Rag bag or shirt-bag

I have been on a crafting high, as you can tell from the daily posting. I want to share my crafting with the world! Today, I spent about three hours making a shirt-bag (or purse) for my niece. I made the pattern with the help of a tutorial at www.craftster.org, a website that may become my go-to source for inspiration. The bag was a piece of cake, which makes me happy. Instant gratification feels soooo good.

Here is the story behind the bag. My brother-in-law is in at least one band at any given moment. I have a T-shirt from his band Slopsycle. I can't remember how I got it, but it doesn't fit me or anyone else in the house. It's a tubular shirt, size adult large, nice sturdy fabric. Other family members have the same shirt in a size that fits them. I have a vague bad feeling when I see the shirt worn by everyone else. I see it worn in almost disrespectful, and definitely not edifying, situations. For example, "Let's get stinky and sweat a lot on this hot summer day, while we wear our (implied, "worthless") Slopsycle shirts for cutting down trees across the creek." The shirt ought to be worn in public, with pride, edifying the greatness that is Joe (and his band) rather than in a place for shirts that are almost ready for the "rag bag."

Thus, the YakPak rip-off in three hours or less. My niece will get a nice, meaningful gift, an homage to the creativity of Joe and his fellow band members. People seeing her will get a glimpse of the band that they ought to know but never knew it until they saw her shirt-bag. That is win-win! (No pictures here until the gift is opened.)