As you may have been able to tell for the abundant knitting and dyeing projects I've been working on and writing about, my sewing machine hasn't seen a whole lot of action.  Other than a bit of occasional work on a few quilt tops, my dear Bernina has been downright lonely.  

Lucky for it, my partner's backpack had a thing or two to say about my diligent machine being underutilised.  

This backpack has seen many countries, countless adventures, and has held up well when times were tough- and my partner wanted to invest in prolonging its life so that it may see many more wonderful years.  

The back part of the strap was perfectly solid, so I cut away the top part that frayed into nothingness and left the part that was strong.

Using a quilting foot and a jean needle for my machine, I attached this heavy duty nylon backpack material to the strap that lasted.  I'm pretty sure my machine wasn't thrilled that this tough job was what got us going again, but it held up like the warrior it is and after a lot of fussing and turning, the pieces of fabric were locked in.

As you can tell from the photo above though, there was only so much I could do with the machine.  Which meant the rest had to be done by hand.  

The process of pushing and pulling the needle through these tough layers of fabric was enough to make my finger tips feel like I touched a pan that came right out of the oven.  For once in my life I actually considered getting a thimble.  Each side needed to be hand stitched in to ensure security and strength.  My finger may never forgive me, but I got the job done.  

With the straps in far better shape, this rough and tough backpack got loaded up for our next adventure.

A little get away to one of my favourite places, Montana.  Here I rewarded my tired hands with delicious wool silk blends and a good bit of relaxing.  

Stay sweet, stay cozy, and stay tuned.