I have designed my new Spring/Summer bag collection and I am, I must confess to you, in love with these bags.

One of my favorite, and often vexing, parts of this process, is naming the bag.

I have, in recent past, followed a trajectory of travel titles such as Nomad–didn’t that bag look sort of like a glam version of the historically ubiquitious hobo wrap on a stick!?

Bedouin–didn’t this remind you of those fabulous Persian bags that were used for everything from water to foodstuffs to clothes? We know them as pillows. . . but they are bags!?). But these are large bags, meant for adventures. Pack everything you will need, put the strap over your shoulder, and get on the road.

This collection of bags is more ladylike. There will be a slouchy bag in the mix, eventually, but she is the only one not yet on the drawing board. . .

Each bag has a clear identity . . . but I have not yet been able to apply the right name to her.

With the one exception of Ella’s Going Out Bag.

The bag is small-ish. Ella wears clothes with no pockets to weigh her down and the Going Out Bag has the same sort of mentality. She loves to dance. She is all ruffles and even French Anemone flourishes (real-looking as a Noni Flower should be!). In white, she could get married or lead the attendants to their places. In bright mossy green with hot colored petals she’d draw every eye on the streets of New York. In mint with blushing petals, she looks good enough to nibble. She is, in short, delicious. Nevertheless, she is flexible and can go anywhere, from gay frolick through the botanical garden, to garden party, to the cinema. She is even the best friend of girly little girls.

To name the other bags . . . I need your help!

I am having a contest. I have 4 bags to name. Here are the contest rules (imagine stern voice, thus the all caps and bold!).

CONTEST RULES

1. The name of the bag must be that of a female literary heroine or wonderful character from Literature. I say Literature with a capital L . . . no bodice rippers, no pulp fiction, no vampire tales. I think I might just have heard a groan, but I’m standing firm.

Peruse your shelves. . . open those boxes from the university days, browse your local book shop. You can pick an inspiring heroine from children’s literature.

Madeline comes to mind . . .though I’m not sure she’s quite right for any of these bags . . . as she is a bit too likely to throw a cute bag in the ditch while climbing over a fence and then, perchance, forget where she launched it (as my son has done with his favorite blue cap two days in a row. . . I’ve been in the all-too-familiar-to-moms position of driving back to all those places we just were to find it [we did, both times, but I digress]. Prove me wrong about Madeline if you must. . . Read no. 2.

2. You must defend your choice: It is not enough simply to yell out the name of a female character. STELLA!  STELLA!  No, you must convince us that you have chosen well. Tell us the story of the personality of the bag and the heroine (as I have done above about our Ella) in 200 words or less. What is most important is that you capture the character of the bag and the heroine.

3. Finished, lovely entries must be received as a comment on the particular bag no later than midnight EST April 13, 2012, no exceptions! I will be creating a separate Blog Posting for each bag. These separate postings will divulge the colors I have chosen for the samples, along with key elements. I will also post my sketches of each bag. I will start posting tonight at 5pm EST and also at the same time on my Facebook page. . . All bags will be posted by tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm. I will be fielding questions you might have here below in the comments and also on a Wednesday night (abbreviated 9 – 9:30 pm EST) Ravelry Live Chat (formerly for the Ella coat).

4. What you WIN!!!  Not only will the winning entry for each bag see the winning description in the pattern itself and on the Noni website, but the winner will receive a Noni kit for that particular bag (a delicious prize!). Noni reserves the right to edit the winning entry for space considerations if necessary. The colors and size of the bag in the kit will be the sole discretion of Noni Designs, Ltd.

Good luck!