Felted bag obsession

Have you ever felt so obsessed with a knitting pattern that you absolutely had to make it now? It started with a pattern for a felted knitting basket I found online. I don't understand it; I'm not a felter. I've only felted one knit thing on purpose. So why did this particular pattern intrigue me so much? Two days later, I don't have an answer. I do, however, have two new felted bags. :-)

Since I didn't have any worsted weight wool in my stash, I had to buy some Patons Classic Wool merino. I didn't like any of the colors the store had enough to knit an entire bag in it. But that's ok, I bought 3 colors---royal purple, natural mix, and too teal. I love color and I knew I could make it work. I cast on several hours later. I couldn't resist. Started knitting the bottom and didn't care for the way the directions were written. It starts out flat instead of using dpns so there is a seam to sew up. Blah! The bag bottom has a peak in it instead of laying flat because of too few stitches in the cast on. Of well, keep knitting. Start the increase section. What? You have to count for every increase? It's so much easier to use markers. What's this direction mean, keep increasing until you have 20 stitches between increases? Does that mean 20 stitches in each section x 6 sections? Or does it mean 21? Guess it doesn't matter, keep knitting. Starting up the sides and it's smooth sailing. I'm adding a striping pattern to work in the 3 colors. Get to the handle and bind off 1/4 of the stitches. Isn't that too many to bind off? All you need is a hole big enough for your hand. On the next row get to the handle section where you have to cast on stitches. The pattern doesn't say what kind of cast on to use. I go for an E-wrap and cast on half the number of stitches I need because E-wraps can be loose. Pick up the remaining stitches I need on the next row in the slack from the E-wraps. Hey, you could cast on more stitches here if you want a longer handle. Cool! The pattern says to knit 1 inch worth of stitches and then bind off. Wouldn't it be better to work a couple of rows of garter stitch at the top edge to keep if from rolling? Bind off, felt it, and let it dry. I love it!

I made so many changes to the pattern, I rewrote it. Of course I had to test knit it. LOL! I had to do something with the 4 ounces of yarn left from the first bag (plus a small ball of black from some slippers I knitted). Hum, about 250 yards. Should be enough for a smaller bag. Did some figuring to determine how big I could make it. Cast on with the black at the bottom where it won't be seen. Work the striping pattern up the side and 4 hours later I'm done with only a few yards of yarn left. Here is bag #2 shown from the side so you can see the handles.

I'll share the pattern for this bag soon. The original bag is round but I'm working on options for both a square and rectangular one.