F i E L D y: Oppor-chancities.

I was fortunate enough to be commissioned to make a bag by a lovely lady (another stallholder) I met at the Spring Fling at the Creggans Inn recently. My being there was a complete fluke - the owner had bought a few items from me for a small shop they have in the hotel and whilst in conversation she asked if I would be interested in taking one of the 2 stalls left for the event which was happening the following week. I jumped at the chance, as did Isobel, so the next week found us driving up to Loch Fyne on a beautiful spring day - the drive alone was worth it!

I had last been to The Creggans about 14/15 years ago - it was the best hotel in the Argyll area and all the actors and the Director of a film I was working on stayed there (it was my first ever film job and it came with a hire car, was filming in the most beautiful locations in Scotland and was starring Colin Firth - I thought I had died and gone to heaven!) It was on this film that I first met Caireen (she was the Assistant Art Director and I a lowly art dept. runner) and we have been good friends ever since!

I was interested to see what, if anything, had changed and I was delighted to see how lovely the interiors are now. The hotel has had a complete overhaul and is both stylish and comfortable plus it has the most amazing views over Loch Fyne. The event itself was very jolly - the local community turned out in force - but sales were poor and I only sold a few things and all to other stallholders! However, it was not a complete bust as I delivered my order for the hotel and got paid and was asked by Fiona to make a bag. It was to be based on the leather bag that she had with her which was her ideal bag but with straps that were a touch too short. So I took some measurements and a couple of photo's, Fiona chose her tweed and, after several emails back and forth, the result was this...

I made the bag with a dark tweed on the bottom as I thought the light tweed would get dirty quicly.

and I lined the inside with a vibrant turquoise......

The handles were webbing which I ran a length of tweed up to te in with the bag which works well but if I make a bag like this again I would probably just use webbing as it works fine as it is....

It's a very simple bag but I am so chuffed with it! I had to figure it all out for myself - make the pattern and work out how to construct it with fabric stabiliser and interlining - I even did my first magnetic clasp! It looks like a proper thing! Best of all Fiona was delighted with it and that's what really counts - I was very nervous about showing it to her - it is very different making something specifically for someone rather than just making something on spec, hoping that someone will buy it.

Also from this one event, thanks to the generosity of some of the other crafters there, I have been invited to participate in two very interesting shows in that area. Both events are on consecutive weekends in May and I am very excited about taking part in them.

The first is a weekend event on the 14/15 May at Loch Fyne and the second is on the 22nd May at Benmore Botanic Gardens. Both events look to be really good fun and I can't wait. They are the sort of events that I would go to anyway as a punter so to be taking part in them is great. It has also given me something to focus on - a sort of deadline - which I sometimes need in order to get motivated and get making. I have a few ideas for some new-style bags (Fiona's bag has given me confidence to experiment more), camera cases and more besides!