As I am feeling more and more like a recluse these days, I have taken to activities to occupy and quiet my mind which has been festering with other thoughts. Lately the thought of sewing and fabric stashing have calm me and provided some satisfaction as well. There is something soothing about browsing through rows and rows of fabric and flipping through the pattern catalog books.
My sewing machine, which has been occupying a corner of my workbench for several weeks has been waiting quietly and patiently. I thought that after a 14 year hiatus from sewing I should ease back into sewing with something simple such as a handbag instead of a piece of clothing which would require too many adjustments for my body type.
Several weeks ago (months ago?) I purchased a pattern for what I call a messenger bag
Vogue 7862, but the three invisible zippers and the gorgeous baroque fabric I purchased for the pattern, freaked me out. So for my first attempt I chose an easy pattern -
Burda 8560 with a heavy upholstery cotton fabric I purchased from Jo-Ann's that I found among the clearance pile (don't forget the 40% off coupon). I started the bag about two weeks ago but wasn't happy with the overall design, so I went back to Jo-Ann's during lunch and by eye balling it, purchased an accent fabric for the top inside half of the bag, (a perfect match). I also ended up making two modification, one was to insert a lining (how can a bag not be lined you ask, so did I) and the second was to include a pocket for my cellphone, keys or whatever.
Look at me, I have mad skills, but....
I was happy with my progress until it came to joining the two straps in the middle. The combinations of too many layers was just too much for my poor sewing machine (which I purchased in my teens or early 20s). What can I say...it looks like crap and I guess I will have to redo. Maybe I can fix this with a quick slip stitch by hand?
Oh well, I guess I have not finished my first bag after all.
It is done. I have finally completed the Hobo Bag from Hell.
If I had to do again, I would have used foam between the exterior and interior layers as called for, I would have used stronger Pellon interfacing and made the straps longer. In the end persistence was key and now I can finally begin Bag #3...
And finally, this is the right side view of the bag's exterior after pinning the loops and hardware together and basting the top hem...
I decided to use a bright silver finish for the rings because of the white in the fabric. I figured this was better than the gold or the antique finish. 
