Lots of finished projects -- not all knitting

I'm shocked by the date of my last post. I knew it had been awhile, but I had no idea it had been so long. I've accumulated lots of finished projects in the meantime. My favorite is this messenger bag:





This is the "Cheery Os Book Bag" from Tink Knit. The original has lots more circles, but I liked the way it looked after I finished the first row, so I stopped there. The front flap is knitted and felted, with the circles needle-felted into place. The yarn is Ella Rae Classic, eggplant and a variety of other colors. The body of the bag, though, is sewn from a buttery soft black leather that I bought on a recent trip to New York at Leather Impact. This was my first time working with leather, but the leather was so soft that I didn't have any trouble with it.

I also finally finished another bag that I knitted and felted weeks ago. This one is the medium-size Adventure Bag from Noni Patterns.




I used some Brown Sheep yarn that I've had sitting around for several years (it was supposed to be a sweater). The lining is from Purl, in New York.
The knitting was easy enough, but I was a little intimidated by sewing in the zipper. Luckily, it went in straight on the first try.









Those are the main knitting projects, but I did make these socks while I was on vacation.
















I've also got some non-knitted items to show off today. I got a shiny new Bernina sewing machine last weekend, so I've got a few sewn projects as well -- a cute pincushion, an eyeglass case, and a composition book cover made of some adorable cowgirl oilcloth.








I'm feeling the urge to try a patchwork quilt next . . . but first I ought to finish that cardigan I've been knitting.