It's all pink!

Well, the black bag with crystal zippers fared fairly well during my endurance test with it...  Pros:  the size was nice and the front pocket arrangement was handy.  Cons: the strap was flimsy- mounting an adjustable strap at each end was not a good idea.  So back to the drawing board! Using the same measurements, I've created the 2.0 version.

A return to the double strap that goes over one shoulder works much better to balance the weight load a bag this size can sometimes carry.   I do think that such a large expanse of fabric on the front is rather boring, so I added the little decorative belting for some visual interest. I'm not entirely sure of the name of the fabric I used to make this- it was the left over fuzzy bits from this blanket project:

I am happy to report that both projects used no new material- I've had the fuzzy stuff for well over five years- I figured it was time to finally get it out of my stash!  The blanket is killer!  It drapes perfectly and between the fuzzy stuff, the batting, and minky, it is sooo warm and comfy! Pull this over you and it's instant nap time.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking- minky?!  Isn't that only for children's blankets?  I say no- adults like fuzzy and soft as well.  The only real difficulty of this project was the scale.  The blanket measures 60 x 72!  Working with minky on a machine is not easy; I ended up tacking the layers together every five inches or so with multiple zigzags.  It is nearly impossible to  actually quilt any kind of design into a material like minky.  To finish it all off, I simply bought silk blanket binding.  Viola!

I've kind of burnt myself out on handbags for the moment...big shock, I know.  I'm not sure what prompted me to start this next project, in all honesty.  I've never done any wall hangings before that were not simply miniature quilts.