I’m guilty of neglecting the blog again. This time I have a good reason. Our little family grew.
And now here we are a little over 6 weeks later, a little more adjusted and sleeping a lot better. Having 3 kids is no joke! I knew it would be hard, but seriously, at the end of the day I sometimes feel like the kids won. It’s been an adjustment for everyone and we all act out in our own ways to the change in our family dynamics. For me it was the loss of “me” time. Breastfeeding really ties you to a newborn baby like nothing else. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it, but you know, the boob could use a break every now and then. I’m thankful that Finnley nurses every 2-3 hours now as opposed to every hour during the day and once in the night. In fact, you could say that we are spoiled as we have already had an 8 1/2 hour sleep stretch and a 9 1/2 hour sleep stretch. During the “attached to mommys boob” early weeks I really missed my sewing machine. I missed creating. I finally told my hubby that I needed a break to sit down and do something for me before I went crazy, and this happened.
The infamous Amy Butler Weekender. Some peeps over at Love by Hand, Sew Lux, and Modern handcraft had a little sew along on Instagram and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to finally make this bag and do something for me. It’s my first time ever participating in a sew along and it was awesome. It’s wonderful watching the progress of everyone and getting little tips and encouragement. This bag was by far the hardest thing I have sewn so far and I am pretty damn proud of myself for finishing it with no tantrums thrown. A lot of muscle is involved in the final stages of this bag and my shoulders were sore for a day or so after. I did study up on this bag and read a ridiculous amount of blog posts on how to make the bag so I felt prepared for the battle ahead.
My two cents: GO SLOW. I never tried to rush at any point and during the “dreaded step 11c” I set my machine to stitch the slowest speed possible so that I didn’t accidentally stitch over a finger and I had more control. It really helped. I took my time and enjoyed the process. Is it perfect? No. Do I love this beast of a bag? Hell yes!! I also lengthened my straps about 10 inches more and sewed down both sides of the handle all the way to the bottom of the bag to avoid the gap some had said the pattern creates. My piping is far from perfect-hey it’s my first time!-but I used fusible tape like many had suggested and had one less line of stitching to worry about showing through. I also added two zippered pockets and a clip to attach my keys to.
That lining was to me the hardest part of the whole bag to make. I mean, hand stitch it in?? WTF. I had my head in there and upper body all in there trying to tack that thing down, which I had also never done before. It was a workout. I hated it in the moment but once I was done I was so happy with it and it was worth the struggle. I’m glad I put in the extra zippered pocket in the lining and in the front pocket.
And here’s a shot of the front.
I love the way the mini swoon looks! The other side is the same and on the end pockets I made wonky star blocks. I really am proud of myself for making this bag and keeping up with the group of talented gals participating. There are some amazing bags that were made! I’m linking up over at Love by Hand. And here’s one more shot of the bag just because it’s awesome!
