Felting

I first encountered felted knits when I went to the Knitting Convention organized by TKGOA. Before I talk about felting, just a little bit about the convention experience. If you haven't been to any knitting convention before, you should try it. But I do have to warn you that it is not for the faint of heart or the easily tempted! It would help to have a list of things you REALLY need(not want!) and a fixed budget, because believe me you are going to go over your budget by ATLEAST a minimum of $50.

The joy of meeting knitters who are different one from another in innumerable number of ways is truly something that every knitter should experience. You will meet the wise, the seasoned, the young, the novice and everyone in between!

I felt very conscious when I first stepped into the Marketplace but slowly the love of knitting took over and pretty soon I was running behind a lady to find out what pattern had given her the nice bag she was carrying. She was carrying a My Constant Companion tote. It looked real fab.

Then we (I was with a few friends) stopped by the Breast Cancer Society booth where they were knitting a huge banner of sorts (I think). We decided to contribute a little, so we too took up the needles and knit for a few minutes. Even in that simple act, I learnt little known facts about breast cancer and had my first encounter with some smashing Addi Turbos. I am a staunch bamboo needle knitter and was quite surprised at my attraction towards these, of all things, metal needles!! I had to get some Addis.

I wandered through the numerous booths and it looked like my yarn fantasy had just become reality. There are no words to describe the lovely yarn and especially the beautiful glass buttons and glass knitting needles that I saw at the convention. I was still a yarnling at that time and my what an eye opening experience it was. It was like a crash course in yarn.

I wisely decided to look at all the booths and then decide what I really wanted. That's when I walked past the Kraemer yarns booth and my eyes rested upon the beautiful Romantic Ruffles bag. I knew that I just had to knit this one. So I picked up 3 skeins of Mauch Chunky in Kiwi. So I got a few Addis and the yarn. It was just my luck that the very next day Mr. PT and me were going that way, so I sweet talked him into stopping by to pick up some more needles. So what was my budget for that first convention visit? Zip, zilch, zero, nada. I had officially gone over my budget. Hey it was bound to happen.

I have to say that to this day I still remember that joyful feeling I had throughout the time that I knit this bag. It was really very quick and I just could not wait to felt it. For a quick tutorial on felting go to Knitty.

This is how my romantic ruffles looked before felting:

This is after it got its extreme makeover:
Pattern: Romantic ruffles bag from Kraemer yarns
Yarn: Kraemer Yarns Mauch Chunky in Kiwi - 3 skeins. I used a little over 2 skeins, I knit tight, but my friend who knits loose, did use some amount of the 3rd skein.
Needles: US #13, 16 inch circular needles