with purse comes wallet

The one thing I discovered after making my purse is that my giant carryall wallet was REALLY heavy to carry in it, and I really didn't need all that wallet, anyway. Again, I set about seeking a way to make one out of the leftover fabric I had from the purse - and there was plenty!

Craftster to the rescue again, and I found myself the perfect wallet to make. 

I do have to say on my behalf, sometimes I am infuriatingly ambitious. Sometimes it's sort of cute how I think I can do things way beyond my skill level, and sometimes, like when I am actually attempting to do said task, it is infuriating and crushing. I won't lie - this is probably beyond my skill level, even though in the end, I did manage to pull it off. Not without tears and cursing and real bleeding, mind you - but in the end, I did complete the wallet, and even though it's so so imperfect, I'm pretty happy with it . I did go through three zippers trying to make it happen, though.

The back pocket:

 Inside: Zippered change pouch, cash pocket, card pockets.

 View of cash pocket (then holding cheques):

 Change and a spare car key.

 A little hiding space for my aromatherapy bottle:

And a close-up of the zipper. 

If I were to do this again - in the distant future - I would make the corners MUCH more rounded, which would allow for much easier opening of said zipper. I took lining up my zipper to the extreme and ended up with these square corners - which are not easy to unzip. However, because I know the trick, I CAN do it, so not all is lost. It really is quite functional and I'm pleased with it because this is the hardest thing I've sewn yet aside from the jacket of my husband's Halloween costume last year. The fact that I was able to finish it is a testament to my ability to persevere, and also to my stubbornness.

my very first self-created purse and a tutorial

I tend to vacillate between using purses and using backpacks as my means of carrying necessary objects about. It has been a long long time since I've used a purse - having a baby and then a toddler necessitated my having lots of stuff with my, including food and other items, so it has been backpack as choice for many years now.

Well, now my son is older and recently I cut my hair short - so short that I was feeling rather unfeminine - and having an army green backpack only compounded that feeling. So in addition to my return to wearing necklaces, I've also returned to carrying a purse. And of course I wanted a particular kind of purse, and spend four days solid scouring the internet for just such a purse.Only how can you search for a particular thing when you have no idea what it's called? My lack of knowledge in this area is pretty apparent.

I was about to give up and make what would have been my second choice when I finally found this tutorial on craftster. I only changed it a wee bit, adding the strap that encircled the whole bag, making it wider all around. I am so proud of myself for this one - I made my very first bag!

See, here is the side:

 And this is the back pocket:

And the front zippered pocket: 

 The top (I only wish I'd had another brown zipper, I really prefer the brown here):

The bottom:

And my hand in the photo for scale:

By the way, this is called an across the shoulder hipster bag, if anyone else is curious and like me, had no idea. It all makes sense now that I know.

I've been wearing it out for a couple of weeks now and I have to say, I'm quite happy with it. It suits me well, it fits everything I need, and it is comfortable to wear and use. Also? It's gotten a few compliments, too! My favourite was the girl who was in utter disbelief that I'd made it myself. I love her!