For the Birthday Girl...

Sneaking in one last finish for November, another catching-up effort for the UFO Challenge. My daughter, Emily, picked out this bag pattern and not one but two combinations of fabrics for the same bag over a year ago. I dove into the first one with gusto, but by the time I finished it, the second one was put waaay on the back burner.

(Rant Alert)This pattern (upper right on the envelope) is an absolute beast to sew. The gathers upon gathers upon gathers are bad enough, but really McCall's, is it too much to ask that you have someone actually test the directions, find and fix all the stupid mistakes, remissions, and generally garbled instructions? There is even one piece included in the cutting layout that isn't used in the bag, anywhere. Grrr... Pity the poor beginner who tried to follow this pattern and then probably gave up sewing for life! (End Rant)

But today is Emily's birthday, so I had major incentive to get the beast finished in time to surprise her with it today. Being forewarned by the first bag experience, this one went a bit more smoothly, but there was still a lot of cussing and griping to be heard in my sewing room over the past couple of days. It's a cute bag, but I'll never make another one!

Even though it is really cute.

I also made a little makeup bag to go along with it. Unlike the McCall's pattern, this one is a no-brainer. (My kind of sewing!) I wanted to add some kind of zipper pull, and among my boxes of random sewing and crafting stuff, I found a little bag of charms I must have bought eons ago with a $2.00 clearance sticker on it. Nice! The music charm was perfect for Emily.

And here's my birthday girl, sweet seventeen. I'm so proud of her. She's a junior in high school this year, but is taking all of her credits at community college, simultaneously earning her high school diploma and her Associates Degree. She's a singer, songwriter and guitarist who continually amazes us with her talent, drive and ambition. She has a smile and a laugh that light up the room and a heart as good as gold. And no matter what color her hair is on any given day, she's adorable. :o)

Happy birthday, Emmy. We love you!