Ta Da!

It's finally dry!

And without further adieu, I give you...

(drum roll)

My Entrelac Bag!













Loving it. Absolutely loving it.

Details:

Pattern: My Own
Yarn: Patons SWS, Natural Denim - 5 skeins
Needles: Clover Bamboo US 10.5 (6.5mm), 16" circular, Clover Bamboo US 10.5 (6.5mm) dpns
Started: February 6, 2007
Finished: February 13, 2007
Dimensions Pre-felting: 15" w x 14 1/2" h
Dimensions Post-felting: 11" w x 9" h, sitting (13 1/2" from top to center of star on bottom)

The bottom was something I was nervous about. I worried that the felting process would hide the beautiful star closing, but it didn't.













Of course, it helps that I didn't fully felt it as much as it could have. I literally was in there sticking my hands in scalding hot water (scalding, people - the nerves in my hands hate me) every couple of minutes to see how the fibers were agitating. I didn't want it to felt too much to lose the Entrelac texture.

Speaking of texture, look at that! I really like the way the Patons SWS felted. The little nubbies make for a great textural complement to the Entrelac lines between the diamonds.













There is one thing that I'm not quite as happy with: the way the handle came out. Because I didn't want the bag to shrink too much, it came out earlier than I would normally let something go. But the handle, in my opinion, still could use more felting. For that, I'm going to hand felt it.













I love the way that felting dulls the colors just a bit and makes the contrasts more gradual and soft. I'm really happy with how it turned out!