At least we didn’t waste our week off together! We got so much done and had a really good time just enjoying each other’s company.

Now its time for a late late dinner of my homemade hummos leftover from last night! (See what I mean about structure?! I don’t even know when its dinner time anymore!!)