A bag made from ties

I have been looking at a great tute on craftster for a while now, It was for a messenger bag made almost completly of neckties. I loved the look of it and wanted to give it a go. The other morning I woke up and decided to take on the challenge with the help of my new sewing machine. (It needed a challenge!) So I collected the required 15 ties and some lovely eggplant suede and away I went.
This is the result of my effort. (I actually think it turned out better than the original!)

I confess I have another 20 ties.. I bought them this morning..lol
And while I was in the opshop I had the coolest experince. A older woman laughed when she saw me sitting on the concrete floor with the ties all spread out in groups of five. I told her the project I was creating demanded this behaviour. She immeadiatly wanted to know what I was making, along with techniques. When she found out, she laughed with delight and immeadiatly started helping, pulling ties off the rack and helping me sort colour groups and order. She found some great ties I had missed and gave some very good advice. I asked if she was a quilter, she just said she did some crafts with a warm smile. I wanted to hug her. I left smiling.
Life is Good.