It's a love/hate affair

Yes, yes it is.

Bags, purses, totes... my nemesis (wait, would it be nemesies?).

I love the idea of being creative and having a tote/purse/bag for whatever mood I'm in. I love the unique designs I see and the endless possibilities one pattern can provide.

But I hate them. I hate them all and I'm not exaggerating. Pardon my french here, but bags suck. They do. Don't let anyone tell you differently, don't let all those bloggers out there who make em and post how easy they are fool you.

They LIE. It's not easy, there's no quickie you can put together... realize it now, if you want a cute bag for your mood, you will have to shell out the $ for one. And now I KNOW why all these folks say they are so easy and then charge $50 a pop for a bag... because they AREN'T easy. By the time I'm halfway through a bag (I've quit on a few) I'm ready to spend the $.

Do you feel me yet?

I say, Do you feel me yet?"

I thought a kit I purchased would be easier to do than the others I've flubbed and tried along the way (with only 1 success). I thought it would be good for my football fleece blankets and LOVED the idea it was almost completely done for me.

The pockets were sewn on, zipper sewn on, piping sewn on. All I had to do was sew the 2 lining pieces together, the two shell pieces together, then sew the interior, exterior and handles together.

That's all.

I hate bags. I hate bag instructions.

After too many hours reading the instructions, looking at the pictures, reading instructions, trying to sew the shell and interior together and failoing miserably, I tore it all out and called my friend.

She's started sewing bags, you see. She does a great job, too. She says they are easy. She thinks quilts are awful but bags, they are fun. So I called her. I mean, I've helped her with some sewing items here and there (ps, she's the friend who conned me into doing this for the school secretary) so she owed me, right?

Graciously, she said yes, and read the instructions, looked at pictures, read the instructions, tried a few things, read the instructions, pulled out instructions from her other bag projects, and figured it out. The instructions weren't incorrect, just not as precise as they should be. Our problem was I sewed the handles on wrong.

Rip-it, rip-it.

Here she is, my now known as, "Friend, Goddess of Bags." She sewed it almost all up and I was able to finish the other few sections.

I hate sewing bags but I do love my finished bag. so much so, that when another year passes, I may try again (probably with the same result!)

Thank you, Kim, my Friend, Goddess of Bags!

Here are the finished pictures.