The different meanings of "baby bag"

I've been incredibly frustrated with having to sling several bags over my shoulder when toting the kid around, so I decided to make a baby bag big enough to carry all of Sophia's baby stuff, my purse, and any journals I care to bring with me. (Never know when the urge to write will strike.) I told Dane I was making a bag and showed him the pattern I was going to use, and the first thing out of his mouth was "You're going to put the baby in that?!" Silly husband doesn't understand.....

The pattern I used can be found here. There are quite a few tutorials I've found online for baby bags, but I thought this one looked like the most fun to make, and I also thought it would be the sturdiest and longest-lasting. (If I'm dedicating a significant portion of my precious time to this project, then damn it, it better last until this kid is 5 frikkin' years old!)

I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to use up the rest of my On A Whim owl print fabric that's been sitting around forever waiting for the PERFECT project. I just bought some coordinating colors from the fabric store to go with it.

After some mistakes in seam allowance, fusible fleece that didn't want to fuse (and that I ended up buying WAY TOO MUCH of), and a lost magnetic closure, I finally finished the bag. It only took me several days of frequently-interrupted work (babies don't understand patience). And I'm immensely proud of the outcome!

Behold!

I love the elastic compartments on the inside!

And if I wanted to, I really COULD fit the baby in it, a fact that concerns Sophia greatly...

I made a few changes to the pattern as I put it together. The original only has one elastic pocket, but I chose to line both inside compartments with the elastic pockets for extra storage space. I also used scraps of the different prints to make the strap, but that came more out of necessity. I didn't quite have enough left of the owl fabric, so I improvised.

Next project on the agenda is a baby book of different colors!