Quasi finita...

Quasi finita... almost done. I do love my creation, but I am getting sick of looking at this bag. It happens to all of us. We work on something for such a long time, that by the time we finish it we are just over it and onto the next. My strategy is to set it aside and put it out of sight for a few days. Then, when I look at it again, I have a hard time believing that I made it.

I hesitated in posting these because it's not quite there just yet. Just when I thought I was finished, I decided the straps are still not long enough. Of course this genius idea requires 4 additional "gimelli" which I did not have. Fortunately one of my classmates was venturing out to Scandicci to buy other materials so she picked them up for me, otherwise, it would have been a half day's adventure to get these four tiny little metal pieces. It is so unlike me to not buy several extra components of something I might need, but one of the things I have started to practice is the art of conservation. This is second nature to most Italians. They use and re-use. In school, we use every single inch of leather. Nothing goes to waste, and we find a use for everything. They do not buy in bulk and they do not over-buy anything. This holds true for materials, clothing, food. They buy what they need, and I too (if you can believe it!) have made this my new habit.

Unless I decide to make additional laborious changes this bag will soon be complete. I decided to move onto the next project, and will complete my tracolla in my downtime. 

In the next few days I hope to update you on some of the things I've been doing during my free time, including several trips to the seaside as well as the most incredible Dave Matthews concert I have seen to date. I will be in NY August 1-September 2. And then I shall return...