"A Few Fiber Things....."

Our next door neighbor Rob likes to wear flip flops when the weather permits (read: dry, but still cold). To help keep his feet warm, he'd wear regular socks and push the material back between his toes in order to get them on. I decided to knit him a pair of "thong socks". I used Cascade cotton and elastic sock yarn, which gives them a lot of spring.......perhaps they will massage his feet while wearing them? ;)


I have wanted to knit something for Don's cousin Deblyn, whom you may recall, had stayed with us while taking a class on Thai massage a few summers ago. I finally decided upon a "Lucy Bag", using earth tones with some brighter accent colors. The yarn used was Cascade 220, a yarn that I like and have used many times when knitting a piece to be felted.

This is the pre-felting photo......


And this, is the finished bag after the felting process. Felting is achieved by washing the wool piece in hot water, while using heavy agitation. I put the piece in a zippered pillow case and add a couple of small throw rugs into the washer to get the agitation desired. The piece is washed/agitated until all of the knitted stitches shrink together and are no longer discernible, which means checking on the washing process frequently. I was happy with the results.


A close up of the bag. In my opinion, felting softens colors and edges, creating a "muted blending", if you will, allowing the piece to attain a "oneness". Any thoughts on this? :)