The famous Kenmore complete with hand drawn instructions from the 70's

the powerhouse

Sooo, I mean sew.... I thought it would be a grand idea to pursue a Pinterest project while I was back in Seymour for a week which consisted of making a homemade camera case.  This way my black camera case wouldn't be so ugly and scream "I'm carrying a DSLR - come steal me!".  Now it just says, "I look like I'm a purse, I have money in me... come steal me!"  oh well.

I started by hauling out my mom's sewing machine that was new when they got married which I won't disclose how many years it was now... well, you get the point...

trying my eyes, hand and foot at a simple stitch, not too shabby

The only other time the machine was used or oiled was by me in high school when I thought it was a brilliant idea to sew a leather purse out of Angie Steffen's old leather coat which basically broke most of the needles and bent the remaining ones.  I was really getting into it for a while in my younger days, then I went to college and found different hobbies.  The other time we could remember that the Kenmore was brought out of storage was for Bill Winsand who used the gem of a machine to fix his torn snowmobile suit - another "soft" fabric as you can imagine!  Let's just say, it doesn't get used, but when it does - we expect industrial quality! haha!

the fabric covered foam inserts with velcro for attachment

I picked up fabric and foam from JoAnns and a purse from target to get the party started.  It took a lot of patience and some thread from my Grandma Marsh (because not a store in Seymour sells thread, I know, I looked... for hours).  I talked with Grandma a bit about sewing and how it's a lost art.  I only wish I had a little more time to learn the fancy tricks of the sewing machine and sew a few side projects.  My mom's machine doesn't do any of the fun stitches that I needed (or I couldn't figure out how to make it work).

After many hours of labor, I really do love my new camera purse.  It's just enough padding to keep the camera save and allow me to for-go looking like a mega tourist every time I step out of my house.  It has a little side pocked for memory cards, and I can fit my phone and wallet in with the camera and lenses - WIN.  If you're a camera junkie and you're sick of the nasty back cases, I highly recommend this project!

Maybe this will be motivation to take up another domestic hobby... 

...during my retirement I fear.