French Market Bag

I knitted and felted this "French Market Bag" (pattern by Polly Outhwaite) for a childhood friend, Debby, who lives in Florida. I had to wait until she received it in the mail, before I could post it on the blog, not being sure if she checked the blog regularly or not. I had finished it prior to leaving for Michigan, but it wasn't completely dry before I left, so had to postpone sending it until I returned home. I sent it on Saturday and she received it on Monday! I guess the postal service IS doing a good job, eh? :) I thought I would include the before felting photo as well, just in case some of you are not familiar with the felting process. Felting (washing the piece in hot water and using the "heavy duty" wash cycle), will shrink the piece to about 3/4 of the original pre-felted size (1" of knitting equals 3/4" of felting). The pattern is very easy and seems to go fairly quickly, especially when you change colors a lot as in Debby's bag, although, that does mean a lot of ends to weave in. :)