You might remember my desire to expand my horizons in earlier posts. Well, about a month ago, a friend in the fabric industry asked me to design a bag for her. My first reaction was Wow! She's asking me! Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Thankful she thought of me. Then set in the panic of "Can I do what she is asking?" But, I finally said to myself, just do it. What's the worst that can happen? She can say, "Sorry, that's not what I was looking for." And, we'll move on. If I don't try it, I'll never know.

So, I finally set down, and starting looking at the features of bags that I like. It has to be big enough to hold stuff. But, not so big you need a tow truck to carry it. The handles need to be sturdy, but not too short, or not too long. There has to be pockets. I made the first one out of muslin...tweaked a few details. Then I just pulled some fabrics off my shelf and made one to send in for approval. I chatted with another friend during this process...should I do this? should I do that? do you think this is what she wants? Oh, the stress! In the middle of this, I finally realized that I have changed positions in life. For 15 years, I was the one asking someone else to create something. Now, I'm the one creating. Is this how all of those quilt designers felt as they awaited hearing from me?

Now I'm watching the UPS tracking document with baited breathe. Can it really take 8 days to make it from Iowa to New York? Apparently the answer is Yes! I think today is the day the package will arrive. Is she going to like it? Is she going to say "What was she thinking?" I don't want to bug her, I know she's very busy...but do you think she'll respond today?

Cross your fingers for me...I'm crossing my fingers, my toes, my legs....