Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag

With the arrival of baby number three, I knew I needed a new purse.  I’m not a big fan of diaper bags, so I like to try to carry a large purse that has everything I need for me and for my littles.  (You can see my first purse attempt from last year here – not bad for my first time making a purse, but I was in need of an upgrade)

This purse is quite big as far as purses go, but it will definitely hold everything I need to take my three kiddos out with me. [Not that I have done that on my own yet… that’s crazy talk.  I haven’t even been on my own in the house for more than a couple hours!]

Not surprisingly, both of these fabrics were snagged from the remnant’s section at JoAnn’s.  I am a remnant addict.  I feel badly walking up to the counter with an armful of remnants, knowing they have to key in all the numbers by hand.  But I just can’t pass up those good deals!

Inside the purse, I made two smaller pockets on one side, for my phone, iPod, lip gloss, and other small items.  The other side has a larger pocket that is usually stuffed with granola bars, pacis, hand sanitizer, and a slew of other random things.

I can’t make a purse without pockets for sippy cups.  This time around, I decided to use some felted wool (upcycled from an old sweater) for the pockets.  This helps keep any condensation away from the rest of the items in the purse, plus keeps the cups a little insulated.  The wool I used is also stretchy, so there is no need for elastic.

See how much stuff I can shove in this purse?  And really, I probably carry more than this.  I tend to be Mary Poppins with the random things that I can find in my bag.  I once emptied my purse and found 13 granola bars.  No joke.

I didn’t use a pattern, and hopefully I’ll be able to recreate it, because I’m really happy with how it turned out.  These little pleats on each side just might be my favorite part.

I’m slowly figuring out this whole mothering three children thing, but I haven’t figured out how to work some sewing in quite yet.  And I think I may be close to developing a little twitch from sewing withdrawl.

In the meantime, though, this little face is melting my heart and helping to keep that twitch at bay:

You can see a few more pictures of Emmett on the Elle Photography blog.  [And p.s. if you happen to be in the Southeastern Wisconsin/Chicago area and need a photog, Courtney is amazing]

Here’s where I’m linking up!