Designer handbags, knit and felt.

I recently competed in the Community Favorites for 2011. The top 11 are featured the first few days of 2012. I'm so honored to have been chosen. It was an invitation to submit my favorite lens, then out of the 3000 invitations, the top 100 were posted in a poll to vote for the last 2 days of the year.

See the list of the top 11 here.

And check out all 100 contenders here.

Thanks to my Facebook friends and my son who shared the poll on his Facebook. Thank you to all the Squid Angels, Giant Squids and Lensmasters who stopped by and commented, voted, liked and blessed my lenses. I'm so honored.

Let me know if you need a purse for a gift or for yourself. I do custom work.

I order my price tags from Moo.com. On the reverse side is all my contact information.

These are called mini-moos. You can design the back with your own digital photos and the front with several lines of information about you.

I used photos (or slices of photos) of my handmade items for my cards. They are 1/2 the size of a business card, and you can order a case for them that holds about 12 - 15 cards. I've had fun using moo.com, hopefully you'll check it out.

The string tied to the price tag is some of my hemp yarn. I put the rivet through my cards using 1/8" rivets and a riveting tool. The information side has my name, email address, Etsy store, my blog "3 Knitting Sisters" my phone number, and my Squidoo home page.

Know someone who is a designer or has a start-up business. Order mini-moos for them for a Valentines Day gift.

On the back side of each of these cards is my name, email, Squidoo web page, Etsy web page, and blog. and a mini picture of one of my purses.

I've made purses that start as a very large rectangle twice the height of the finished bag, then before felting I fold in half length-wise and sew up the sides with the same yarn. A simple tote.

Click on the picture for the link to this free pattern.
It is a nice size bag with a closure flap.

Rinse in vinegar water solution to set the dye. While item is wet tie big rubber bands on various parts that you would like to avoid the colors, then sprinkle the "kool aid" powder in various places, let it sit and soak into the fabric. Rinse in a vinegar water solution, rinse till vinegar odor is gone, and shape to dry.

Trusting the felting process is the largest hurdle to overcome. If you are concerned about the process, make a small piece about 12" by 4".

Then fold the pieces in half and seam the sides. Now you have a 6" by 4" pocket. When you felt this piece it should measure around 4" by 3" pocket. Knitting each row, the 12" length (folded to 6") will shrink 30% when felted. The Width will only shrink 25%. This is a proven method but you could be off by about 5-10% depending on how tight your stitches are, what yarn you use, how hot your wash water is, etc.

Making a pocket like this, or just a making a 6" x 4" swatch can become a pocket when you finally knit your bag. Add it to the outside, or save it to embellish a bag in the future.

Actual felting steps include, sewing any seams you want on your finished product first - unless you purposefully want your seams to show by sewing them after the piece is felted.

Tie off, and work in any yarn ends that are loose from adding or changing yarns, unless you want to leave them for a unique embellished effect.

Drop the knit piece into a pillowcase, tie the case in a knot at the top (don't rubber band it closed - the hot water stretches the band and the bag works open). The reason for the closed bag is all the piling your wool will shed. Little balls of wool in your washer's inner workings - you know that stuff that ends up being lint in the dryer vent.

Throw in a pair of old jeans, for resistance. The jeans and the pillow case with your piece will be agitated together working the piece evenly as the washer does its thing.

Add a small amount of soap, enough to wash the jeans if you like.

Set the machine to small load, just enough water to cover both items. I have felted several items at once, each in their own pillow case. But I still add a pair of jeans for the agitation.

Set them machine to HOT wash COLD rinse.

Now patiently wait about 5 to 8 minutes. You can stop the machine, open the bag - wear gloves the water will be hot. If your knit item is larger than you started and very stretchy you've opened it way too early. If it has tightened into a very dense thick wool texture with no holes you're done with the hot water.

Allow the washer to take the felted piece through a good cold rinse.

If the piece doesn't felt the first time run it through the hot wash again. I actually throw pieces in and go back to get them when the washer stops now, because I understand the process and trust it.

If the piece doesn't felt the second time - go back to your yarn label and see if you really used 100% (or at least 80%) wool, "superwash" wool doesn't felt!! White wool struggles with felting, the dyes break down the fibers to promote felting, so mix white with another color, even off-white or tan.

Many of my bags are designed with Patons Classic Wool yarn. I love the way it felts, and the colors remain true.

I've used several items in my home to display items for pictures before placing them for sale on Etsy.

I sold this item before it was made, she said, "I want a hobo bag in Aqua."

I knit the bag with green recycled wool yarn from Etsy, "Comfort" yarn and aqua wool yarn held together, because I had two shades of Aqua, I ended up naming this one Watermark, because I added a new ball of yarn a different shade so the color changed about 1/3 from the top.

I used the three yarns to warp my floor loom to make the strap and closure.

I wanted to mix up some of my fiber arts, so I used the same yarn that I knit the bag with, and dressed my floor loom, then hand wove the strap and closure panel.