Ready or Not

And at my back I always hear, the first day of classes hurrying near. *  I do these days, anyway: syllabi to review, websites to prepare, semester overviews to assemble.  Still, it’s not like I can’t find a little time for sewing.  Here’s the laptop sleeve I said I was going to sew up:

 

I originally thought I was going to do a tutorial on this and took bunches of process photos but then at  the final stages realized I had made an oops or two and needed to adjust in process.  So much for the earlier photos making sense.  Oh, well.  Still, I got most of what I wanted out of this project.

One, finally using a pretty fabric I’ve been saving.  It’s a heavier weight cotton imported from Japan.  I love the pattern, the colors, the texture.  A project of this size really allows me to see and appreciate the fabric.  There are some fabrics that are just to0 beautiful to cut up!

Two, I’ve never gotten terribly good at manipulating the touch pad, so I still like to take a mouse with me even when I’m on the move.  Most of the laptop sleeve patterns I’ve seen will fit only the laptop itself.  The pocket is for the mouse (and a wallet, too, if I decide I need to just hop over to a coffee shop for some writing fun).  You can’t tell from the photo, but I even added a couple pleats for fullness.  Very uptown.

Three, I found the perfect button at Joann’s.

And here’s a little focus on the oopsie.  I was totally off in estimating how much depth I needed for the flap – that colored strip is “the fix.”  I kind of like the way it looks as if I was being intentionally stylish instead of having a “duh” math challenged moment (not to worry, I teach English).

I’m still debating adding some D rings onto the side.  Then I could create a shoulder strap and use this as a general tote as well.

Still ahead – possibly, how much of a glutton for punishment am I is the relevant question here:  So, possibly, just possibly, I’ll take one last run at an Ipod case.

 

*  With all due apologies to Andrew Marvell, who wrote what may be my most beloved poem of all, To His Coy Mistress.