Joy-tastic

Today was one of those super great kind of days. I got to work more on my messenger bag, and I received a swap package from Laurie. I can't properly explain how happy I was when I got inside that envelope. Such delicious eye candy! My eyes could eat it all day ;D and At least I wouldn't get any more cavities, heh!
As for my bag, today I worked on overall construction. I made a mistake ordering my fabric, and shorted myself on the pod dot. I should have ordered a quarter yard more, but since I didn't; I had to make it work. I did that by sewing together the 1/8th yard I had left and joined it to the 8"xWOF strap piece I already had. The strap ended up being a comfortable length for a strapped purse, but not as long as I like a messenger style bag to be. I don't know yet if I can wear it across my chest. We'll see. I also worked on the lining! I did my first zipper pocket today. It was definitely a learning experience.
I made the hole for the zipper a smidgen too long. I patched the ends with little tabs of fabric to cover that boo-boo. Over all, I'm mighty pleased with myself so far :D This was one of my modifications to the pattern directions (it called for two patch pockets. I made one patch and one zippered). My other modification is going to be to add a tie to the opening of the bag to help keep my things in there. I'm not confident enough to make a zippered purse (and I wouldn't even know how to add one to this kind of project). Maybe if I find a pattern or tutorial with one I'll give it a try.