Trying not to clog up the thread so not quoting every one of you, but thank you all for your sweet comments about the yellow bag.
I've already taken it out once and it was really nice to carry it. The leather is surprisingly good. I'll be using this supplier again. His leathers are awesome, even if they are very small scraps.
I made a bag once (conceptually easy ..after all they are rectangles..but execution was hard). Let’s just say it really made me appreciate bag construction!
Exactly! Especially since I refuse to purchase a bag pattern and will make my own from the ground up.
It's the little details that make a bag, not the main body. The times I've had the patience to saddle stitch and finish a bag properly, it has always left me in awe of artisans who do this day in and day out. Whilst the daily practice makes it easier for them, it's still an astonishing amount of work and diligence that is required to get something that looks really polished and is structurally sound.
I've discovered that I don't enjoy saddle stitching much. It doesn't relax me because I get fussy about maintaining the right tension and getting an even stitch all the way along. I notice when anything is even slightly askew and then can't ignore it, so I'll unpick everything and do it over. Strangely, I am not this fussy about the handmade bags I buy. Every one of them has something wrong in the stitches or edges, but I'm never bothered by it when it's someone else's work.
I may have asked this before but do you crochet? I know some of our other posters like @whateve and @nyeredzi have made items including bags. I was thinking it would be a fun project to make a summer bag. It’s easily portable and can be worked on during small pockets of time like waiting at the dentist’s office etc. Only thing is, I don’t know how to crochet! I guess there are online tutorials so it might be easy to learn.
I do not. I never did learn any useful skills like that!
Even the leatherwork is just my self-taught bumbling around.
You're selling me on crocheting, though! You should try it and see if you enjoy that sort of activity.
(currently on a 5 day trip supporting my younger son, it was an 8 hour drive from home).
8 hours?!
I would be crying in the car! Hope work (and life in general) slows down a bit for you. Make sure you're taking care of yourself amidst the madness.
and that's the colour I want
So hard to get the right shade of yellow, isn't it? This was the exact shade I wanted. The backside of the hide was in terrible shape, but the front flawless. I wish it had been a bigger piece. This wasn't the design I originally wanted for a yellow bag, it's just what worked best when I got the piece in my hands and realized the oil slick leather would make a good lining.
When you buy or rediscover a bag that's quite different to the one(s) you've been wearing, how challenging is it for you to style?
I don't usually have to rework my style too much for a different bag. That may just be because most of my bags are odd shapes or otherwise unusual, so I'm used to the clothes being the simple backdrop for the novelty bag.
My daily style is very tomboy/men's tailored, which works with every bag I own. The only exceptions are a couple of my bags that look better against a more feminine look, which is not something I do often, but I will dress girly when I'm in the mood for that particular bag. I've changed my clothes before just because I decided I wanted the girly bag and it was worth the effort to change just to have the joy of carrying it.