Saturday, September 23, 2006

Hung out to dry...

I wish I could put the bag outside to dry, if only the dang sun would come out.

I'm not 100% happy with how the bag came out, colors don't always blend the way we felters like. Noro's Kureyon does this the best. I learned from some folks in the Bagaholic KAL group that Patons has a new line called SWS and the colorways blend nicely. There were some mixed reviews on it but maybe I'll try it out for myself on a little project. (Notice how I'm already thinking of buying more yarn in the middle of a zillion other projects I've got going!)

Ok, back to the task at hand, the entire felting process took maybe 30 minutes. This is the result after about 10 minutes in the machine (please pardon the washed out pictures, my laundry room is in the basement and the lighting is pretty stark down there).



To speed the process up I added some boiling water. I also took the bag out of the pillowcase so it could get more agitation. This yarn doesn't have much mohair in it so it shouldn't shed too much more.


Its getting close but it still needs about 10 more minutes. I've been at this now for 20 minutes.

After 30 minutes of agitation with lots of checking in beween, its about as felted as I want. I'll rinse it with cold water so that I can cool it down to wring out the water.



I'm using the jug from my dress steamer as a form (the form should be a bit larger than the project so you'll have to stretch and tug to get it to fit). Drying will take any where from 24-48 hours. I've still got to find my double pointed needles to do the icord. I can dry it in the dryer.

I'm going to need some help from Nikki Epstein, I think I'll knit up a few flowers to make me feel better about this bag. I'll felt the flowers with the icord.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the bag looks great. I'm sure your swap buddy will love it.

Harlem Purl said...

I like your bag too. The way the colors pool makes it unique.

To answer your question, I would say yes and no. Since I learned how to spin in July, the first time I bought yarn was last weekend and that's only because I went to a yarn shop for a book signing and couldn't resist. But on the other hand, I have mysteriously acquired a roving/wool stash in the upwards of a couple of pounds.

Tammy said...

I love the colors in your bag! I just bought some Patons SWS in a pretty pink colorway. I'll be sure to let you know how it felts if you don't buy some before then. (yes I bought it without having a project for it, and proud of it!!). PS I'm going to have to tell my DH about the barber thing, he'll get a kick out of that!!

Lynn said...

This bag came out really cute!!! The way the colors come together looks like you planned it that way. And I like the frilly edges!

Heidi said...

I love that bag, I especially love that colour combination and how the colour changes aren't predictable. I have those exact colours and was thinking of doing a fair isle bag with it.

Craftybernie said...

Have you tried using a cable needle (circular needle) to do your I-cord. That's what I use as I don't have dpns. I have also taken to crocheting my I-cords lately as I find it quicker. Not sure if that helps you.

B