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I know, it’s not my usual sewing mantra, usually I manage to put so many straight pins in a project that I need to grab the wire cutters in order to extract a few when I’m finished.

But tonight I managed to sew a clear vinyl bag from some clear vinyl that was in the selvage bin at a deep discount because it was ruined.

“You can’t iron it!” The woman at the counter scolded, scolded, me as I scooped it up.

I figured the flat bits would be good enough for wallet windows and clear pockets so no big deal if I had to throw away the wrinkles.

So I cleaned up the sewing area and fickled around for a while trying to think of how I could mess it up again– and a tote sounded like a good quicky project. Then it occurred to me that I often iron things that I shouldn’t, so I cut off some of the vinyl, stuck it between two sheets of paper and ironed the snot out of it. It did grow somewhat, so I cut two pieces for the front and back of the tote to about the size I wanted, then ironed the snot out of those (between two sheets of paper) and lo–! Still a little wobbly but not nearly as bad as before.

Right on. Trim the vinyl back to the desired size.

Next thing I know I have the sewing machine ready with a roller foot and leather needle. Try a few different stitches on a scrap, decide I like one. I stick the pieces together, sew the seams, clip the gussets, sew the gussets– turn the thing inside out and..

Are you ready for this?

A tote bag. Constructed entirely without the assistance of pins; a fact that sort of freaks me out. It was so fast, nothing broke or died, and I didn’t even feel compelled to throw the sewing machine out the window.

P.S. No pictures because the husband has joined a cult that forsakes the convenience of  batteries for digital cameras. It’s rather upsetting.