It’s no secret that the last couple of years has been a struggle for all of us, and I was not immune to the effects either.

With work, grad school, and the panini revealing/enhancing my depression and anxiety, I have had 0 desire to create. After deciding to finally take care of myself and my mental health, I am slowly starting to come out of that funk. I’m also on the right meds at last, so that has been a big help.

Slowly but surely, I’m starting to create again. I started sewing again this past August for DragonCon, but it was more of a rush to get a costume done and not really anything more. But I didn’t do anything until mid-October, really. I decided I wanted to make my Halloween costume for the year since I couldn’t find anything that resembled the character it was based on that wasn’t some screen-printed junk.

After sourcing fabrics, patches, cheer trim, etc., I slowly got back into what I love. I made my Halloween costume (Chrissy from Stranger Things) and ended up also making a hobbit costume for funsies. I wanted to get back into making different types of garments to brush up on my skills – just to make sure I wasn’t too rusty. After making the fully lined boned bodice (which does have a couple of issues – but that’s on me for rushing), I’m feeling more confident.

Low and behold, after buying the Elna elnita ef1 and coming across some really cute vinyl I decided WHY NOT make a bag for myself and challenge myself at the same time (note: I’ve never made a vinyl bag in my life, only fabric)? I’ve had the pattern, accent cork fabric, and hardware for almost a year, so I decided it was finally time. Please note, the bag pic is before I have the PU trim to finish the top edge.

I had so much fun finally making a vinyl bag I ended up making a matching wallet and keyfob out of the scrap vinyl+fabrics, and now I’m finding myself looking for MORE projects to work on (and have bought a couple more patterns). Hopefully I can come across another cute vinyl that will work for one of them or even a pretty cotton print that I can stabilize.

Now, who’s to say that this feeling will stay? I know next semester in school will be busy AF, but hopefully I’ll be able to work on projects during the weekends between assignments and studying. But for now, I’m going to enjoy this feeling and continue to create as much as possible. I definitely have some costume projects on the list that I NEED to get more work done on. 🙂

About the Bag:

Pattern: Hetty HoldAll from Sassafras Lane
Main Fabric: Tiny Tomorrow from Wonderground Fabrics
Accent Fabric: Black Rainbow Cork from Sassafras Lane
Hardware: Wizard Stitchery & Crafts
“D” Hardware: Zor-Elle Fabrics