"La Chute" Book Bag - Whiplash

Making something for this edition of Whiplash should have been easy - I already work with recycled materials, but I wanted to enter something different from my usual fare. I found my inspiration in the Winter edition of Marie Claire Idees, which arrives in my part of the world mid-January. A feature on the scrappiest of scrap art included a bag that, for me, looked challenging.

I used the tiny scraps from my scrap bag (usually I save them to stuff pillows) for patches, part of an old Harris tweed coat for a base, buttons from the odd button jar and split thread that was leftover from an embroidery project. What was really hard for me was trying to make the stitches uneven - the charm of the original design was in the clumsy stitches. I had great fun NOT being "perfect", choosing colour combinations that really didn't work, and using up some odds and ends that had been gathering dust for a truly long time. (How 'bout the red strap leftover from duffel coat I made in 1994?)

Here's a detail. The bag measures about 12" wide by 14" deep, and is lined with, of course, some striped cotton reclaimed from an old kimono.
In Marie Claire, the bag was called "La Chute". My French being what it is, I thought that referred to "garbage chute", which was only logical since the materials might have all been destined for the garbage. But Babel Fish tells me it means "the fall", which I guess could mean the season, a tumble, or maybe a metaphorical fall (from grace). I hope I have elevated the materials of this humble bag into something charming.
Oh, and a side note. The pincushion that can be seen in the upper left corner of the picture is made from upholstery sample covered baby food tins and was made by a German neighbour lady back when I was a kid! True vintage scrap-crafting.