What it felt like doing...

My friend asked me to make her a little knitted felted box. She sent me a pattern she'd found online.  I tried the pattern and it was a dud. After some frustrating attempts, and after consulting with my knitting support group at the library, I gave it up. But I didn't want to disappoint. I decided to knit her a felted tote bag. Here's the free pattern I found online:

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60140AD.htmlnoImages=

It was supposed to look like this:

Here's the unfelted bag I made:

And here's what it looks like after two go-rounds in the washing machine:

It has become a yoga-mat bag. That's what its intention was, all along, apparently. I showed it to the Knitting Goddess, who said, "Here's the thing about felting. It's an inexact process." Please note that this is a Lion Brand pattern and I used Lion Brand 100% worsted, the label of which claims "Perfect for Felting."

My friend now has another good reason for going to yoga class.  Happy birthday, my dear!