Nomad Hobo: L7

Well, I finished the Nomad Hobo bag that I ranted about last week. If a picture says a thousand words, what this one says is "meh". That is pretty much how I felt when the last stitch had been sewn on Saturday morning.

My best attempt at artfully slouched.
It will not stay like this on my shoulder.

Aside from my frustrations with the pattern markings and directions, I just don't think it lives up to it's billing. On Fabric.com the description says, "Wear this stunning, roomy bag slung casually over your shoulder for the ultimate in everyday glamour." Quite frankly it is just not the right shape. Empty and full, it looks rather square. Which it is. Oh dear, I'm not really explaining this well. Hmmm. In the drawing, the bag looks like it has wider sides and narrower ends. From the drawing and the description, I thought the bag would kind of slouch into hanging like that (I tried to make it do that in the above photo), and it just doesn't, or at least not in a good way. It ends up feeling very wide under my arm - boxy.

See? Look how very square it is. One big cube!

However, the bag did grow on me during the course of the afternoon. It was such a nice day, that I decided to do some work on the porch, where Phin was grilling. So, I tossed all the things I wanted to work on into the bag to tote outside. Sitting on the porch next to my lawn chair, the bag looked so very cute with all my various crafting junk peeking out of it, that Phin even commented. And it was the perfect shape to reach in and find whatever I needed.

With stuff in it. See? Still square!

That is when I decided that it is actually the perfect bag for a knitter (which I am not) to keep their yarn in or to tote around fabric or other crafty supplies for on-the-go crafting. Also, it would be very good for the supermarket. When I just need to pick up one or two things, I will just stick my wallet and keys into the pocket and go, rather than taking a reusable shopping bag and my purse. So, I think this bag will see some action, just not quite the glamorous future of brunches in Soho with my girlfriends that I had imagined for it.

So, I guess in the end, my assessment is that, although I've lost a hobo bag, I have gained a shopping bag... an irridescent green silk dupioni shopping bag. And in fairness, this is a very cute bag, but it just shouldn't be promoted as a slouchy hobo, but instead as a carry-along craft bag. Ok, gotta run, I have some fabric that needs toting around the house.... or some groceries to pick up or something...