This originally posted in the fall of 2009. So much has changed since then but I still love this bag (and Nikol, we still talk often, but not every day - work and kids and life keep us both crazy busy).
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My very dear friend asked for a handbag. That was it, she just wanted me to make her a handbag. I, being very obtuse at the time, kept asking her what she wanted and she answered ... a handbag with embroidered birds, yo-yo flowers, button flowers, green hippo fabric, a pocket for her water bottle with waterproof fabric, and more that I can't even remember. And then it hit me ... she just wanted me to make her a handbag, one that I created for her from my mind and heart, not a special specific order. I threw all the ideas that she'd given me, save one, out the window and made this bag.



Nikol has been a huge source of support and sanity to me through this separation/divorce process. She has patiently listened to my crying and carrying on on an almost daily basis (not daily anymore ... we often talk daily, but the crying is much rarer now). I owe her far more than a handbag as a thank you for her love and support. I have no idea how I'll ever repay her for all she has done for me (maybe a million handbags and a zillion bags of Belly Flops for starters).



Below is the hippo fabric she asked for (the one idea of hers that I did incorporate). It is lining the inside pocket. The pocket and the rest of the lining is a shirt from her husband ... I thought that was such a sweet idea.



The ribbon on the front is threaded through two eyelets and can be changed in less than 1/2 a second.