B-B-B!

B, for our A-to-Z challenge purposes, will be for bags here at Languishing. I have been a life-long lover of bags: since my first Jordache purse bought at the West Acres Claire's with Christine Forseth (it was teal!), I've been searching for the perfect purse, tote, BAG or bags to carry my stuff. I blog about it so much, it should have its own damn category.

Since falling in love with the quilted totes I told you about recently, I've been thinking about how bags come together, how I could use what I already have, and what all I really want/need in a bag. Should it be for work? I'm still using this lovely one, and it's close to perfect. But then I saw this bag, inspired by a movie, apparently, and I needed one that was round. Needed, understand?  And ..well...let's just get to the photos, shall we?

 I adored the star applique on the inspiration bag, but that was not my design, and I've never even seen whatever pop culture reference it makes, so I didn't want to suggest otherwise. I like sparrows for about two million reasons, and found the template through a basic Google search. I enlarged it 200%, then cut two out of an orangish, sparkly-ish vinyl I bought at S.R. Harris on an unattended visit this December (don't let me go to S.R. Harris without supervision, please).

The main bag is made from some heavy burgundy pleather my sister gave me, and I still have 6 yards of it left, so you should probably get used to seeing it, gentle readers.

 For scale, the bag with V. To be fair, she's a large 6 year old, so it might not be as big of a bag as you think. The diameter of the circle was originally 16", and I used over 1/4 inch seam allowance. The strap is a bit too wide and too short, but then again, so am I. It fits over my shoulder with a little finagling.

Here she's showing how fun it is to be jaunty and dancy with my new bag! What's not to like?

It holds up to 30 papers comfortably, and it's lined with a fantastic array of pockets and some pretty fine fabric (but I'm thinking I'll save photos of that for the letter "L." Or the letter "I," for innards.We'll see). It also has 2 large zippers, one on the top, and one across the back. It's kind of making me giddy with a feeling of accomplishment, really. It's certainly the most complicated thing I've ever made without a pattern.

Of course, it's totally an autumn-y bag, not a springy one, and I'm not ready to give up my current work bag just yet. But I feel triumphant, and it will make a good travel bag, when I need something that will hold a journal and a book as well as my camera and wallet.