Hooked on Selvages

It only took one selvage project, and I'm hooked. I love the way the blocks look, and I'm happy with how my purse turned out. This is not a tutorial, but rather a review of what I did.

I first went through my entire fabric stash, pulled out the pieces with usable selvages, and cut them all off, filling a small basket.
I began constructing blocks, experimenting as I went along since I had no clear idea of what I was going to do with the blocks yet.
Here are a couple of different block layouts (still didn't know what I was going to do with them).I've seen quite a few selvage tote bags, but I have so many tote bags already that I really didn't want nor need another. Finally, I decided that I would make a purse -- something with a little more shape and construction than a tote. I used a pattern or two as guides, but I pretty much made this up on the fly, and if you saw how many times I ripped something out and did it over, you'd believe me. My desire was to use what I had on hand and avoid having to buy anything. So, I used some of my stash (including a small zipper) for the inside pockets. On one side, the pocket is "three-for-one." It's a little hard to see, but between the two larger pockets is a skinny pocket for holding a pen. And a zippered pocket, showing the inside of the pocket as well.I wanted a sturdier fabric for the bottom of the purse, and I didn't have anything suitable on hand. Since I was out and about on the opposite side of town from the fabric store, I took a look in the thrift store for a pair of black denim jeans that I could cut and use. One store uses color coding for half-price sales, and yellow was the color of the day. Success! (And my apologies to Mr. Lauren for desecrating his designer garment.)By-the-way, creativity gets messy.Here are all the purse pieces ready to be assembled.Here are close-ups of the cell phone pocket on the side (actually, there's one on each side) and the button detail on the closing tab. (I have half a mind to remove the buttons and rearrange them into traffic light order. It's that OCD kicking in, I guess.) And (drum roll) the finished purse.So, what do you think?