Rocky Mountain National Park Handbag

A couple months ago I got a surprise package in the mail from my friend Barb. As an aside, there are very few things more satisfying than an unexpected package in the mail. Barb and I are science and quilting buddies, you may remember her as the microscopist who took the picture that inspired my photoreceptor quilt.

Evidently her friend Forest purchased a bunch of these small Rocky Mountain National Park panels based on vintage park posters and pictures. They ranged from about 3x3 to 5x7 inches. Barb had more than she had stuff to do with so she kindly sent some to me!

I'm a big national park fan, I hope someday to visit them all, but I've not yet been to Rocky Mountain.  Initially I wasn't sure what to do with the panels since they were so small, but after looking at them for a while I decided the vintage styling would be great as a mid-century inspired handbag. 

I'd purchased some wooden purse handles online a while back with no particular project in mind, but figured this would be a great chance to use them. I sketched several different shapes, but the maximum size was limited by the panels. I wound up piecing them together and adjusting my pattern a bit as I went to be able to fit the panels. 

The exterior is interfaced with automotive headliner fabric and the lining is interfaced with sf101. I put only a single zip pocket inside and a magnetic closure, so it's a fairly simple bag. 

I think it turned out really cute, and it's the perfect size for the amount of stuff I want to carry, a critical aspect since the amount of stuff I carry expands to fill whatever receptacle I'm dragging along with me.