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UPDATE:  The Starling Handbag crochet pattern for the purse above is now available on the free downloads page.  Yay!
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The handbag above is mine, all mine.  I *love* this handbag.  If you make stuff (and if you are reading my blog, you probably do), I suggest you make one (of whatever it is that you make) for yourself.  It feels so good to spoil yourself the same way you like to spoil other people.

I'm not a handbag connoisseur.  I like having a cute purse, but I usually buy cheapies from Claire's or Target.  The only reason I made myself this bag is because my last one was starting to come apart.  It was just too ridiculous for me to buy another $15 purse when I freakin' make purses.

I modeled my handbag after the one I created for Bitter Betty.  Instead of the anatomical heart cameo, I decided on the three blood drips.  My concept here is Asian Horror Movie ... which is why the blood is dripping *up* the purse.  I left the drip ends open, like I did on BB's handbag. I like that the blood drips kind of resemble simple flowers.  I also like how they look a lot like this awesome Alexander Henry fabric that I'm seeing on everyone's blog.  I *must* get some of that fabric!

Not only is it nice to spoil yourself, but now that I'm carrying around one of the handbags I sell, I can see first hand how it performs in the real world, which is invaluable information.  You can see that the handles have stretched a little after weeks of use, but they still are in proportion - thank goodness.

I put a pocket in my purse that is split into a 4" pocket for my cell phone, a 3" pocket for my headset (I put lotion in it for the picture), and a 1" pocket to hold a pen. (Sorry Bethany, I didn't think of the pen thing for yours.)

Just for fun, I thought I'd show you what is in my purse.  Let's see ... my organizer, my wallet (with blue paint chip tucked in the front pocket because I liked that the color was named "Confidence"), lip gloss, sunscreen lip gloss for car trips, ear plugs for live shows (the purple things in their carrying case), cough drops, cinnamon Listerine strips, hand sanitizer, lotion, a pen, yarn scraps in a zip lock for fabric matching (sticking out of the organizer), tissues, mace, and spiked brass knuckles (on the left, under the keys).  You probably shouldn't sneak up on me if you recognize me on the street.