"Little Slip of a Thing" Bag

Well, here is my latest felted project finished. The pattern is from Knitty.com (http://www.knitty.com) . It was really fun to knit up and I learned yet another new technique. The color changes on the bag was done using slip stitches. Yes, you still had to strand your yarn across the back of the piece....which I still haven't gotten the hang of........but only worked with one color per row on the colorwork rows. Someday I will figure out how to get the perfect tension on my floats when doing colorwork. In the meantime I will have fun knitting up all kinds of colorwork projects. I've already got a second bag done using this same pattern....only in different colors. Just need to felt it and then finish it up.

As with all my projects, I did learn something new (other than technique). I learned that I really need to pay more attention when felting my projects. I definitely left this one in the machine too long and it came out much smaller than what I was hoping for (about the size of a large lunch bag). Also made for a much thicker fabric. I also learned that I really need to put cotton crochet thread in the top of the bag so it doesn't stretch out during the felting project....and I end up with a bag where the top is wider than the bottom. This was my first time working with grommets. Discovered that I really like using them. I think it gives the completed project a more finished look.....and is worth the extra effort and time....even if it means you have to cut the fabric first before using the grommet pliers because the fabric is too thick for the grommet pliers to cut. As always, cording from the home dec. department at JoAnns always makes for a nice handle. And it comes in such a nice array of colors. Oh....I also learned how to do an I-cord bind-off. It was an interesting way to bind off and made for a nice finish around the top of the bag.