Patterns- and whether or not to follow them

Okay, I have to confess first off: I am notoriously bad at following patterns. I have a LOT of proof that supports that statement, believe me! lol I start off following, then either get bored or think I know what I am doing- and invariably, I end up doing something wrong. Most of the time I can make it work out alright, but sometimes that just isn't good enough.

So right now I have cut out pattern pieces for a bag I want to make and I HAVE to follow the pattern. It is a professional tote bag and I want to bring it on our trip to Italy this summer- so it has to be right.

Last summer we traveled to Portugal. It was my very first trip to Europe and my husband was quite insistent that we travel light, no checking luggage. We each had a carry-on roller suitcase and one personal item only, for a two-week trip. For the personal item, Rich brought his soft sided briefcase and I brought a backpack. The backpack was large, had a lot of pockets, and could be hung from my suitcase (although not well). My plan had been to use the backpack in lieu of a purse when needed and for things I would want during travel.

Bad plan. The bright pink and black backpack was too large to wear every day, flipped around on my suitcase, and though this is a small thing, didn't match anything I had to wear. Seeing as we traveled light, I wanted to get the most options out of a minimum amount of items- and all of my travel clothes are colour-coordinated in black, red, white, and tan.

Last fall a friend of mine posted a photo of a bag she had made for a friend of hers, and it occurred to me that a bag like that would be better suited for me for traveling. I kept a look out for fabrics I liked and bought them as I saw them. Mostly red and black of course- to match my clothes and also to keep from showing dirt.

I cut out all of the pieces yesterday and attached the appropriate ones to the Decor Bond, the fusible interfacing the pattern calls for. And that is as far as I have gotten. It would probably be best if I took the time to read through the instructions thoroughly before going any further, don't you think? lol

I figured if I committed myself to posting my progress online, I might be able to keep my wandering tendencies at bay, at least until I finish this bag. Personally, I think going outside of a pattern, exploring what you THINK might work rather than going with what you KNOW will, sometimes teaches you volumes more than you would learn otherwise, and also lends itself to opening your own creativity, which is so important.

But that being said; I really like this fabric and can't buy any more of it, and it's already February... so I think in this instance, I should really adhere to the given instructions. Maybe someday I will design a bag of my own. Oh. Then I would have to write instructions for someone else to blow off... lol