Cherry blossom

I love this fabric. It has cherries, sakura and little polka dots. It's also cotton drill which is my favourite kind of fabric to work with for large bags. But I got kind of lost while making my shopping bags. I really had planned on making a shopping bag but I asked myself a question:

What would this bag look like with a long handle?

And that's how my shopping bag ended up becoming a sling bag. Don't get me wrong. I'm not haphazard when it comes to sewing my bags. I work out all the details in my little Biology exercise book before I start cutting. But in this case, I asked the question and of course I had to go with the flow. This bag reminds me of my primary school days in the 70's (yes, I'm that old). A few of my classmates carried such bags on days when school was half-days, like pre-Children's Day. I always envied these kids because they had moms who made stuff. It wasn't called handmade in those days. I think more like homemade. One girl in particular I remember because she wore her long hair in 2 braids. We call them pig tails. She wore her hair this way right up till she was 16! Then one day she cut it all off. Anyway her name was Caroline and her mom made little pouches for her - for her water bottle, her stationery and these had a lot of work done, like cross-stitch motifs. One day Caroline invited me and a few other girls to her home after school and that was how I found out how poor my family was. I mean, you think you know you're poor but wait till you go visit a really rich person's home and you're like "Oh man." Anyway, this bag makes me want to cry a little when I think of the old days but don't you like it? It's worth the tears.

I didn't quite like the lining though so for the next bag I decided to go for blue polka dots.

Here's the shopping bag. I forgot to take a shot of the lining but trust me when I say the blue polka dots look better as the lining. I got really cross with myself making this shopping bag because I kept changing my mind about the handles so I ended up butchering the fabric. I ended up with strips of fabric I couldn't use. Oh, what a waste of money. 

I did get my lunchtime pouch though so I'm happy. Seriously, just 3 items out of the 2 yards of fabric is crazy. I have to do better next time. Oh, here you get to see the blue polka dot lining. It's not too matchy-matchy IMO.

I feel really saturated. It's not just about sewing. It's about life too. I don't feel like I know what I'm doing anymore. Really just living from day to day and I'm the kind of person who always needs an objective. Right now I have the craft market but it's seriously draining me. I don't know if I can do this again next year. Of course everything changes and tomorrow I know I'll be different. But one thing I do know for sure - next year I don't want to repeat what I've done this year. I feel I've got to move forward, one way or another, mentally, creatively, anything. Otherwise I'll feel like I'm stuck in this one place. Doing the same thing over and over again. I'm pretty certain I'm feeling this way because I am ready to do the next thing, whatever it is that I'm destined for.

Despite the gloomy weather, let's all have a great week. I know tomorrow I'm taking the day off because it's a public holiday. Happy Deepavali.

43 out of 74 projects completed.

I'm attending this partay: Sew Many Ways