My earliest memory of artistic endeavor was finger painting in Kindergarten. From there, I branched out to drawing with mud on the sidewalk. By the time I was in the sixth grade, my best friend and I were knitting each other headbands.

In high school I actually constructed a macrame backpack. I like a challenge! It was made of jute string, and lined with burlap. the first time during my crafty phase that I wore a pair of jeans without embroidery on them I felt naked.

I tend to get hooked on a particular craft until I have run out of experimental ideas, and then I move on to the next. My knitting goes in cycles, and I picked up the needles again a few years ago. I have never made anything fancy, just hats and scarves. But the other day, inspired by something I saw somewhere, I decided to try making a felted bag.

My experiments with felted hats and scarves during the last couple of years yielded mixed results. This time I chose something small to play with. I was originally going to make an oblong clutch-type purse. Then I decided to use a circular needle, and it ended up being a pouch. My Kindle fit perfectly before I shrank it to felt it, and now it is too small for that, but definitely large enough for other “stuff.” It is awaiting a trip to the store for hook and loop fastener.

Now to duplicate the test model. If I had to make these for a living, I would starve. I won’t tell you how long this first one took. I might be finished with a second one a little sooner…or not.