NancyD's Got a Brand New Bag

Anyone else old enough to remember that song? 

I've been making myself this bag over and over again ever since I came across the pattern at the Pajaro Valley Quilt Association show years ago. It's the Diva Essential Designer Bag by Thumbuddy Special.

Sorry about the sunburst - the pattern envelope is kind of shiny

It has pockets galore. There's a big pocket on one end, just perfect to keep all my keys in. Does anyone else have two or three car keys that are each the size of a submarine sandwich?

Here's a shot of the big key pocket

There's another pocket on the other end that fits either my jumbo wear-over sunglasses or a bottle of water.

Here's the sunglasses/water bottle pocket

Inside there's a cell phone pocket, a raft of side pockets and a big, secret pocket on the back side where I stash my supply of medicinal chocolates.

Insides with multi-pockets. The cell phone pocket is on the right.

It's big enough inside to carry everything I own, plus the occasional bit or bob for The Man*, yet when it isn't full it folds itself together so that it isn't a pain to carry.
Here's my favorite thing of all though:

You can sling a strap over each shoulder and carry it like a backpack

If I'm doing a lot of walking, especially the kind of stop-and-start walking you do when you're tramping around a flea market or shopping for fabric, my back starts to ache from the weight of my purse hanging off one shoulder. It's so darn nice to be able to wear my purse like a backpack so the weight is more evenly distributed. Plus it leaves my hands free to fondle interesting objects.

I generally make this bag from upholstery fabric. Hart's has a bunch of tables with remnants of upholstery fabric for $7.99 a yard (yumm, the color, the texture... love it). This time I went for a sturdy cotton and used some medium-weight iron-on interfacing to give the main body of the bag some structure. I'm hoping it will carry me through to next summer.

I find these bags last about a year before they're trashed. Usually the zipper is the weak link, or the magnetic snap comes unglued. And after being tossed around the a football and carrying who knows how many tons of crap around town, even an upholstery-weight fabric will show its age.

But by that time I'm ready to haul out my pattern and make up a new one. I think of it as a chance for "iterative enhancement." By now I've got my pocket placement almost perfect.

My review is on PatternReview.com here.

* You know why men don't carry purses? Because their wives and girlfriends do.