This one's a keeper ......

And let me tell you, it was much easier sewing this then trying to a) use a digital camera to take a picture and 2) get it posted on the blog (the way I wanted it to look). Which is why the pictures are at the top, with the back first. So annoying!!!!!

So third purse and I finally get one I like. Denim and Red is my color scheme. I wanted a purse I could take camping, which is why denim made the most sense. Now with denim, it frays rather nicely so then I could leave the seam allowances on the outside of the purse, eliminating the bulk of turning the seams to the inside. Now if my seams are going to show and fray, I wanted a color and fabric that would really look good frayed with the denim. So I chose the solid red fabric that is used for the small pocket and straps and lining. The only print is the top portion of the front and it came from a small scrap. What's amazing is I didn't purposely try to make it centered, when I folded it and sewed it into place, the horizontal print just naturally centered itself that way. (Now that's what I call a quality woven print and a bit a luck)

It's funny how the whole design came together when I sat down to sew. Last Wednesday night, I pulled out the fabric I had chosen. I had several zippers I was trying to match up with and had originally planned on a red zipper with red stitching, but the white zipper just looked better. So to pull the white in, I decided to use white thread for all the stitching.

The pocket is another lazy technique, it's hard to see in the pictures, but I left the edges to fray as well. Lazy, because I just cut a rectangle piece of fabric, folded it in half, top stitched the fold and centered it on the front of the purse. After it was pinned on, using chalk, I marked the "v" line at the bottom and then sewed it on. After it was sewn, I cut off the corners and it too has a cool frayed edge.

Now the back of the purse has a pocket, which I call the "Book pocket" cause it's the perfect size for a paperback. Because of how good the front pocket turned out, I decided to do the same "swish" and leave it.

Sorry for all the sewing details, but I just love how this turned out. As each step was finished, I could feel myself getting more excited with the project. And when it was done, I hung it from a hook in my room so I could just look at it. Vain? I don't think so, it's more the fun of creating something that just speaks to me. That's why I love sewing so much. It's the same pattern as the other two purses, but fabric, color and my own tweaks makes this purse stand out as the one for me. Now I feel like I can move onto a different pattern, .... except Mom liked this one so much that she's already picked out fabric for me to make her one. Well .... maybe just one more.... she is my mom after all ;)

Oh, my goodness, either the spell check isn't working or I just wrote my very first perfectly spelled post. Now that's something to celebrate..... oh wait.... perfectly spelled just the wrong words. Oh well, lucky for me, perfect is not what I was going for.