I'm blocking!!!!

I started to work on at a pocket for my Oregon Tote before I began felting. I wanted it to go in the inside of the bag so that I would have a place for my cell phone. I started on it a couple weeks ago, but I had to suspend my knitting for the time so I could pack for my trip to FL. I left on the 19th and came back last night. Harrison and I went to visit my mom for her birthday and my sister joined us from Chicago :) I packed up my knitting, but I didn't seem to have the time or patience to work on it...long days and chasing a newly walking 15 month old took all my energy!!

Since I didn't get to work on the pocket much, I began to be impatient and wanted to start using my bag soon, so I decided to scrap it for now and begin the felting process. I was SO pleased with how it looked right out of the washing maching. I took two boxes of 12 packs of sodas and put a Target shopping bag over them and shimmied the bag over it to block. I couldn't get over how tight the bag was...I thought it would be more plyable, but it took so much effort to get it over the boxes...

I'm hoping my bag will be ready for me to use tomorrow...they say it could take a couple days, but the bag seemed so dry already when I got it out of the machine.

I have to say one more thing...I'm so excited about my invitation to join Ravelry!!! I found the site while reading other knitting blogs a couple weeks ago and now I'm setting up my project notebook on there!! For anyone not familiar with Ravelry, it takes a couple of days to get the invitation and then you're in!

Happy knitting!!

My first felted project - in progress

I ordered the patterns for the Oregon Tote and Tote Around from knitkit.com a couple weeks ago. I started on the Oregon Tote first and I'm about 90% finished with it. I'm working on the i-cords for the straps and I might knit some pockets for it before I felt it. This is what I have finished so far...

I had to go onto youtube to learn the i-cord bind off...I linked CraftyAndy's video here for you to see...his demo was just what I needed!




The only issue with my bag is the size...pre-felting it measures 19" x 13" x 7"...it should be 18" x 16" x 10". My gauge is off because I used US size 10-3/4 (7mm) circulars instead of US size 11 (8mm) and I tend to knit tightly...I tried knitting loosely, but that's just not how my hands work. Next time I knit this, I'll buy size 11 or larger. (I'm getting my supplies as I go along so that I don't break the bank in one trip! I learned my lesson when I tried scrapbooking and that got too expensive!)