Fat Quarterly Feature: Charlotte Travel Bag

Issue 14 of the Fat Quarterly online magazine came out today, which means that I can finally share the project that kept me company all summer: my Charlotte Travel Bag. I designed this bag back in June using some leather yarn dyed Essex linen and a gorgeous bundle of Bijoux that Bari J sent to me. I love to bring sewing projects along when I travel, but usually a sewing kit alone isn't large enough to hold everything I need to keep me busy for, say, a week. This bag has room for it all, along with a detachable cross body strap for hands free carrying. It also has a fold over top (similar to my recent Rosette Clutch), pockets galore, and a few pieces of hardware, but really it's just a big fancy zipper pouch.

As for the name? My husband and I had been watching some of our favorite Jane Austen movies back at the end of spring. I was thinking about this bag one night when I recalled that scene from Pride and Prejudice (the iconic Colin Firth version, of course) where Lizzie has come to visit her newlywed friend Charlotte. Charlotte is explaining how her husband stays busy elsewhere most of the time while she enjoys spending the day quietly in her own sitting room. "I find that I can bear the solitude quite cheerfully," she says with a meaningful smile.

While I am blessed with a far superior husband to that of fictional Charlotte, I can certainly appreciate a few quiet moments with my needle and thread and the goodies I've been packing in this happy bag. If you'd like to do the same, you can purchase your copy of Fat Quarterly's summer issue here.