Feeling Like Felting

I bet you can't tell this is a purse.

I originally planned to make the The Clutch You'll Never Give Up from One Skein. It called for one skein of Lamb's Pride bulky which I didn't have so I substituted SWTC Soy Wool instead. And because the gauge wasn't the same, I "compensated" by knitting it larger than the pattern called for.

A lot larger. When I finished the knitting, I showed it to my mother who said, "Oh that's a nice tank top." Ermm, Mom it isn't a garment. But her comment prompted me to take a picture of the erstwhile purse while I was wearing it.

Here's the completed project post-felting. The knitting needle below is 12" to give you an idea of the purse's felted size. BTW, in case you were wondering...the purse is knit in the round from the bottom up. When you're ready to make the handles, bind off the center stitches on each side for one round, then cast them back on in the next round and knit for a few more rounds. To complete the shaping, seam the bottom of the bag.

Soy Wool is really fuzzy, so much so that I attacked the purse with a regular razor to remove the fuzz. It was like shaving Sasquatch, but it worked! The razor blade really brought out the nubbly texture.

My current felting project is a tote in progress. I like this general design better where you knit a rectangle for the bottom and then pick up along the sides to knit the body in the round. For the handles I left live stitches at the ends of both long sides while binding off stitches in the center and the short sides. I'm going to work the handles starting on one side and then attaching them via grafting to the corresponding stitches on the other side. Make sense? I was inspired by the Sentimental Stripes Felted Tote although I'm not following the pattern per se.


I've been in a state of high anxiety both at home and at work. I have to remember that these are stressful times for everyone in my family, not just me. Look at our living room. This is the contents of my parents' home from North Carolina.

And this is the garage, which is mostly mine and Karl's but the couch and upside chairs are my parents'. It will be like this for the next few weeks.

Karalyn and the cats are a bit freaked. The cats have more hiding places than ever and they tend to stay out of sight. Karalyn has no idea what to think about the two new people who are suddenly living with us. Sometimes she handles it well. Other times she clings to my legs crying, not wanting me to leave even when it's just to go in the other room.

In the long run, I know this is all for the best and the current situation is just temporary. As soon as we can move out, everyone can get on with their lives and things will improve.