Getting my head out of my ...

Self-absorption - it's so easy to get lost in the minutiae of  life - appointments, dates, weekly appointments, daily chores, exercise, walking, reading.  It's time to look outward.  So I have put aside the various techniques on the design wall - all from Glampalot - and have sequed into purses for the SewPowerful initiative.  I worked on these last January.  Last month Louise Ambrose, a lovely Brit, suggested a Sew Powerful Purse sew-a-long beginning on July 3.  And this suggestion was just the push I needed.

So I found my pattern, all 10 pieces, and the directions.  This is a tricky but clever pattern.  And it is perfect for using up precious bits of older fabrics.

Here's a finished purse and a look at the clever front flap with an elasticized pocket.

This flap lifts up, revealing the body of the purse.  There's an outer pocket as well as the inner part of the purse as well.  

I looked through my stash and identified some fabrics that would work well together for these purses, and I got busy.

Straps for four purses

Using two fabrics, each one of these four purses will be just a bit different.

This is the point at which the magic is about to happen.  All parts of the purses have been prepped.  I anticipate some finishes early tomorrow.  That will be a total of five.  And then I can go into a new pile of fabrics.  These purses, part of a hygiene education initiative for girls in Zambia, are satisfying to work on.