Journal Notes

My cousin let me know early on that she didn't want a quilt. She didn't want anything from me as she is downsizing (I did make her some bags for grins, pictured elsewhere.) So when she said, "if you really want to make something for me, you could make me a bag for my hurdles" I was surprised and happy! Finally. Yes. Hurdles. Track-and-field hurdles. She is my hero, still competing in the Senior Games in St. George, UT, every year. She had taken one of the previous bags I'd made for her for lugging them around but it was barely doing the trick. I don't think she expected me to try but I had to try! Challenge accepted. First thing was to find a pattern that might work. Obviously, there would be no point in searching for a hurdle bag pattern. She had told me she'd sling the bag over her shoulder to walk to the track so I thought, "sling bag." I thought the Crockett might work, so immediately ordered the pattern. Then time passed as it often does. My goal was to have the bag done by the time she started training in Summer 2026, so I finally got to work by making a practice bag (sling-a-cat). Yes. I think this will work! When she visited I took pictures and measurements. The bag needed to be at least 54" tall and 20" wide, plus thick enough for all of them. I thought I had enough measurements but doubted myself more than once. "It's too big!" "It's not big enough!" She had held the hurdles up and my dumpster was behind her. I found myself running out and remeasuring the dumpster! In the spirit of busting my stash, an ongoing project she knew about and also a quality she respects, I used only what I had on hand. I had purchased the Minnie fabric on sale with the hope that maybe she'd ask me to make her something someday, so I dug around in my stash to find matchy fabrics. The wine colored Grunge did the trick. I also had some very light lavender mini-mesh I thought would work. I had received that and the purple faux leather in a mystery box from Sallie Tomato. There was enough mini mesh but I had to supplement some of the faux leather with plain black. I didn't have all of the hardware I needed in one finish, so the hardware became mix and match. I added more pockets and hardware than the pattern called for, too. I thought some grab handles and extra straps might come in handy for her. I knew the bag was going to be heavy with or without hurdles so I used mesh instead of foam. I didn't quilt the sling-a-cat bag but I felt for the size of this I needed to quilt the fabric. I was glad I did. I used air mesh for the interior pocket which also kept it lighter. I added an air mesh water bottle pocket to the outside. Although heavier than cotton, I did use Sallie Tomato's Turtle Tex for the lining. It is water resistant and I figured for a project that would see outdoor conditions and wear, a heavier lining that could be wiped down to clean would be good. I did buy a couple of zipper charms - couldn't help myself. Running shoes! With a little bit of help from my quality control expert, I finished the bag in just a few days. It looked gigantic but it was the type of bag that the top can be folded down to make it smaller if needed. With a big sigh I packed it up and sent it to her. I was in Scotland when I got the message from her that she'd received it and was thrilled! Everything fit (whew!) The front pocket would fit her measuring tape. That was a fun challenge to tackle and I was grinning ear to ear with the success of it. Now I'm wondering if she'll ask me to make her a bag for the starting blocks and her spikes. Eek.