bioengiknitter

I finally found my camera! I haven't been able to find it for a couple of weeks now, hence the camera phone shots of my Roza's. M had thought it was in the backpack that we take to the beach, but I checked there. Not in my work bag either. Turns out it was in the backpack that C takes to soccer practice and games. And not even in the middle, it was in the little (flimsy) mesh pocket on the side. Who knows what sort of abuse it took while it was in there, but it still works. Whew!

With the camera found, I was finally able to take some pictures of a really quick knit that's sort of a test for Christmas knitting. It's my first Booga Bag, a little felted purse with an i-cord handle. It's also my first Noro, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I had heard/read talk of sticks and leaves and all manner of things stuck in the yarn, but I didn't find any of that. I picked out one little thing that might have been a sliver of hay or something, but it could just as easily have been something the yarn picked up on my couch. Who knows. In any case, I didn't dislike it enough to overpower my love for the colors.

Here's the bag before felting. Nothing to write home about...(but of course worth blogging!):

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but look how cute it is after!

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I really love it. I managed to find a Kureyon colorway that doesn't have any wild yellow or green or baby poo brown hidden within the depths of the ball. Just subtle stripes of black and grey with some red for interest, and little flecks of other colors that I enjoyed seeing pop up from time to time:

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Since I'd never knit one before and I had only partial success with my first big felting experience (clogs for the fam last Christmas, not even blogged because they didn't turn out that great), I didn't make many changes to the pattern as I knit it. I think the only thing I changed was to knit it a bit taller. I did, however, go to Michael's and get some 3/8" grommets for the handle holes, I thought it would look a little nicer than just poking the i-cord through on its own. Total cost was about $5, including the tool which I'll reuse when I make more of these. I think I definitely like it better with them than if I had left them out. Oh, and I left the handle in one piece and only have a knot on one side. Hmm. I guess I did make quite a few changes after all. I can't help it!

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I also was a little worried that the bottom would be floppy and sag when things were put in it. Whether it's just a feature of the bag or perhaps a result of me not felting it enough, I wanted to add some rigidity to the bottom, so I cut a piece of black plastic canvas to fit the bottom rectangle. I'll cover it in fabric and stitch it in, but for the purposes of testing it out first I've been using it with the plastic just sitting on the bottom of the bag and it does help. For the record, the picture above was taken with the plastic in, and the bag was holding my wallet, sunglasses, and cell phone at the time. No sagging!

All in all, a great knit. I have the yarn to make another one in tans and greys (at least that's what it looks like from the outside), that yarn and this gotten at a $5 online sale at Littleknits. I think I like this bag enough to knit the second batch of yarn up into another one, and maybe I'll give one or both of them to someone for Christmas.

Pattern: Booga Bag, by Julie Anderson, from Black Sheep Bags
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, in colorway 116, maybe 2.75 skeins
Needles: US10.5 / 6.5 mm
Finished size: Roughly 7" wide x 4" deep x 9" high
Modifications:
- Made it a little taller
- Added 8 x 3/8" metal grommets at each handle hole
- Kept handle in one piece with knot on only one side
- Placed a rectangle of plastic canvas on the bottom of the bag to make it stiffer

P.S. I've been tagged for the random things list by Catherine. I'm having trouble coming up with seven more things that someone might find remotely interesting about myself, but I'll get there eventually. While I contemplate it some more, here's a link to my list the first time around in case you missed it (scroll down).