It's finished... but....

I've finished the bag, but I'm not sure I like it....

Well - not quite finished - it needs a bit of dowel in the top for support but it's been too dark and cold outside to venture out to the shed for the saw to cut it to size (I know - what a wimp!!)

In some ways I think I like the act of creating, more than the finished products. I get excited about a project, I work on it and get more excited as it grows and takes shape, and then I finish and think well.... ummm.... it's not what I expected.... (you get the picture)

I'm not sure what it is that I don't like. I'm not sure that it's anything specific. Maybe it's just that the buzz has gone now that it's finished!

I figured that maybe a test drive would help me to decide. So this morning I packed it with my book (still Area 7 by Matthew Reilly) and my magazine (the latest Textile Fibre Forum). They both fit perfectly - with room for a bit more. It sits well on my shoulder and ran well (when I do the bolt across the road from the train station to the tram stop). I think that it would do even better with the dowel in the top to give it some more shape.

I also think that the top flaps need a bit of definition. Maybe a line stitched along the fold to help it fold and sit better would help. Maybe a bit of quilting to join the two layers (inside and outside) a bit better. I don't want it to look like a "home-made-quilted-bag) but I think that there are a few adjustments required to make it 'work'.

Anyway... I think it will work and it will grow on me. I must say that I do love the colours and the look of it - it's just the design stuff that I'm not sooo happy with.

I promise I will still give you a tour - on the weekend when I have time!