Travel Satchel- WIP Wednesday!

I've decided to hold a WIP Wednesday today, focusing specifically on one project: this travel satchel by Stephanie Shiman on knitty.com! Mine comes in light blue and a dark blue heather. This is my first time working on a project that needs to be felted, and I must say, I haven't screwed up (yet!).

Here it is unfelted. All curly because of stockinette stitch.

I realized (about 5 seconds after I wrote the above sentence) I could've used a normal messenger bag for my "travel satchel," but there's nothing quite like being able to make my own- especially since I can decorate this one with a lot of cool thing! Plus, my messenger bag was kind of falling apart. I've used it on and off since about 6th grade. That was nearly 8 years ago. The awesome part is that it was totally customizable- no one else will have a bag like this one! 

Seriously though, who else is going to be crazy enough to make a striped handle??

Someone with not enough of the primary yarn color, that's who.

I made this travel satchel because I'm going to Japan in June and wanted a travel bag that could hold my camera (which doesn't have its own bag), a notebook, some pens, my passport, my wallet, and some other odds and ends that I would likely need while traveling in a foreign country. Plus, it'd be a good conversation starter. Likely. If no one looks at me and thinks, "She's a foreigner so she must not speak Japanese." I look kind of Asian. Being a half-Asian: you get questions all over the spectrum. 

It's not quite finished yet. Obviously, because it's being featured on WIP Wednesday. I still have to cut off the extra little tails and sew everything together. I'm contemplating adding a fabric of some sort to the inside and to the inside of the handle, to reinforce it so it doesn't accidentally break. Not saying it will, but I like to be on the safe side. It'd suck if all my stuff exploded out while I'm in Japan. 

Until next time!