Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag!

One can never have too many bags right? Well that is the theory I operate under.  I do have quite a collection of bags, especially ones that are used for carrying around my various crochet, knitting or crafting projects.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on point-of-view) I tend to wear my bags out. Eventually they begin to look fairly ragged and sad. They may still be used around the house or demoted to shopping bag status at that point.

An opening in the queue though, means I need a new bag, and I’m always on the search for a bag that is beautiful, functional and durable. A trifecta that is not always easy to manage.

Enter my friend Jan, who is an enabler extraordinaire when we go shopping together. Jan has an amazing bag that she travels with to our many conferences, it’s a bit like Dr. Who’s Tardis in the amount of stuff she seems able to fit in it.  At the Indianapolis Knit & Crochet Show she told me it was a Vera Bradley bag.

Then the real trouble began, the hotel we were staying in was connected by walkway to a very nice upscale mall, and Jan had been exploring there during her free-time one day. I hadn’t had all that much free-time myself, so on Sunday after the show market floor had closed we decided to go over there.

And Jan pointed toward the Vera Bradley store. Oh My!

As many of you that know me personally can attest to, I like color.  Brilliant, Flamboyant, Bright Color.  The Vera Bradley store looked like color Nirvana to me.  I was drawn inside it like the proverbial moth to flame.

I knew I was in real trouble when I spotted this tote bag. Not only was it beautifully colorful, it was in my favorite colors. The patterned fabric it is accented with is called “Heather”. This is a signature Vera Bradley fabric that I really like. Though it was hard to narrow down to a favorite initially, the tote bag helped me make up my mind.

I had to wait for the bag to be shipped to me, as I already had a full suitcase for the flight home from the conference. But I did purchase this handy little cosmetic case to take along with me.

Since the bag’s arrival here on the mountain it has rapidly become my favorite. It is wonderfully designed and constructed. There are 2 generous outside pockets that are ideal for my water bottle and other necessities.

The inside is just as wonderful as the outside, with seams completely covered and reinforced, plus a nice sized zippered pocket (handy storage for stitch markers and scissors), and a reinforced polka-dotted fabric bottom flap. The solid color sides are a sturdy twill fabric that I am hoping will stand up to some wear, and the outside seams are reinforced with a vinyl leather-like piping that help it stand up and should help with wear as well.

This was the larger of the 2 bags they had in this style, but I am thinking I may be acquiring some of the smaller sized ones for individual projects. Because, you can’t have too many bags. Right?