my first knitted project

My favourite pattern in the Ladybird Book was this 'handy bag'



... and this was the result



Guess what? I just realised that my obsession with making bags obviously started in my childhood!

Over the years the bag has not been cared for very carefully and some felting has occurred. It's actually a very good example of how different colours of wool can felt unevenly.

Each of the colours used in this bag were the same brand and type of wool...

Each of the stripes were originally the same width...



But, as you can see... the darker colours have felted better than the lighter ones... and the white has not felted at all. Apparently the chemical process involved in lightening the colour of the wool can affect the ability of the fibres to felt. Just something to keep in mind if you are ever working on a felted project using multiple colours... it's definitely worth felting a test swatch of each colour.



I'm pleased to announce that my seaming techniques have improved from the early days...



I know that many knitters dislike seaming, but over the years I have learned to quite enjoy it. The 'finishing' of your work is so important... it really makes all the difference, so it is really worth learning to seam well. It seems a shame to put so much effort into the knitting, and then make a mess of the seaming.