My un-natural hatred of Zippers.....and crowds

SO this is what I have been working so hard on for the past 3 weeks. The bags in and of them selves are not that challenging...but there were a few differences with this order that was quite driving me mad. Well not really mad, but made me want to procrastinate. It is made from a flightiest, and they are very strange to sew...the fabric comes alive and slithers all over the place. Makes me wonder what this fabric would feel like against ones bare skin. Would it give you the creepy crawlies or would it feel like a soft touch. They can't possibly breathe well, but the few I have worked with have not smelled like sweat. Maybe these fellows are just cool characters. OK, why did these bags take me sooooo looooonnnnnnggggggggg to make? Well, it is because of this....
The Zipper. I HATE zippers. I have a right side of my brain and a left side. My zipper part is in neither. I think it is somewhere behind my spleen. I have to think completely different when I have to adapt a design to incorporate a zipper. The Zipper part of my Brain is like some pathetic wounded beast. It is cranky, unpredictable and just wants to be left alone to die. I had to coax it out and humm to it and stroke it....I even had to go to the beauty shop and get my hair cut to settle it down enough to function properly. Despite my hatred of zippers, I think this one turned out pretty well. On either side of the zipper is a lovely tiny quilt made of strips of Amy Butler's Earth and Sky collection. Every last bit of Earth and Sky I posses is now either used up or spoken for (I need to remove it from my fabric gallery). I have one more bag I need to adapt to incorporate a zipper and after that I will have to refuse all zippers in the future. Not because I don't like how they turn out, but they just put me so far behind with the rest of my bags. I have to spend so much time rethinking design, I just can't do it anymore. Now the little zippy wallets are another story all together. They are designed to have a zipper and are quick and abnormally fun to make, so those zippers will stay in my world. These 2 ladies I am making zipper bags for are really great women. Patient and always so sweet. They are a joy to sew for and I will sew for again in the future in a heartbeat, if they want me to.


I also don't like crowds, but I think that is because I am becoming a crazy desert woman. But instead of cats, I collect fabric and spare BDU legs. Soooo, now onto my last zipper purse ever. When that bugger is finished I think I will have a party. Well, we actually had one last night and one the tallest chaplains in the US Army came and played guitar with my husband. We have had lots of visitors in the past 3 weeks.


Oh, one more thing. At NO TIME are your husband's uniforms being held hostage by me. If you think I am taking too long on your bag, please let me know and I will happily return your uniform and refund your money. No worries, believe me! There are lots and lots of gals out there sewing their little hearts out trying to make Army bags, maybe they can square you away faster than I. Who knows? On that note, I am off to lure my zipper beast out into the open.

xo
Tia