Happy Birthday to Me! (A Finished Friday Post)

Some lovely, generous relatives gave me money for my birthday this year, and I used some of it to make this backpack for T from Little Things to Sew.   I feel a little guilt because the fabric was a bit of a splurge, but also because there are an infinite number of More Practical items for which I could have used the money.  Aren't there always, though?

I chose the lion fabric after much internal struggle.  I love the dragons, but in addition to the fabric being out of stock, T likes real animals better.  Well, the idea of real animals.  He's afraid of most of the animals we encounter on a daily basis.

In a way this backpack was more for me, too.  T could probably care less about the fabric, or about the time and effort used to construct the backpack.  I just wanted to have a little project to do; sewing is extremely cathartic, much more so than knitting.  

My only modification to the pattern was to add heavyweight fusible interfacing to the outer fabric and straps. I knew that the weight of the quilting cotton would be too flimsy to hold its shape, and the interfacing would give it some shape.

The inside of the bag is completely lined.  I love the surprise lions and tigers that greet me when I unzip it.

There's enough fabric for me to make a matching cassetina.  It won't be ready in time for T's birthday, but hopefully it will be before Greek School starts back up in the fall.