French Market Tote Finished!

[Contiknitter Kelly]

Hi Everybody,
I haven't been on the forum in about a month. Well, i've dropped in but not to post. I've been too busy :XX:

Well here's the French market tote from the archives of Knitty .com.
Boy this thing was a BEAST :devil: when I got finished knitting it (about twice the size really) But after 1 washing :thumbsup: I tamed it down to such a sweet little bag that I just adore :inlove:
The Bottom of the bag I worked on 5 needles :shock: It took alot of :wall: but after I finally got it I was gone! I got pretty dern good at it actually.
I also worked on size 9 needles instead of 7's like the pattern called for and I also made the height 12 1/2 in. instead of the 9in they made it. Actually this would be a perfect big bag if it was just er... bigger. Made to a height of 25 in.and with longer straps would make this bag ideal for carrying lots of stuff.
So now i'm off to my 4th project, The spiderweb capelet out of the SnB Nation (I started a few days ago but i'm still doing a lot of this :?? and this :doh: and especially this :frog: .
But anywhoo,
Thanks to all the girls that gave me advice and encouragement (you know who you are ;) ) in the beginning. I'm very pleased with my tote I carry it everywhere!
Thanks again and if ya don't see me on the forum you know what i'm up to :XX: :thinking: :doh: :pray: :frog: !

Kelly

[wildforyarn]

Love, love, love it. I am just about 3/4 finished with my first felting project, the Meemaw's felted tote out of SnB. So far it is coming along pretty nicely. Gosh, I don't know where you guys get all of your time to knit! Yikes, I have a job and two small children and just don't seem to ever get the time to knit like I would like to! Anywho, I will post a picture when I am finally done with my tote. Great work Kelly!

[mascarasnake]

Oh my! I thought it was supposed to be pretty big even after felting. Did you have to shrink it that far in order to lose stitch definition? Or did you have a really shrinky yarn? I'm curious cuz this is my next project, and I wanted it big as well...

[Contiknitter Kelly]

Mascarasnake,

This bag turns out a lot smaller than I had imagined myself. If I had followed the directions as stated I think I would have been a little disappointed.
The bottom of the bag with the 200 stitches came out as a 10 in. square (Worked on #9 needles not #7's) Which i'm happy with. My heighth turned out to be just a hair over 6 1/4 in.
I don't think I had any Special wool. The reddish was expensive stuff from the LYS but the gray was from Joannes.
So if you want bigger just make it longer.
Here's a before photo too.
Kelly

[Contiknitter Kelly]

:oops: I just realized there's a post for finished projects.
Kelly

[twiggyann]

I've been eyeing that pattern but I just thought it would be much larger than that when finished. Since I'm new at knitting I'd better wait until I have experience in changing patterns to try that.

[Hildegard_von_Knittin]

YOWZA!!!!! that shrunk a TON :shock:

I wonder if you could knit on even bigger needles; then you wouldn't have to felt as much to get the stitches to dissapear, it the bag might (hopefully) be bigger!
Sheesh, I can't imagine just making it proportionally bigger.....you'd be able to carry a medium-sized child in there before felting!!!!!

Kelly, LOVE your earrings BTW!!!!!

[Contiknitter Kelly]

Thanks Hildavonknittin,
I was joking to my husband as I was knitting this that "Your beanie's almost finished" :rofling: (He didn't think it was so funny)
Kelly

[beldaraan]

Nice colours Kelly!! The bag still looks very chic. Personally, I'm not a fan of big or deep purses (too much space to store "everything" and then I have to rummage). I've had my eye on that bag for a while, so your pictures really give me an idea of what to expect.

I can't wait to get SnB Nation to see all of the yummy patterns up close (the website isn't always the greatest for showing details).

[VictoiseC]

That's a great bag Kelly. Wow, as stated, it was HUGE before!

So I guess that little emoticon represents??? about your not getting the bottom at first ??? um, hitting your head against the wall! oh, did I just guess it! (I really don't know that one)

Um, this bag at Knitty is quite the same isn't it? Wondering how the pattern compares coz I'm thinking of making this one.

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter03/PATTfrenchmarket.html

[VictoiseC]

Oops, I must need my daily dose of ...

what a jerk! :oops: I just went back to the top and saw IT IS from Knitty! hello!!!!!!

ok. ok. yup.

P.S. Glad you included that info about changing needle size, I like bigger needles usually anyhow. Thanks!

[MaggieL]

I :heart: it!!! I haven't felted before and would never have thought it would have changed sooo much.

Way to go. :thumbsup: