17 March, 2009

In Town Bags

Last week I decided that it was really silly to make myself nice things and then not use them because I had some idea they were for special occasions. Case in point was the bag I made for my brother's wedding in NY last September, it's been hanging on the back of my wardrobe door after its one and only outing:

Amy Butler In Town Bag with Kristen Doran fabric

It's an Amy Butler 'In Town' bag made with Kristen Doran Matryoshka fabric. So I took it out and transferred all my stuff out of my tote bag and used it for a couple days. It was fun! I felt quite jaunty swinging down the sidewalk with this, it's distinctly non-mother-of-a-small-child in size :) I made it up while we were staying with my parents so I got to raid my mum's button box for the ribbon attachments. I've loved these buttons since I was a kid. My own button box is great, but I think there's nothing better than your mum's :)

Amy Butler In Town Bag with Kristen Doran fabric

The nurse at the doctor's clinic went mental for it, and asked if I'd bought it in London or Sydney. When I told her I'd made it she was all "NO!" and grabbed it up and interrogated me on how I'd done it, did I have an industrial machine to do that fabulous top-stitching etc.

Amy Butler In Town Bag with Kristen Doran fabric

I actually started to get quite embarrassed. More embarrassed than I normally do when I admit (admit!? I should be proud!) that I've made something. I think this comes from my childhood when my mum made a lot of my clothes and I was perennially embarrassed they weren't store-bought like all my friends' clothes were. Funny how times change, now it'd be a badge of pride I'd think.

I made this purse for my sister-in-law as a Christmas present the year before last, it's interesting how the different fabrics really change how it looks. It's a good pattern, I'd say it was a medium on Chef Messy's 'swear factor', the only thing I don't like about it is the handle placement, the middle tends to bulge out between the handles. I wonder if having them a bit closer in to the centre would fix that?

In Town Bag

5 comments:

  1. I love, love, love the bag! I totally understand why the nurse thought it was a top of the line designer purse, it's fab! :D

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  2. So cute! Glad they weren't too bad on the swear factor. I LOVE the red one. Funny how you mention the being embarrassed about homemade stuff as a kid. My mom was super-crafty and made almost all of our clothes (down to coats and underwear even), and we always felt like such little urchin children that we didn't have storebought clothes! Maybe it was a matter of marketing. Maybe my mom should have told us that we were wearing everything custom-designed or something like that. She laughs now that I like to make things as much as I do, with all the fuss I made over handmade as a kid.

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  3. That is a truly gorgeous bag, especially in the reds! I covet pretty much everything you make, and wish (oh, how I wish) I had even a fraction of your skill and patience!

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