The 24-hour bag

Having finished my Kaffe Fassett quilt, with the coffee quilt and the coins quilt off at my sister's shop for machine quilting, I needed a quick project to tide me over until I start the next quilt (quilt, quilt, quilt - how many times can I say "quilt" in one sentence?). I've been holding onto a pattern I got on Etsy for a messenger bag, and on one of my last trips to the best little fabric shop in Glen Burnie, I picked up a pretty floral fabric to use for it. I started cutting the fabric Wednesday evening, and the bag was done by 9:00 p.m. the next day:





This one really tested my machine, as it is all interfaced with Decor Bond and, in many places, is folded, creating extra layers to sew through. The machine pretty much couldn't handle where the strap is sewn in, probably because there are approximately 327 layers of fabric and interfacing at those points. But I managed to sew curves on the flap that are better than any I've done before and this one has a magnetic snap closure, which was a first for me.

I road-tested it today and it isn't quite big enough for a notebook or a file folder, but the strap is long enough that I can wear it across my body instead of just perched on one insubstantial, sloping shoulder.

This will (I hope) be my next quilt project:



Instead of pink, the inner squares will be blue and purple, but otherwise it will all be the same. Except for, you know, the crappy workmanship. That's my personal touch.

Update: The quilt pattern is called "Labyrinth" and I got it free with some jelly rolls that I ordered off of eBay a while back (from this seller). I think it was created a few years ago for RJR Fabrics, and they would include it in shipments to vendors, who could then distribute it free. I have looked on the web, and it doesn't seem to be available anymore. I will try to look into the rules concerning distribution of free patterns like this, and see if there is a way I can share the pattern with you via the blog.