some enchanted felting

so i'd been reading a lot on the net about the process of "felting" or "fulling"--which is basically intentionally shrinking a wool something or other in the washing maching and making into this sturdyish fabric that resembles a thick piece of felt--hence the name. apparently in the crafty circles and designer dens it is now all the rage. people are a'felting all over the place--bags, purses, mittens, you name it, they are felting it. i decided to give it a try, and after a failed attempt, in which i used a synthetic yarn instead of a 100% bonafide dyed-in-the-wool wool, i quickly rebounded a created a tote bag from a pattern i found on the cpc site, modified to fit my style and specifications. i forgot to take pictures prior to the felting frenzy, partly because i was a bit dubious as to whether it would actually work, and partly because i just plain forgot. i actually stood beside the washing machine as it worked its magic, with all the anticipation of a kid at christmas time. i'd read the nay sayer's posts about it not working, how you have to do special, cryptic things for it to felt, like add baking soda, old jeans, towels, eye of newt, etc. but after only 5 minutes in my miraculous washing machine, i pulled out a felted tote:




what an adventure it was. i rather enjoyed the whole process, except i think i have an allergy to 100% wool, and doubt i'd do a whole lot of it because i hate allergic reactions. the only thing that bummed me out about it was the wool i used was a light/dark blue stripey denim sensation, as noted in the pics, but the finished product came out basically just a mottled blue colour. i think if i did it again i would make it a bit bigger and give it longer handles.