My Matrix Bag 2010

Since school term started I haven't been very productive when it comes to my sewing. I had aimed to make at least 4 bags by today. Unfortunately I couldn't get going. You see, now I have to sew my bags during the day. Morning is the best time as I have the flat to myself. But my brain is still on December 2009 time when I was a night owl. I sew best at night.

Last Friday I found myself unable to sleep at 10:30pm. Yes, this is my new bedtime. Imagine that! Oh, how I miss going to bed at 3am. The next day being Saturday, I need not wake up at 6am. Yes, this is my new wake-up time. I can't wait for school holidays... Anyway, as I was saying, I was awake and I really wanted to make a bag. So I sat down and what do you know? I made a bag.

Something happens to me when I sew late at night. I get very grand ideas. For this bag, the inspiration came from the move The Matrix. This is a movie I enjoy a lot. My husband likes the director's cut version while I prefer the actual movie.

Front

Back - can you see the back is the outline of the front?

How is this a matrix bag? Let me explain if it's not already obvious.
The Grid.
The binary code - 1010101..
In tic-tac-toe, the one who wins has 3 consecutive constants and in my grid, you can see 3 "1"s diagonally as in Neo is the 1?

Yes, I know. It's a huge bag. This is the largest bag I've ever made. Did I mention something funny happens to me when I sew late a night? I remember sewing the applique and outline between 12am and 2am and wondering if the bag was big enough! When I woke up the next morning and saw the size of the bag, I almost screamed.

I like this bag a lot as it is reflective of the kind of bags I enjoy making. My husband says this is a quirky bag. I hope it's not going to be hard to sell.

For this bag, I did something different with the top zipper. I sewed the zipper onto the bag after the bag is completed inside out.

I've sent a cheque for $540 to MAAD committing to sell at red dot design museum for the next 6 months. This means I need to make $540 in sales from Feb to July just to make the rent. Oh, the pressure! Completing my matrix bag means a lot to me as I honestly thought I had lost the ability to make bags. Can that happen? Anyway, I'm back and am working on another bag right now. Time is running out. Feb 6th and 7th is creeping up soon. I need people to nag me!

Today my girl was too tired from volleyball to model my bag. My neighbour, Azizah saw me taking pictures of my bag and offered to help. The photos below are of her girl, Nana. She was so game! Thank you guys! You made my day.