my lickety split bag

i know, the birds are upside down...the red birds on the other side are right side up but i don't like them as much.
go figure, i guess i just have a thing for turning convention on it's head...hardy har har.

i loved the pattern/tutorial for this bag from made by rae. it was really well put together, easy to follow, and produced great results! i definitely plan on making more bags with it, especially since she's got some hints on her blog about altering it to make a slightly smaller version with different closure/pocket details.

as soon as i got this lime echino 2009 fabric, i knew it had to be a bag. the abstracted green bits remind me of a marimekko bag my best friend from hs brought back with her from the year she lived in sweden during college and the lightweight canvas will certainly stand up better to wear and tear than regular quilting cotton.

then i got really brave and decided to pair it with anna maria horner's "mixed signals" print in striking from her new innocent crush line. i haven't completely fallen in love with this new line but i got a bit excited when i thought to contrast this geometric purple voile with the echino lime since they are perfectly complementary colors. it's a bit loud, i know, but to see just a peek of it as lining is just right. the bag is actually reversible so maybe next time i will pick something more suited to that.

the length is adustable since it ties at the top and instead of adding trim, i went with some purple topstitching
along all the pockets and edges (a wee bit wobbly topstitching since i have not practiced it that much i'm afraid).

for now i think this bag will be especially nice in fall/spring with a basic tee, sweatshirt, or even a basic brown coat since it would probably be way overwhelming with anything more than that. i'm glad to have a statement bag to tote around on days when the rest of me might look quite basic though and i'm definitely bring it with me to chicago this weekend, clashing or not!