old news bag

Here are some terrible pictures of a bag I finished the night before our trip that's already become old news in my world...  I was too interested in photographing other things to give it much attention, but the bag came in very handy for hauling around a day's worth of stuff on vacation.

It's a giant box with a flat bottom and top and a heavy-duty zipper.  It's lined with plain gray fabric from this shirt and has a simple inside pocket.  Oh, and a patch where my iron melted a hole in the lining and I could not bear to make a third lining after the first one had been too small.

I used interfacing which I thought I would hate but helped keep the bag sturdy.  Now I regret not putting interfacing in the strap which has probably grown 50% by stretching out.  I may or may not fix it.  Man, I get so excited to make something new but when I have to make repairs, I drag my feet, maybe for years... like slippers I made my friend Cara for Christmas two years ago and just sent back with the holes patched two weeks ago.  Oops.

surprise! it's a bag.

Going through my Nonna's scraps today, I came across something half-assembled.  I'm still not sure if it was meant to be a bag, or a pillowcase, or a practice of some sort.  Also in the scraps was what looks like a matching narrow curtain panel.  Anyways, I adore anything that was my grandmother's so even though it's not quite my style, it became a quick summer bag (although I guess the fabric is pretty cool).

I lined it with a simple, neutral linen and added a thick, short strap cut from a strip of the "curtain."  I initially got excited when I thought it was something my grandmother made, but the sewing was a little wild so I wonder now if this was something my mom or my aunt made while learning to sew.  Mom?  What do you think?  [Mom:  You can click on " __ Comments" below and respond if you want.  Or call me ;)]