Rio Bag ready to travel!

Late last night I finished the bag that I'm going to take to Brazil! Remember it was the one that was inspired by this bag that saw when I was browsing around through other sewing blogs. It was so much fun to make, I couldn't stop picturing taking it on our trip...the fabrics are gorgeous together...I've been eyeing that polka dot fabric for a few months now...After I got some I had mixed desires to use all of it up making more cute things and also to squirrel it away in my stash. I didn't use all of it yet, but I'm thinking about making a matching wallet/coin purse with what I have left. Then if I run out I'll just have to go get more of that cute fabric.The shape turned out how I wanted...I like tapered bags.Here you can see the quilted stitching on the handle and also one of the vintage buttons I used. They came from the stash I inherited from my Oma...definately makes the bag even more special to me to use something that makes me think of her. She has been in my thoughts quite a bit lately. When I'm sewing I think about her life and the sewing that she did during the different stages of her life, in all of the places where she lived through the years.I made the zipper pull out of a square of stitched burlap...Some of my favorite features of the bag are the pockets I put on the inside. I made this quilted piece with bits of left-over fabric and turned it into the largest inside pocket.

Here's that pocket attached. I stamped the center piece an evening last week when I was playing around with my new stamps...it's not quite perfect, but the imperfections actually make me like it more. The lining of the bag is the same muslin fabric as the stamped piece. Here are a the pockets on the opposite side. The long one is for a pen...I hate it when I leave a pen open in my bag and end up with pen marks. the other pockets are the perfect size for small things like my cell phone and camera. Basically this bag is fun-fabulous...I am excited to have finished it...it was so fun to watch it come together! The only thing I'd change is the lining...it's not quite right...but then it's the lining and you don't ever see it, and on the lining are the pockets that I love so it's not all bad. It also made me appreciate how hard it is to make a bag...if I were to make more to sell I think I would sell them for at least $80, it took me many hours to make it...that time isn't cheap! But, for my own use I was glad to do it! It will be fun to take it on our trip...everytime I look at it I get more and more anxious to go! The district I work in called for a 2-hour late start this morning because of snow and ice on the roads. It was nice to get the extra rest after losing an hour to daylight savings this last weekend. But all the cold weather is just making me more and more anxious to be on the beach in Brazil! Only a few weeks!