A valuable lesson.

I completed another new bag today. This time to hold my stuff at the gym as I work out (bottle of water, ipod, locker key). It turned out ok, slight imperfections but nothing I can't live with.

It gave me the impetuous to drag out another bag which had gone horribly wrong. I had made another fold over clutch in linen with a ribbon detail. From the start it was doomed. The linen was incredibly soft and difficult to handle, from cutting to stitching it was a nightmare. I finally forced it into submission, with wonky stitching only to discover that the ribbon had pulled free from the seam at one end of the bag. I gave up and threw it into my interfacing bin aka where projects go to die. In the back of my head I remembered Amy Karol's advice that if something is not going well, lay it aside and come back to it at a later date.

So I picked it up today and decided to give it one more go before chucking it into the scrap box. I started by unpicking the outer from the inner and restitching the ribbon seam a couple of millimeters higher. Success! Onwards.

I re-pressed everything and pulled the bag back into shape, the stitching was still a little off, the linen stretched every time I touched it but it is now a functioning clutch. Not good enough to give to anyone, but good enough for me to use.

I have no idea what I will do with the rest of that particular linen in my stash, it is just horrible to work with, but I am pleased that I stuck with the bag and brought it around. Pictures tomorrow when the light is better.