Nappy Diaper Bag and Changing Mat

A dear friend from grad school is having a baby! I happened to have a diaper bag/changing mat pattern that I was itching to try out, and I also happen to be a 4th year med student (wait, I am done with rotations, does that mean I can call myself a physician?!) with oodles of time to craft on my hands. Yay for those moments when needs and desires actually are met by resources!

Here she is - the Nappy Diaper Bag:

Look at all these pockets!

Cell phone pocket, isn't she cute?


And the very lovely Diaper Changing Mat
With cover:

Without cover:

Fully exposed:


Details:
Pattern: Amy Butler (yes, I am an addict) Nappy Diaper Bag and Baby Changing Mat
Fabric: Embroidered linen blend from my stash (in years past, it has been my habit to aspire to make curtains. I would give buy an insufficient amount for said curtains, give up and throw the aforementioned fabric into stash.) And a very cute green and white polkadot print from here. And white terry cloth for changing mat.
Notions: Cotton batting for changing mat; button-hole foot for changing mat bag drawstring; lightweight iron-on interfacing; duckcloth (provides stability for main exterior panels of diaper bag).
Comments:
Diaper bag first. This is my first solo bag, and I really put some blood, sweat and tears into it - literally (I poked myself with pins about 10 million times. Note to self, break habit of sticking yourself with sharps prior to upcoming ER and medicine rotations as an intern.) I am really happy with the finished product, but boy, with all the fabric and pockets and linings and interfacing, is this bag sturdy. I think my friend could throw her baby in here without worry. For the same reason, it's also a little heavy. Next time, I should remember to use a lighter weight fabric. I also might lose the phone pocket - Mer, you'll have to tell me how handy this little guy actually is. I also might try to make the straps a little longer for an over the shoulder bag, and maybe it needs some sort of snap closure because right now, the bag is totally open without any sort of closure. Again Mer, please give me all sorts of feedback. I really like all the inside pockets though I might lose one of the bottle pockets the next time around. All in all, I love it! Very excited to gift to my friend and to make more!
Baby changing mat: This pattern is awesome. No changes. I just want to remind myself next time when doing the stitching across the batting to stitch the ends on either side first - otherwise the excess fabric gets all bunched up at one of the sides. This probably makes no sense, but hopefully, I will remember what I am talking about.