Felt Up

I am taking on the Nicky Epstein felted bag from last year's Interweave Holiday Gifts issue. I actually have no idea whatsoever how to do intarsia. I have some books, though, that tell you how. I'll see what I can do. This is what it's supposed to look like. The big rip in the page is courtesy of Gracie.



Of course, I couldn't find the yarn that the pattern specifies. Well, that's not entirely true. I found some of it. I just didn't like it. Instead, I ordered some alpaca from Victoria. Then I decided I really wanted to use KnitPick's Wool of the Andes instead. So now I have a bag full of WotA and lots of extra Alpaca Yarn Co. Classic DK (darn!). Here's the WotA in the kitty-proof (and doggie-proof) bag, ready to go.



I even knit some of it together in the order it will go in to check how it felts. I like it. The picture makes it look a little bright, but it blends together pretty well. It needs to be felted a little more. You can still see individual stitches. The finished product will have to be washed probably three or four times in order to felt it completely.




When you do that on purpose, it's called felting (or more accurately "fulling"), but when you do it accidentally and your favorite sweater comes out sized perfectly for a doll...it's called shrinking.

I plan on casting on tonight to start this bag. We all know how that goes. It's on my list, anyways.

That Kind of Thing Is My Bag

It's well established that I make bags. Everyone loves them, thinks they're cute. My kids at school have made almost as many as I have. They're great. They're (fairly) easy to make if you can sew a curve. They're reversible. They hold small and medium size knitting/crochet projects pretty easily. What more could you want.

The problem with picking out the fabric yourself, however, is that you become attached. It's like raising kittens and giving them away. It's pretty tough. I own four bags right now. These three plus the watermelon bag.


The problem is...I have half a dozen or so sets of fabric (again, in various states of completeness) that I really like. I've thought about limiting myself to one bag for each month, You know, an October bag and a June bag and a February bag and so on. Maybe that will work.

Old bags

This is the very first reversible bag. Back in Las Vegas. Back before I was smart enough to leave the opening in the side of the handle. Back before I could pin and cut the pattern without looking. It currently holds the Harry Potter scarf. More on that later. I promise. Wait for it.


These are some of the first (and second...and maybe even third) batch of bags. The second and third batches were marked by eleven hour stretches of sewing. Really. I forgot to eat lunch. And dinner. This is why I don't even get started sometimes.


I have forty or so cut out and in various stages of completion. Mostly in the very incomplete stage, but at least they're cut out. The kids at school had a field day with the scrap fabric.


There are also a couple of knitting needle and crochet hook cases. I need to make more of these. A lot more of these.


Victoria (of Victoria's Yarn Shop in beautiful Girard, PA) wants more for Christmas. I'll get right on that. In my spare time. No problem.