Pattern Testing! Lombard Street Cross Body Hipster

(I apologize in advance, I'm not an amazing photographer by any means, so the pictures aren't anything to write home about.)

I was very lucky to be picked to test a pattern from ChrisW Designs, her Lombard Street Cross Body Hipster.  I have done pattern testing before, but for much simpler things that only took a few hours.  She asked for it in one weekend, so I didn't want to disappoint and I cranked it out.  Seventeen (yes, SEVENTEEN!!) interrupted hours later, I had a gorgeous bag that I can't stop staring at. 

First, the fabric: perhaps the most important part of a purse, it has to compliment your pattern and be awesome.  Sometimes I find the pattern first, sometimes I find the fabric first.

This fabric has been calling my name since I first glanced at it.  The purple is Adventures by RJR fabrics, and my pictures do not capture how cool it is!  There were a few others in the running, but this one won out.

Then it was just a matter of gathering other supplies and waiting for the pattern to be ready.  I couldn't find the oval eyelets for the straps, and I didn't have time to wait for them to ship from overseas, so the strap ended up being similar in style to another adjustable strap purse.

I do all my sewing on the dining room table (it has light pink carpet, I'm not about to let my kids eat there!) and even with all that space, it still gets a little crowded.

Here was my stopping point for the first day, after 6 hours of (interrupted) sewing.  The week before the test, I gave in and finally ordered the red Clover clips, mainly to use for binding quilts, but they worked great for holding the fabric to the thicker foam.

The next day I jumped back into sewing, right after lunch...thinking that I had only a few more hours left since I was SO CLOSE to being done.  HAHAHAHAHA, no.  :|

I did stop to wipe butts, give baths, and feed the Children (I may have forgotten to do that the day before, but they are becoming excellent scavengers/grazers and know how to pester their Dad for food too),  but it was 11 hours later that I finally was able to stand back and do my happy dance of being done!  1 am, I haven't seen you in a while!  (My happy dance looks a lot like a Muppet flailing, in case you were wondering.)

My obligatory 'OMG I FINISHED!' picture taken at 1 am:

How cool is this purse?? It even has a padded and zippered Ipad pocket on the back!  The front is amazing with all the pockets, including a cell phone pocket and another zippered pocket.  The inside has more slip pockets and a recessed zipper top.

Here's a slightly better 'glamor' shot.  This is as good as I get people!

I have to thank Christine for letting me test and being so patient with my questions!  She was so much fun to chat with over email and I can't wait to make more of her purses!  I have her Sugar and Spice pattern calling my name, but first back to the other projects I jumped over to work on this!  My sewing list is never ending and constantly being shuffled!