Monday, July 24, 2006

B4 Bag

After 2 1/2 hours of agitating in the washing machine, this is the end result.


Does 2 1/2 hours seem unusually long? As this was my first felting attempt I have no idea how long this process should take. I used a little over 200 grams of Bendigo Rustic 12ply wool which is a tweed like yarn, the beads are just ordinary plastic beads which I picked up from Spotlight quite a while back and were in my bead stash. The buttons were found in various shops, I was going to have the buttons either side of the centre button matching but believe it or not this was too perfect and looked a little odd.

Would I do anything different next time? Yes the beads, definately choose beads with bigger holes, I found it quite tedious pulling the yarn through such small holes on a crochet hook. I also think that I would add a contrast colour in there somewhere, after seeing some of the finished ones here I like the multicolour ones better, that is just my opinion though. As for the pattern, I loved every minute of it and will be making more of these bags in the future, they would make awesome presents.


These have just arrived in the mail, yes they are Pony sock knitting needles and no I haven't lost my marbles and ordered way too many, as they aren't all for me. After my search for Pony Sock Knitting needles, the knitters in my knitting group decided that they too wanted some and as they aren't available to buy here in Australia, we placed an order here. You do have to wonder why they aren't available here when this is the amount that just a small knitting group in Launceston, Tasmania ordered!!!

I am also going to finish off a few WIPs before I start anything else!! You are my witnesses to this so get on my case if you see a new project started. The three WIPs that spring to mind are, Betty Boop, 60's Cabled Jumper and of course the Cabled Shrug. I must finish these three before I start anything else, hmmmmmm!!

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, B1, B2, B3 and B5 ( all Babylon stations, or bananas)fade into the distance compared with B4!! B5 is gr8!!!! Oh Pony Pearls, Pony Pearls!!!!!

Unknown said...

Love B4! I'm tempted to make one myself. Good luck finishing off the WIPs. It is just too difficult to stick to one project. I don't fight it any more!!

Corrie said...

mmm i've been tempted to felt but 2 1/2 hours may put me off!!!! I love your motivation to finish off your projects , i need some of that

Craftybernie said...

Did you use any detergent or soap flakes? And I'm sure somebody has posted an article on the web about using Baking Soda when felting

I wouldn't worry too much about the 2 1/2 hours felting. My first attempt was to do it by hand. I hadn't considered how heavy the bag would be with all that water, and trust me it did my back no favours.

So after several trips in the washing machine (stopping and starting because I was terrified) it probably took me 1/2 a day in all.

But now I've got it down to a fine art. I pop it in the machine. Put it on for 10 mins or so then check it. And if it looks as though it's not curled up into some horrific ball and felted to itself, I squeeze out any excess water and just leave it in the machine until the end of the wash cycle.

I'm a wreckless felter, not one of those who sits and watches the machine, as I like the unpredictability of it all.

But your bag looks fab.

Re the beads: My tip next time would be to load the beads onto the ball of wool and then feed them up one at a time as you knit -this is what I did as I found picking up the beads with a crochet hook fiddly and it interrupted the flow of knitting.

Although the monochromatic look is good, I agree with you about using more colour next time. Having done my first in plain turquoise, I'm tempted to make a more colourful one like many on the B4 Bag KAL have done.

Well done Sharon!

Anonymous said...

Normally 30 minutes is the max for felting for me. Did you use hot water and put in a few towels to help with agitation?

Anonymous said...

We will forgive you if you start another project before finishing your WIPs. The bag is gorgeous!

Rachael Elswyk said...

It looks great, the first time is always the worst hehe!
It gets easier and less stressful from here on in.
The bag looks great, I stopped over at the link you provided last time, and although the multicoloured bags look good, yours looks just as good.

Anonymous said...

that bag looks so gorgeous!!! pretty pretty pretty :)

and so many needles in different colours!!!

i cant wait till i see the betty boop cardy!!

Anonymous said...

Bag looks great!! Will we be seeing tomorrow?

oooh Does that mean I owe you money for needles? Can you email me with totals if you get this tonight?

Katt

Suzi said...

Love the bag! It has come up well, I will one day make myself a felted skulltote, three designs to choose froms.

However I have just organised to get yarn form Bendigo to make my Skull Socks of Fury!

I hope to be at the coven tomorrow, if all goes well. I am very excited! I have to keep jumping around and chasing the cat.

Suzi

stitching pooh said...

The bag is very pretty. Just curious how do you put the stuff on the right side of your blog that logs progress on your work?

Ann said...

Great job on the felting as your B4 looks great. Well, WIPs is a trademark of all knitters, so you are not alone - I love casting on new projects! In fact, I have not cast on an interesting project (except for socks)for a long time - I think it's about time!

Marina said...

Looks gorgeous but 2 1/2 hours!!? I usually use liquid detergent in the first cycle. If that does not work, I throw in some powder.

Anonymous said...

Love it! As for 2.5. hours - it seems to all depend on the yarn and if it's in a good mood that day - I've had things felt in 10 minutes and others that take over 3 hours - I learned recently that if the article seems to stop felting despite repeated attempts to shrink it - you can scare it back into felting by dipping it in ice cold water and then back into hot. I usually toss some jeans in there too just to make the party in the washer a little more rowdy ;)

Larjmarj said...

WOW..bag looks great, see? easy cheesy peezy. I ordered the pattern myself. I think I might try some variagated peruvian wool. As for the time..I think it takes as long as it takes. There are times when it has to be run through multiple cycles to get the right shape/size.

Knittinreed said...

Love the end result!! Great job.
I am glad you found the needles. It sure is frustrating when not having what you need delays a new (or old project).

maniacalmultitasker said...

Shaz
That looks fantastic! How firm is the felt fabric?

Anonymous said...

The bag is so lovely! I want to make one for myself now. I haven't done felting either and question whether my gentle machine can do any felting magic.

Cathy said...

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for my Pony Pearls.

The bag has come up looking verrrrrrrrrrrry nice and the jumper will be beautiful and warm when it's finished.

Cathy

Tracy Batchelder said...

2 1/2 hours does seem like a very long time, but it turned out beautifully.

L. said...

The bag turned out great, Sharon and I will keep my eye on you with the finishing of your WIP's. I know the sacrifices needed to stick to such a plan, firsthand. :)

Anonymous said...

The new bag looks great! And you can do it, finish those WIPs! Just think how great you will feel when you're done with them.

Wired for Fibre said...

The bag looks great!
I made a whole heap of Sophie bags for Christmas presents a few years back & found that sometimes the colour of the yarn can have an effect. Darker colours generally felt better than lighter ones.

Pam said...

What a great bag! You were absolutely right about the buttons. The beads are a little hard to see in the snapshot.
I tried felting but it is hard in a front load washing machine. I can't believe you had to order your supplies from Webs here in the US> I live about 2 hours away and go there occasionally on yarn crawls. It is an awesome place with all kinds of goodies in their warehouse that they just let you wander around in.

Anonymous said...

WOW The bag looks great!!!

Sherri said...

Your bag is beautiful! So glad you got your needles. I have never tried them, but I think I'll have to if you guys love them so much.
Try putting several tennis balls in the cycle to get more agitation...works for some of the people I know who have front-loading machines. Also shoes.

amanda j said...

That bag is truly awesome. I am going to do me some felting . . . soon!

Grace Garton said...

Love the bag, very elegant!
Did you have to put something else in the machine to help with the felting? I read somewhere to use a running shoe!
I'd like to try some felted flowers and bowls.

Elizabeth said...

What a cool bag! Looks kinda like midieval metal work.