Weekend(er)

I am making The Weekender. I should link to the good people who are hosting the blog hop about this. Forgive me for not yet knowing how. I'll get there. I picked some home dec fabric and cut it out earlier this week. Then I realized I needed more Peltex (and didn't pay attention to the kind I have - 72F, double sided fusible) as well as the fusible interfacing, so I took a quick-ish trip to the biggest JoAnn's around these parts, a much longer drive than the closest JoAnn's, but it's always a bummer to go the easy route only to learn that they don't have what I want, right? I also wanted to try to find a lining that would go with the home dec I had cut (NOTE: figure out how to add pictures to posts!). I am/was thinking I'd make two Weekenders so decided to get a whole bolt of the Peltex since one Weekender takes 3+ yards. I couldn't find the 70, so I bought the 71. The 71 is fusible on one side . . . And $3 per yard more. I didn't realize this until checking out, but thought $8.99/yard for 20" wide material was a bit steep. Thankfully I had a 50% off coupon. I went back to the interfacings section(because I really couldn't believe it was $8.99/yard even though that was printed on the label) and that's when I learned about the important differences. I was in a rush so I didn't exchange it (helped by the thought of the 50% off) and just hoped that as I worked on the bag(s) I'd really appreciate the benefit of the fusibleness. This morning after kayaking around the bay with the Captain and Elvis (he should have a title, I think), I got back to work and cut out the Peltex. Well, first I made templates of the pattern pieces. Figured if I was going to make more than one bag, I should have something more substantial than the paper pattern. Also, because I read all (ok, just some) of the instructions, I noticed that we are to lay out the cut exterior fabric pieces onto the Peltex, cut them out, and THEN measure 1/2" all around and cut that OFF - thereby wasting full inches of very expensive material. Instead, I made a second template for the main pieces, these templates already reduced by 1/2" all around. Then I cut out the Peltex and am unsure if I actually saved any in the process, but it felt like a frugal thing to try. I made the straps longer, and then remembered I'd read that others made them wider, so I recut the Peltex to 1-1/4" vs the 7/8" the pattern calls for. Later, I had to figure out how wide to cut the lining (which becomes the handles) and after much mathiness determined it was 3-3/4" (vs 3" in the pattern). I'm trying to keep track so I'm writing these things on the pattern instructions. Well, after all that work (it wasn't that much but kind of it was) I decided I didn't like the fabric I chose, so I chose something else and cut it all out. It's a wide stripe, navy and white (rather nautical I think) and then worked to match the stripes up on all the pieces. We'll not know until actual sewing takes place whether I was successful. Pictures would help this post immeasurably. Who would wade through all of this? Yikes, I'm bored just looking at it! It's a gorgeous day here. We're all up on the fly bridge. Time for a little nap, and then back to Weekender. Good thoughts being sent to people on the East Coast. Stay safe. **snazzy signature here!**