I am so behind on all the things I want to post about! I wanted a travel bag and so bought a pattern for the Cooper Bag. After I bought the pattern, I realized that I would never make it unless I scheduled a time. So, I signed up for a class at Gather Here– 3 evenings in May. It was a lot of fun to get out of the house and make something completely different and spend time with other makers!

Here it is, all finished, front and back.

And the inside-

And here I am, testing it out on my recent trip to NYC.

My thoughts on it after my trip. It is a great size for an overnight or weekend bag. I could fit everything I needed into it. It is too big for what I want in an everyday bag though, so that means I need to find something else to cover that. I think I would prefer strap closure to the snaps (or in addition to)- the snaps worked well but if I tried to over-stuff, even a little, I couldn’t secure the bag closed. I wish it had a secure outside pocket for things like tickets. The pockets at the bottom back edge are so public (?)- it felt like anything I put there could so easily be slipped out by someone behind me. I put an umbrella in one and a notebook in another. Those are all minor criticisms though- the bag worked well for my trip and I know I will get a LOT of use out of it!