Got a Brand New Bag

This is my purse.

It's been my purse for over 2 years now. I got the pattern here. I like it a lot because it's exactly the right size to hold my stuff, and it's been very sturdy as well. Thing 2 used to put rocks in it and I wouldn't notice right away until I realized my purse was extra heavy.

But there are problems.

First, it's getting a little ratty-looking after 2 years of schlepping. Second, I'm getting bored with the colors. Third, the strap has always been too long, and I never managed to do anything more elegant about that problem than just tying a knot. And fourth, my cell phone always makes its way down to the bag's depths and hides, and then when it rings, I can never fish it out in time.

So I knitted a new one, using the same pattern but with a few changes. I used Reynold's Lite Lopi instead of Lamb's Pride. And I'm really liking my new colorway. I also replaced the strap the pattern calls for (just a long stockinette strip) with a 5 stitch i-cord. Here it is, inside out and pre-felting:

The little matching bag on the left is to hold my phone. I also attached a little i-cord loop to the inside of the big bag:

The plan is to loop the i-cord tail on the little bag through the i-cord loop, so the little bag will hang inside the big one. That way my phone will have a harder time hiding from me. Here are the bags after a couple trips through the washing machine:

I decided to add a tiny bit of bling, too. So I knitted in some little beads:


Now I just have to decide whether to shave off the fuzz, or leave it au naturale. What do you think?