FO: Suzzane's Purse

Pattern: Suzzane's Purse by Debbie Tuttle

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted less than one skein of onyx

Needles: Denise US 10.5

I've been promising this awhile so hopefully it isn't too anticlimactic. I used a leftover skein of the Lamb's Pride from my Buttony sweater and the oval pearl beads are from the evil empire (Wal-mart). I really, really like this purse. I cast on 5 extra stitches and did 18 garter stitch rows to upsize it a bit. The only other mod was a 5 stitch Icord for the handle instead of garter stitch rows because I thought it would look better with a cylindrical handle. It fits all of my stuff perfectly and seems really sturdy. I've been using it all week and it will be perfect for the wedding I have to attend on Saturday.

This was not only my first felted item but my first hand felted item. We are pretty new homeowners so we got an energy efficient front loading washer when we moved in. Instead of trying my luck at felting in the washer (I will next time...) I know there was a tutorial on knitty so I decided to hand felt the purse and save some water and energy. This is how the purse looked after the knitting was done:

It then went into a bucket with some hand soap and very hot water and I went at it with my baby plunger. I got some strange looks when buying this tiny plunger, I'm sure the people at Lowes thought I'd be elbow deep in some toilet. The cashier did ask and I think he understood what I was going to do, I wonder if he'll ask the next person if they are going to use that plunger on his or her knitting!

So hand felting took a long time and I made quite the mess in my bathtub. My arms were burning the next day but the result was worth it. I maybe could have felted it a bit more but I like the size it is now.

I'm thinking I will make another in some Berroco Jasper I have sitting in my stash. I've been looking for the perfect use for it and I think this great pattern will show off the stripes beautifully.