Knitted Impressionist bag

Piecework Magazine for Fall 2025 had a knitting project that appealed to me. Called Water Lilies Tote, by Sarah Kelly, it is a knitted bag inspired by Monet’s Wattler Lilies series. I liked the look of it and thought it would be an interesting knitting challenge. I also happened to have some wool in similar colours, some of which was even in the recommended wool, Rowan Felted Tweed though not enough dark pink for the whole, and none in the dark blue background colour. I did, however, have a whole 200gm ball of Bendigo Woollen Mill’s  10 ply Rustic Tweed in a very close colour, and three pinks to mix.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I gathered resources and set off stitching. 

I found the instructions a little confusing.  I didn't want this to be my debut in double-layer knitting. I didn't have enough of the pink and green wool to work two sides and I had no intention of working it using the intarsia method. I therefore adapted, working the floral front back and forth, using mainly Fair Isle, then a plain back, sides and base. I added a few stitches to the front, to allow for joining. Unfortunately I miscalculated, and ended up needing to adjust the chart. 

It took a while. There are a few places where I used Intasia (the yellow, for example) and but I enjoyed the challenge. There are errors, but I figured felting would cover them.

When I began the plain back, it occurred to me if I created a steek I could knit it in the round, without purling, I seem to have come a long way since my nervous first steek in 2022! It worked a treat. It used the same number of stitches as the front but because the tension was much looser without the multiple colours, it was wide enough to cover the sides as well. The 200gm ball of dark blue ran out a few rows short, so I added a green edge.

I stitched between two stitch lines on the machine and cut the steek. I also used the machine to join the front to the back and form sides.

For the base, I picked up stitches along the lower front and worked across, binding each row into the sides of the base at either end as I went. I found a very close match  to the dark blue left over from  Alice Starmore's St Brigid Aran. It served for the handles as well.

I closed the last seam with knitting, after pinning it to make sure I got it even. 

The result pleased me. It was a decent size but a bit loose and floppy. Since it was meant to be felted, I wasn't concerned.

It's a while since I felted an item in a washing machine. I'd forgotten that when I last did it, I had a top-loading machine. I prepared the bag, but couldn't raise the temperature of the machine on anything but a 140 minute cycle, longer than recommended in felting instructions. I took a punt and tried the  shortest cycle which only heated to 30C. It didn't work, so I tried hand-felting. That barely worked.

I then took a risk, and added it to my washing machine along with my sheets, and washed it on the bed linen cycle, with temperature raised to 60C. Two and a half hours later, it emerged - felted. There are places where you can make out the lines of stitches, but it is well felted.

 It was also damp, but not saturated, after  the spin. I placed a cotton cushion inside it to give shape as it dries.

This, I think, will be a useful and sturdy bag. It looks quite good and has used up about 300 gms of stashed wool.

That's a win on several fronts (and backs)!

Laptop bag from unfinished 1985ish knitting

Yesterday I sorted out the contents of the camphor wood chest I bought when my grandmother died in 1981. In it I had stored the remains of her meagre possessions - knitting needles, mending equipment and various things she had treasured or made. In 1993, when my mother died, I added a lot more knitting needles, threads and unfinished embroidery  - that is, the ones I didn't finish at the time.



Amongst the things of my mother's was the front of a jumper she had knitted in about 1985 for one of my daughters. I suspect she ran out of wool, or the recipient grew faster than she knitted. There was only one ball of each colour with it.  I thought of knitting sleeves and back in a plain colour but by the time I inherited it, it would not have fitted anyway. I reconsidered for my grandchildren, but it seemed too complicated.

Looking at it yesterday I had an idea. I cast off most of the stitches, leaving 10 on the needle and knitted a long strap. I considered an icord but decided on a strap. The needles broke, so I found others and continued.




I stitched the sides together, ignoring the fact that the top edge was narrower than the bottom, and attached the strap to the other side.







I then studied the manual for my front-loading washing machine and figured out how to create a hot wash. I bought this machine when I moved to my apartment and have never used anything other than the programmed cycles. I discovered I could create a cycle at 90C so set it for 2 hrs 15 minutes and put the bag in to felt.

When it came out it looked as if it might work for a a bag to hold a knitting project. It felted well - especially the patterned section which had layers of thread carried across the back.

 I set it aside to dry.

As I looked at it, I had another idea.

I got my laptop and placed it in the bag. I then pulled the bag into shape, pinned the top edges together and left it to dry overnight.

This morning I measured it, dashed off to Spotlight to buy a zip, came home and machined the zip in . By hand I stitched down the edges of the zip inside the bag and stitched the handle into a tube. Should have gone for the icord!







The handle is not perfectly centred. However, it works.  My laptop fits perfectly.




I feel elated with this outcome. I love using a lovely piece of knitting. I love making something useful and feeling I've done justice to my mother's effort and intention. It's strong, practical, durable, presentable and imperfect. A bit like the women who contributed to its existence.