The one that didn't get away

This is one of the projects I did manage to finish on time. It's a round-about-town bag for a guest who is visiting from Australia. It's just the right size for a passport, cell phone, keys, wallet and a pack of gum.

It's knitted with Noro Kureyon. I made up the pattern. I cast on 60 stitches across and knitted for 17 inches. At the end, I reduced stitches toward the sides to give it a rounded bottom and then cast off and sewed up the bottom. I then picked up stitches at the top to make a five-stitch i-cord and the flap. I like the size and I love the stripes. I found that the Noro knitted with an extreme bias. Based on a previous bad experience, I decided to ignore the bias when deciding where to pick up stitches. I laid the bag flat and picked up from the sides, disregarding where I'd started. It turns out that was the right thing to do. The bag lay flat once felted.

I'm also posting a pre-felt picture of the Run Amok Knotsew hobo bag from the pattern posted last month on the bag-a-holic web site. It took me this long to finish it. I love the color but alas I'm having felting troubles. It's knit with Nature Wool, which is sticking together and felting unevenly. Fingers crossed...

I also want to send out a very special THANK YOU to my great Secret Pal who sent me a package just before Christmas. It was filled with great things to treat my feet, the lovely yarn for the Funky Chunky Charmer and The One Skein Wonders, which contained the pattern for the fingerless gloves I knitted for one of my daughters. (I've actually only knit one of the pair, but that's a story for another day). It was a great surprise and much appreciated.