A Bag and a Hat to Match

I made a Shoulder Bag / Flight Bag a few months back [blogged here]and was so delighted with it, I used it every day. Sadly after 5 weeks in and out of the Motorhome whilst we were in Europe took its toll. It was beginning to show signs of wear and like all new makes you know in your heart you'd do better next time.

Now choosing fabric for a bag like this needs to be fairly special. It has to have some body to it and if it has a fun design, all the better.

I should explain first that I've had a sort of personal MOT this week. On Wednesday morning I had a dentist check up and a haircut in the afternoon. Thursday morning I had a hearing test booked but the audiologist called in sick so I ended up having an eye test instead and came out having spent over £200.00 on new reading and driving glasses. On the way back to the car park I walked through the market and spied a fabric stall. I couldn't resist this watering can and welly boot fabric at only £5.00 a metre which would be perfect for my new bag so I had to have it.

With all my health checks I didn't get much time to sew but I did finish the bag and managed to make a reversible matching sunhat as well. I had some contrast fabric in my stash which looks pretty and matched well but it is very stiff and I couldn't have made a garment from it even after washing so it was perfect for the bag and sunhat and meant I didn't have to add a lot of interfacing. 

I got the patterns for both from www.creativebug.com. I need a sunhat as the ophthalmologist told me I have the beginnings of a cataract and UV rays can speed up the formation so it's a hat and shades from now on.

But on to the bag...

The front pocket has a gusset and is closed with a magnetic clasp. The top is closed with a sturdy plastic zip cut to fit [sorry it doesn't show in any of the photos].

The back has a full width zip pocket and a sturdy grab handle. The lining is another scrap from my stash, a blue stripe cotton.

The interior is also lined in the blue stripe cotton and has custom pockets for glasses and my Kindle Tablet.

The strap can be used as a 'cross body' or threaded through the grab handle turns it into a backpack. [Worn on the front of my dressform for demonstration purposes]

On Friday I had a Doctor's check up and ended up having a chest X-ray and blood taken at the local hospital to see if I have an under active thyroid. Next week I have to go back for the re-scheduled hearing test, pick up the glasses and see what the X-ray and blood tests threw up. Apart from all that I feel fine...