before & after...

(picture taken without flash...color is very true to natural)

i love before and after pictures. don't you?

here's a shot of my GIGANTIC bag before i felted it. it measured 25" wide and 23" tall. see that tiny little pile of strands of yarn to the right of the bag? that was all that was left after i finished. talk about cutting it close. i had to use the yarn harlot's instructions for casting off without using any yarn (a VERY useful skill to have in your toolkit!).

the bag took 5 skeins of cascade 220, doubled. the pattern is from my fave knitting book (the book is pictured above, open to the instruction page for this bag)...i mean, i guess it's my fave since i've knit about 4 things from it. i've got oodles of knitting books i drool over but haven't knit a blessed thing from. this book is at least the most useful.

now here's the after...

(picture taken with flash...a lot more orange than in real life)

it's about 15" wide (with the gussets tucked in) and 12" high. it shrunk more in depth than in width. i washed it two times in hot water using two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid on the smallest load setting (my favorite method for felting). the right side is the purl side and is as dense as anything else i've ever felted. it is still drying--24 hours after being pulled from the washer, rinsed, and blocked. with the humidity as high as it is right now in st. louis, it could take another 5 days before it's completely dry. i hope it doesn't get moldy (just kidding!)