GET R DONE FRIDAY - Purse Modification

Welcome to this weeks' segment of GET R DONE FRIDAY!

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• Create post about a project you have completed - it can be something 'crafty', remodeling, planting a vine or a vineyard - it's totally up to you!

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NOTE: Be sure to refer viewers back to my blog so everyone can see who is participating today, and if you like - include the GET R DONE FRIDAY picture button (seen at the top of today's post) in your write-up. Please have your post up before linking in with a perma-link. Thanks so much!Fabric shops are one of my favorite places to visit. Some of the neatest ones have samples of things to create, like quilts, totes, children's outfits...you name it, they have it! This past summer I wandered in when they were getting in some new prints, and I noticed a cute cotton purse hanging above some of the fabric used for quilting. A sales lady came over and told me about it, as she had been asked to use that particular pattern in a project for display. She told me some simple modifications she had made to the pattern, and I liked the idea, so....I purchased the pattern and the items to make it in the same way that she had created it. It sounded so easy, and it was!The cotton fabric I chose - are you surprised?? It was sprinkled with different types of hens - some look like the very chickens in my yard! The style of bag I was going to make is a type of 'hobo' bag. The original pattern called for the yardage in one color of material, as the lining was the same as the outside. I wanted my purse to have a different lining. I also wanted it to be 'softly padded', with no iron-on interfacing sandwiched between the outside and lining materials. Something else I didn't care for on the original instructions was, there was no way to close the purse...I looked around and chose a magnetic snap! I also wanted an inside pocket - for keys, cell phone, and other small things I'd like to be able to quickly grab. Fussy, aren't I??In the photo above, you can see the inner lining I chose - and the chicken pocket I added. The pocket was easy, using a medium weight iron-on fuse-able interfacing. I decided what size, fused interfacing to one side, sewed it together with the pocket lining, and attached it to the purse lining before sewing the outer purse and inner lining together. I had to tack the light weight quilt padding to the outside of the purse before attaching the outer piece and lining together as well, and after reversing the purse, I closed it and finished it with top stitching.I added the snap last, and then decided to make a fabric covered cardboard base to the purse, to add some stability to the shape. The cute little knot at the top is stylish, and you can actually carry the purse by the handle, or you can slip your arm through it and slide it over your shoulder if you are looking at things when you go shopping. It is nice and squishy soft, easy to launder, and I just love it. The modifications were pretty simple to do, although I had to pause a bit and think it through before I jumped into cutting it all out.I showed it to Mr. Wonderful that night when he got home. He wrinkled his nose when I asked if he liked it. He didn't care for it much, he said....hmmmmm. But he's a MAN, after all - what does he know about purses??? I have received compliments on it wherever I go, and I have even sold one like to a customer who saw it at my Dark Horse Primitives etsy shop! So, it can't be all that bad, can it? I would like to make another to offer for sale, perhaps in a floral patterned print...? There are many great fabrics out there to choose from, and this purse won't go out of style too quickly!

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