something new and time to craft

recently, one of the many computers at our house died. it was time to do the technology shuffle* that happens every few years when something kicks the bucket. this time, i was the winner of the shuffle (thanks, mr. happy stuff!) as we both decided that the smartest thing to purchase at this point was a new computer for me. then, we had to decide–laptop or desktop? despite the higher price tag of the laptop, i had been kind of jealous of mr. h-s’s ability to surf the web from anywhere in the house and the portability of his computer (i.e. we’re watching t.v. and i say, “who’s that actor? where have i seen him?” and i wish for a laptop of my own to look it up on. or we’re visiting family and i’d like to show someone the pictures i have stored on my computer at home.) and we just liked the flexibility that a laptop offers. then, mr. h-s was generous enough to do the shopping for me. he asked me a few questions about my preferences (some were easy to answer–“do you have any wish-list items?” “well…. i’ve seen that dell now has computers in cute colors and i’d love to have a brown computer. but that’s kind of silly and probably not worth the money.” “that’s your wish list? what about how fast your computer is or how big the screen is or how high the resolution of the screen is or how much memory it has?” “i just would like to have a brown laptop (unless that’s too exorbitant) that does the same things my computer does now. only maybe a little faster.”) and with that vague description, he was able to locate (and get a good deal on) a beautiful new (brown!) laptop for me.

the brown is a bit more subtle than i’d expected, but i still really like it (it looks black in this picture, doesn’t it? sigh. it’s really brown.).

i got even more excited when i realized that it was so portable that i could take it to the teahouse to do work if i wanted to! but then i realized that if i’m planning to haul it farther than from the office to the kitchen, i would need a laptop bag. oh dear, i thought, now this expensive new toy needs accessories too? mr. happy stuff has a wonderful laptop messenger bag from timbuk2 that is very sturdy and waterproof and has an extra strap that he can buckle around his waist for extra security when he bikes but they are not cheap. plus, everyone in town has one of those bags and while you can choose the colors you want, they still all sort of look the same. so i thought i’d check and see if it was possible to make one or buy a handmade one. first stop, etsy. if you don’t know about etsy and you like funky, handmade goods, check it out. i scrolled through all of the search results for “laptop messenger bag” and found lots of regular old tote bags that said “you can put everything in here–your books, your laptop, your cat…” and some laptop sleeves (just a padded envelope for your laptop so that you can then put it into one of the large tote bags mentioned above without worrying about scratching or smashing it) and some fancy-schmancy laptop briefcases but only one caught my eye and it was … not quite right. so, next stop: craftster. again, if you like to make funky crafts and don’t know about this site, go check it out. there were several tutorials for bags on the site and a few for a laptop bag. so, i took some notes and started planning how i might make my own bag. i was discouraged by my big, busy schedule and was considering buying the etsy one, but then we decided to stay home on friday night (instead of going to church camp-out–we went saturday instead) and suddenly, i had a few extra hours! i went upstairs to dig through my fabric. with only a few hours to work, i chose to limit myself to only the supplies i had on hand (although i do plan to add some velcro later–i was out of it and there’s not really a good substitute for that.) i found great fabric for the body and lining of the bag, buttons and elastic to secure the top of the laptop compartment, but what about solid, secure padding to protect my laptop? well, some of the etsy laptop sleeves had been made from felted wool and… i have tons of that! so i dug through my piles of shrunken sweaters and found a lumpy green one that’s really too bulky to make anything out of and decided that the bulk would actually benefit me in this instance. i spent the evening happily cutting out fabric and designing my bag (freehand. no patterns. i didn’t even use the rotary cutter and mat–lots of slanty lines, but i didnt’ care!) while watching mission impossible 3 with mr. h-s (rather bad movie, but fluffy enough that i could still work while watching.). after the movie was over, i took all my cut pieces upstairs to the craft room and began assembling them into a bag. i got most of the inside of the bag done before it was bedtime and i woke up early saturday morning to finish it. wanna see some pictures?

i am thrilled. i love the fabric, i love the design and it was soooooooo nice to set aside time to craft. i’ve been so busy lately that i’ve been denying myself the pleasure of holing up in my craft room to create something from scratch. i loved that the bag challenged me (hmmm…. how do i put these parts together now?) and i also love that i only had to rip out two or three seams. i haven’t yet given it a test run on my bike, but i think it will do fine. and if it needs some adjustments–i can do that! the final version has a padded pocket with button and elastic closure for my computer, two elastic-topped pockets in the front to hold extra cords and what-not, a flat pocket in the back for files and a series of tiny pockets for credit cards, pencils, cell phone, and a loop for keys (idea stolen from craftster and my good friend, “beans”). it already has some cat fur on it because maryann realized how soft and comfy it was (plus, if there’s anything on the countertop–fabric, book, magazine–she’ll lie on that before she’ll lie on the bare counter). oh well.

no, this will likely not become a regular pidoodle option, but i do like the way the star applique turned out and that might make another appearance.

ok. back to the big giant to-do list.

*not related to the super bowl shuffle. or, my fifth-grade social studies project: “the free enterprise shuffle”