the biggest bag yet

While shopping on Amazon several weeks ago, I was several dollars short of super saver shipping, so Carry Me by Yuka Koshizen just jumped into my shopping cart to help me out. Does that ever happen to anyone else? Anyway, I had been eyeing this sewing book for awhile, because it was Japanese (clean lines! smart patterns!) and I just loved the bag on the cover. With a party this weekend honoring a friend's graduation, it was time to test it out!

I did choose the bag on the cover, a large sack suitable as a beach or market bag. My friend travels quite a bit, and I thought it might come in handy. It's called the Left Bank Granny Bag. It's huge. You could fit about 15 Eiffel Tower snow globes in there.

I made two, like I usually do with bags: one to gift and one to use. I make mine first and work out any of the kinks, then the gift comes together a little more easily and professionally. This pattern was easy and fun to make. The translation forces the directions to be a little more simple, which I like. Sometimes I read a pattern direction many times before I realize what they're saying could be restated in about five words. It's the editor in me. I stayed true to the pattern, except I replaced the cloth handles with sturdier ones.

My only problem when it was all said and done was that I couldn't choose which one to gift! I was going to let my friend pick, but 3/5 of team Murphy came down with the sick yesterday so we ended up not making it to the party. But with an outing today requiring a big bag, I was forced to choose and my hand picked the orange one. 

That fabric is French and it's a French-inspired bag and I love France, so... 

I hope she likes multi-colored scallops!