It's Not So Bad....

Well at last the roomy tote bag is complete. And despite the mistake I made in misplacing the center front line on the pattern, the bag is still a success. In the class model, the deep curve you see on each side of my bag is located at the front between the two handles. The result is that my version works better as a market-tote hand bag as there is not enough room to put the straps comfortably up on my shoulder. Since I didn't know how things would turn out once I realized my error, I did not invest the extra time or materials to make a flap or add the inside pocket, The instructions illustrate steps for both. But all in all, I'm happy with the bag. It's called The Tinker Tote, and is the project in Craftsy's online Quilt-As-You-Go Patchwork Bags class. I may make a smaller version, too.

Here's the back side of the bag. I'm trying to reduce the scraps in my sewing room, so limited myself to using pieces from two bags of scraps I pulled from storage. They are impressively close to empty now which is a good feeling. I did purchase the medium-weight tan denim for the bag bottom. And when the title of this post popped into my mind, it reminded me of a contest I saw reported in the newspaper some years back. When the Super Bowl was going to be held in Jacksonville, a contest for a tourism slogan was held in order to convey a catchy concept and a positive image for the area. The paper published a list of the top 15 losing slogans which really gave me a chuckle. The one that got the loudest laugh was this one: Jacksonville- It's Not So Bad. Ha- Who thinks of this stuff? And now, that's the one I always remember. I don't know the winning slogan.  Indeed Jacksonville is not bad at all, and I'm looking forward to the big Quilt Fest to be held there in early September. And my bag is not so bad either!