Brand New Bag

Many years ago, in New Mexico, I attempted to teach some teenaged girls to sew.  I designed a simple tote bag, provided their favorite colors and some sewing machines, and thought my directions would be pretty easy to follow.  As it turned out, the time was short.  A well-meaning grandmother finished some of them off.  I'm not sure whether I ever saw any of the bags in use. 

But I used mine.  I've carried scriptures, lesson manuals, music books, and extra papers to church in my purple bag.  Last year, when I was asked to lead Cub Scouts instead of teaching a Sunday class, I started leaving my purple bag home.  I told the younger boys that they could start bringing their own drawing paper.  I thought maybe it was time to create a smaller bag, just for my scriptures. 

Of course, before I got around to it, I was asked to play the piano for the children's meetings at church.  I pulled out my old purple bag to carry my large music book.  One strap was being held on by a safety pin.  I fixed that, then found little rips in the bottom.  It was time for a new bag, after all.

I bought some decorator fabric and a nice plain lining, but thought I should do something more to keep it whole.  So I reinforced the bottom of the bag with a piece of denim from my never-ending supply.

I added the lining and one of my few decorative stitches,

and, voilà!  Mama's got a brand new bag.