My new favorite bag

I knit and felted this bag a couple of months ago, and never shared the finished result. So here it is:It's a KnitKit pattern called "The Purse" and it's one we just started carrying. When I first saw this pattern, I just loved it. Was it the awesome shape of the bag? The fun drawstring cords used at the top? The beautiful - yet subtle - colorwork? The slightly nubbly/boucle-d texture of the felted yarn? Or the gorgeous shades of green that were used?

In truth, I think it was all of these things that I loved. And, I was in need of a quick & pretty mindless project, so I knew I had to make it.

I immediately went upstairs to check out our back stock of Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend and Silk Blend Multis. There's a great color selection in this yarn, so it wasn't easy to choose colors. I knew I needed 2 solids and one variegated. I pulled out several combos that I liked.

Like Wisteria, Abalone & Natural:and Chestnut, Spumoni & Dove:and Turquoise, Caribe & Lawn:and Pewter, Adobe & Dove:and Olive, Woodland & Topaz:and Olive, Woodland & Citric:But I finally settled on Midnight, Deep Sea & Willow: And it's really beautiful! In terms of felting with my new front loader, it was a bit of a struggle. Not impossible, but certainly more time consuming than with my old top loader. In the end, after several cycles, it worked!

Everyone here liked it so much that we decided it would be a great class. There's a great I-cord cast on (that's right! I didn't say bind off!), it's knit in the round, there's an intro to colorwork, and felting. So a lot of nice techniques to lean, and a great finished product in the end. Class starts next month!