the fruits of my labor

Y'all know I did all that sewing on Mister Stevens's bag and did not take good pictures of it finished? It had been so long coming that my focus was on finally getting it to the post office. Anyhow. Here are some progress shots:

I'm trying to show how many layers I am sewing through.

See how thick this is? This is where a hardy machine seriously earns its keep.

My love for the lining fabric borders on the pathological. It occurs to me that Mister Stevens, being a guy, might possibly find it too floral, but I hope he doesn't. To me, it has a masculine quality, and it reminds me of Steven, in a way I can't explain. Maybe it's the way that it's modern but has old-fashioned roots. I think he's metrosexual enough to handle it.

Yes, Mister Stevens requested an image of his own big head on the front. He likes himself just fine. (And so do I.)

It really is a nice bag, and it deserves so much more than a crummy post office hurry up final shot, but here it is:

What I wish I had gotten a good shot of is the handle. It was too short, and I didn't have enough fabric to cut a new one, so I sewed a "quilted" panel on each end to extend it. It looks like a hip design feature when it's actually a necessity!

After finishing Steven's bag, I was feeling kinda left out. I had this marvy fabric that I'd bought with a Reprodepot gift certificate that Natalie gave me for my b-day last year. I'd bought it to make a bright, simple tote bag. I went through my books and patterns, and --

from this book:

I used this pattern:
To make the bag:

Regrettably, I read nary a word of Japanese. When I converted the centimeters to inches, the measurements weren't quite right for me, so I made a few adjustments. I've now made enough bags to have basic construction down (right sides together, leave a hole in the lining, pull outer fabric through), so it was a nice, easy sew. I can never find anything small in a bag this size, so I made a zippered pouch to go with:

Me likey.

Sewing on the Kenmore, if you haven't gotten this impression already, is a dream. It makes damn fine stitches (almost up there with the vintage Singers), sews smoothly (even though I haven't cleaned and oiled it yet -- for shame), and can handle anything at all I would care to sew. It gave me no trouble going over the thick seams on Steven's bag. Oh, and it has a knee pedal. I'd never used one before, and I'm so tickled with it I could pee myself. I like it much better than a foot pedal.