My mum always called me ‘last minute Larry’. I’ve spent my whole life trying to prove her wrong, but you know how it is with mothers – they never are.

The bag was troublesome. For a start it was from a real pattern, a Butterick. You know how it is with commercial bag patterns – always too many bits to cut out. I spent about an hour searching through the four pieces of tissue for the right pieces for the right bag. It was obviously too much to ask that with four bags in the envelope and four pieces of pattern tissue that there could be one bag per sheet…

Cutting out wasn’t straightforward either: the main piece of fabric was chosen by my friend from my stash and it’s upholstery fabric that I used to cover a chair. After I’d cut out the main panels there wasn’t anywhere quite tall enough for the side panels. I think it was about here that I started to utter the sewing prayer, which isn’t so much a prayer as a lot of swear words said sotto voce.

The contrast band was attached without too much fuss aside from not looking quite long enough on one side. If I thought it wouldn’t matter I was wrong. The sides were sewn together to make a tube and the bottom had to be sewn on in one piece. The big bunches of fabric at the seams darn near killed me, my machine and every needle I had. So, sighing heavily when it was done, I turned it inside out and found the contrast band on one side flapping, unattached to the bottom of the bag. Unpick, restitch, break another needle.

Better than that – break for tea. I came back upstairs to find this:

It’s a good job my friend loves cats.

I decided that the only way I’d get it finished would be to sew to Jane Austen. I often do this when I’m sewing, as long as it’s a dvd I know well. I’ll often stop to look at a favourite scene, and always tune in for the weeping at the end. This time I chose Persuasion , which is fantastic, and so much better than the recent ITV version, with Anne running about Bath at the end, which she just bloody well wouldn’t be. Also I fancy Ciaran Hinds a lot. Is it wrong? Who knows. Where was I?

Stitching the lining! Simple. Easy. Right up until you notice you’ve attached one of the panels backwards. I swear I was doing more sewing with my seam ripper. Deterred, but not to be beaten I carried on, attaching the lining finally, and then turning everything right way out to do the top stitching. Except the material was so thick at the seams it just didn’t fit under the presser foot so there are gaps.

All in all this was one of the most frustrating projects I’ve ever done. If she doesn’t carry all of her things in it for the rest of her life ... Mind you, I do rather like it now that it’s done.