Part 1

It is done! It is beautiful! The washing machine beckons!

Measurements before felting:

Bag- side panel is 15 inches tall, bag is 16 inches wide.
Pouch- 7 inches tall, 5 1/2 inches wide
I cord- 20 inches long

It is difficult to measure the total height, due to the handles being so easily stretchable, and the bottom sagging, so I just measured from the beginning of the cable pattern on the bottom, to the top of the side panel. The width is the entire flat measurement.

Ooo, the sweet anticipation!

Part 2

Sniff, Pout, Stomp, Curse, Cry.

OK, maybe it’s not that bad. It’s just not exactly what I wanted.

There are two main problems with it. First of all, I over felted. The cables are smaller on the bag than on my swatch, and they don’t have the depth of the swatch. Secondly, it flares at the top a little too much. Now, I know the politically correct term for this is “design element”, but I’m still dissapointed. In a few days, I will have gotten used to it, and will like it. The initial shock just hasn’t worn off yet.

Finished Measurements:

bag- side panel is 11 inches tall, bag is 12 inches wide, total height is 17 inches, including everything.
pouch- 5 inches tall, 4 inches wide
I cord- still 20 inches long.

I’m trying to decide whether or not to try again. I think it only flares by about 4-8 stitches too much, so that is easy enough to fix. Also, I think that the brown on this bag would look completely delicious with the right rosy pink. Reminds me of Neapolitan ice cream. Mmmmm. What do you think? Should I make it again? I’ll definitely take a break, and knit some other things first. Like the Bottoms Up Diagonal Hat, and something completely gorgeous that I’ll show you once I figure out our scanner.