I can finally add a new design to my shop! I have been making a lot of bigger sized bags lately, so right now I feel like going back to smaller items. A few weeks ago while on my trip home to Germany I went to two classical concerts and to the opera and realized, mh, I wasn’t really prepared for this – bagwise. I extra brought some nice pants with me plus I always bring some sort of extra large scarf with me – items you can wear everyday but which can also easily turn an outfit into a nice evening dress. So, no problem so far. The thing was, I only brought my peach hobo with me, which is not exactly what you want to carry when you go to the opera. So what to do? Problems like this are easily solved when you love sewing and there’s a fabric store in the neighborhood!

I bought this really beautiful black/silver fabric and turned it into a nice little evening bag. It closes with a magnetic snap and has a slip pocket as well as a small zip pocket on the inside. To add a little uniqueness to the design I decided to go with a purple zipper! Looks pretty neat, doesn't it? The size is just enough to fit the few items in there you would usually carry with you when you go to a concert (such as wallet, ticket, mints, a handkerchief, maybe some glasses..?).

I was going to go for a clutch first, but decided against it. It would have looked even more sophisticated, I agree. But things that aren’t convenient very easily annoy me and so I decided against it. With the adjustable strap and the pretty buckle it still makes a very posh appearance!

One thing I love about Europe are the Dutch fabric markets! The Netherlands have always been famous for their fabrics and many dealers go on tour twice a year (spring and fall) to the bigger cities of Germany to sell their stuff. To be honest I even planned my trip to Germany according to their schedule. I knew they would be in Frankfurt on June 10 and so would I! Those markets are heaven for fabric lovers and sewing enthusiasts! Many dozens of booths, each of them carrying a great variety of fabrics, for clothes, bagmaking, home decor and quilting. Some dealers also offer accessories like ribbons, buttons, all kinds of notions, patterns and even sewing machines. The good thing about the Dutch fabric markets is that you get the whole package: quality, variety AND bargains! Gotta LOVE this!!  
I was looking for some more medium-weight cottons for bagmaking. Here's what I found:

They also have a huge range of knit fabrics, plain and colored, all of which are ridiculously cheap! I only bought two cotton knits which I am planning on using for myself, maybe for sleepwear or something. Both pieces are 60" x 60" and I paid 10 Euros (i. e. 12.50 $) which is pretty awesome!

                                            10 zips (all 18 cm/7") for 5 Euros (6.30 $)!!!

If you ever make it to Europe and want to catch one of the markets, here's the link to their official website. Check for "Termine", which is the German word for schedule! I forgot to take any pictures on the market but they have a lot of nice pics posted on their website too, just to give you an impression of the atmosphere!
AND: if you ever go, be sure to bring enough cash as most of the dealers don't accepts credit cards!

I really feel like talking a little bit about my favorite handbag today. It just passed its first real „stress test“ on a trip to one of the most amazing cities of the world: BERLIN!!

It was one of the very first handbags I made and again I used a pattern of Lisa Lam from her book “The bag making bible”. It’s called “the piping hot hobo” and really versatile. It is expandable since it has two popper snaps, one on either side of the bag. I never carried more than a wallet, a case for my glasses and my cell phone in it, so until a few days ago I really had noooo idea how much it could take. Now I can tell you: A LOT!!
So here’s what I wanted to put into the bag. Quite a few things, huh?

Here’s a picture of what it looked like when I went on my trip!

Isn’t that amazing? I put the above mentioned essentials in it plus: a travel guide, a book, headphones, my camera, a chapstick, a calendar (do people still have those, or am I the only one..??), a manicure set, a magazine, my train ticket, tissues (yeah, I know, that’s supposed to be a German thing, always carrying a bag of tissues with us. They have four layers btw, I never get tired of mentioning that ;-)) and I even thought about putting a small bottle of water in there too but decided against it, since it wouldn’t have kept its nice shape.
I attached a long leather strap on the bag, so on my long walks through the city I could wear it like a cross-body bag which I prefer to carrying it on one shoulder especially when the bag gets heavy.
Anyways, I was really surprised about how convenient this handbag is and I’m definitely going to make more of those to sell in my shop as well!

Btw, this is what it looks like with all the stuff in it! Didn't go out of shape at all!

I finally finished my biggest bag project so far. I decided to make a bag for myself for a change and my ambitious goal was the „great getaway bag“, a travel bag from „The Bag Making Bible“ by the fabulous Lisa Lam. It is my favorite bag making book, I love her patterns and instructions and during the last few weeks that book has literally become my bible as I had it on me almost everywhere (well ok, with a few exceptions maybe).
So back to the great getaway bag:
The finished bag measures approx. 11 x 18 x 9" (28 x 46 x 23 cm). I'm planning on using it as my hand luggage on my flights to Europe, I can’t wait to use it for the first time when going home to Germany one week from now. I bet I'm gonna have the prettiest bag on the plane!

I used home dec fabric (100% cotton) and I just loooove the colors! I’m usually not the pink loving kind of girl but in this case I had to make an exception. I found the exterior main fabric first, thought it would look great for this type of bag and then started looking for a perfect match to use for the trims and handles. Found the one with the pink flowers. For the lining I chose a light beige.
For extra convenience there is an additional pocket on the outside, which closes with a flap and an attached magnetic snap.
Inside the bag has two large pockets to keep your stuff organized and a zip flush pocket.
A big plus is the adjustable strap. In Lisa’s original version the strap is attached on top of the exterior of the bag. I found another version by a fellow crafter online and followed her suggestions. You can find it here. Great idea, thanks Kristien! ;-)
She made a good point in claiming that those would be the weak points of the bag, since the strap has to hold all the weight of your luggage. So she decided to sew the handle loops in between the seams of the front/back part of the bag and the side panels (that hold the top zipper).  
It took me a while to finish the bag, altogether I guess it has been, like, ten hours of work (I needed three hours just to cut the fabric and the fusible fleece/interfacing). There is quite a few pieces to this bag, so if you ever think about making it, make sure you label everything, otherwise you will end up being lost in a huuuuge pile of pattern pieces!
I hope you like the bag as much as I do!