Friday finish - Travel Duffle 2

Ooof this finish has been a long time coming. I made a Studio Cherie Travel Duffle bag back in April this year, and even though it was a bit of a battle I quickly forgot that and pulled fabrics for another one.

I had bought a couple of metres of this Kokka Ladybug print (From Stamped by Ellen Luckett-Baker) to make cushions for my ladybird mad mother-in-law. In the event I made her a Supertote instead and therefore still had plenty of yardage left to make a fun travel bag for the girls to share.

I cracked on and made the hessian handles as before, then ground to a halt. I don't know why really, but this project has languished on my Finish-Along list ever since. I picked it up again this month, when I was procrastinating on some mentally challenging secret sewing, and even took it as my sewing day project with Leeds MQG. I learnt from some of last time's mistakes, but not all of them. Used Kona Snow again for the lining as I had nothing else big enough. But hey, it's just the inside of a bag isn't it? And this inside of this bag always looks like a dog's dinner as it's unlined, so no point wasting any good stuff! I did remember to cut my lining a little bigger. I also remembered not to bind my end pieces until the pockets were on. This time I added two end zipper pockets but skipped the (uselessly small) side pockets. 

3 quilts which miraculously become a bag ...

Yet again, the final construction of this was epic. I broke 3 needles, had a million skipped stitches, fell out with it and chucked it in the corner of my sewing room while I got on with meeting my September deadline. That (almost) done, I picked it up again tonight, got lucky with a new needle and managed to get one of the ends firmly attached. 2 more broken needles on the other end but it is DONE. Seriously, I love making bags but my machine hates it so much, it breaks my heart. #shouldaboughtajuki

I do recommend this pattern, really I do. This is the best sized bag for a weekend away if you can't pack light and the way the handles wrap round to support its weight is very clever. It is a bit of a puzzle, and definitely requires a sew through anything machine, but it is a very satisfying thing to have made.

I'm afraid it is dark here already now and I was being impatient to get this post up so the photos are a bit lacking, apologies. This has 2 quilts and 2 cushions in and isn't even full!!

Simple cross hatch quilting in matching Aurifil #2000

I topstitched along the main zipper again to secure the flaps down.

I'm sure the zipper tabs on the other weren't as big as these!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday ...