See, I used to sew. As in every single day. I started my second year of college, sewing by hand using fabric I got at Walmart. Then I moved on to better fabric and, when I first moved to California, I got a chance to borrow a machine from my landlord’s sister. I was in heaven! No more having to take all of that time. Just zip, zip, zip and it’s sewn! Despite having a giant fabric stash, I only ever completed a blanket (quilt would be an unfair name) and a little tool roll. When Matt and I got married, I gave all of my fabric and supplies away. Other than a brief stint with hand-sewing in 2007 (?) and the random purchase of  a machine with the rest of our wedding gift cards (still unspent, almost a year later), I haven’t gone back to it.

But, today, I’m back to sewing again. I got my machine all repaired – just some tension issues and a lot of cat hair inside, thankfully. I reread the manual. I found the pattern pieces for an Amy Butler bag and those two 3/4 yard fabric pices I had somehow convinced myself to hold onto and thought I was golden.

I would cut the pieces out and, somehow, they would become a bag.

But a few things went wrong..

I no longer own sewing pins. Sure, I own nearly a hundred t-pins for blocking shawls, but not a single sewing pin. (Only now do I realize Matt’s got a brand new shirt, still in the wrapping, which probably has a good dozen crappy but decent pins stuck in it.)

My ironing board can’t stand upright anymore if you put any weight at all on it. I have a fancy Rowenta iron we picked up at Costco and the poor $10 Target board just can’t handle the weight. So not a single piece or seam is flat.

I forgot how to the put the bag together. I did manage to remember how to line up the pieces of the lining and outer but putting it together otherwise did not go well at all. I forgot to sew in the straps. I sewed the first strap in the wrong place (but fixed it soon after).

The last thing I screwed up? You’re not supposed to sew the sides together all the way up. The two handles? They’re not required.

Let’s compare my bag to a properly made one..

Properly made (from here): The part right under the straps is not sewn “shut” but, rather, open, allowing 1) having two straps to make sense and 2) enough room to actually put things in the bag

Mine: Completely sewn sides. Some room to put things in. Extra, basically useless, handle.

But, I will try not to dwell. The machine-sewn seams are rather straight and even (despite lack of pins and ironing), I managed to make most of the bag correctly, and now I have an excuse to go buy more fabric. (My stash pact commitment only mentioned yarn, after all.)