Afternoon bag

This was left on my desk at work the other day. I have already thanked my lovely friend for her wonderful gift. This is just what my other tomatoes needed, someone they can look up to and aspire to be like.
Tried a new scone recipe from the Levain Bakery blog (New York) and even though my scones do not look at all like the ones in their pictures, they taste great. Loaded with oats and half and half, I omitted the raisins but they were a hit at breakfast.
I went to my first auction just after we moved here. It was in Barnhartvale and I was the lucky bidder on a box of junk. I can't remember everything that was in that box but my reason for bidding on it was that it contained a huge jar full of clothes labels. So this afternoon I picked out my favourite or ones that have meaning for me and made a bag following the instructions from Clare Youngs book, The Perfect Handmade Bag. Well, I sort of followed the steps in the book. The one thing I did change was sewing the labels onto a backing - she suggests sewing the labels together by hand. I tried that and there is no way I would have got this bag done in one afternoon. I first glued them onto the fabric and then I stitched them on by machine.
I used my old jean shirt for the top of the bag. I used the buttonhole band and the button band so that the bag can be closed if I so choose. The lining of the bag is from my fabric stash - wood grained fabric and the pocket from my jean shirt is sewn on the inside of the bag. The brown floral fabric I chose for the back of the bag is one of my favourites.
For the handle, I used an old fabric belt that has been hanging in my sewing room for quite some time. The bag is 12 inches square and is the perfect size for around town or for travelling.