It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas

I made these trees and pinecone ornaments from a class called Felt and Stitch Holiday that was offered by Betz White. She offered this work shop earlier this fall and I was not able to take it at that time, so I was excited when she offered it again. The pine cones are going to be part of teachers gifts for Christmas. The little trees I am keeping for myself.

I really need to be working on making some Christmas cards but I go side tracked by the cuteness of these.

A Bag - A Tale of Calluses, pricked fingers and frustration

Ok, so I decided to knit some wool and felt (or full it if you want the correct term) and make a pattern and make a fall bag for myself. Sounds pretty straight forward - right? Wrong! It took 6 balls of wool to knit up enough to make the bag. (Not Cheap even with a 40% coupon to Hobby Lobby) Then I over felted it and it came out of the washer really thick. I cut out the pattern and sewed it up and it STRETCHED while I was sewing it *cry*. I cut a strap off an old bag and sewed it on. My stitches are crooked on it and I just don't care. I found some cotton in my stash of fabric that had the right colors for the lining. I whipped up the lining which came out ok. I shoulda put a zippered pocket in the lining but I'm afraid of putting in zippers. The thought of putting in a zipper makes me want to run screaming from the room. I'm sure I hear my mom laughing at me over this silly little fear. I poked my fingers with the needle and pins many times while sewing the lining into the bag. Oh, and I have a huge calluss on my middle finger from hours and hours of knitting. In the end I kind of like the bag. Tell me does it look ok or is it really ugly and I am just in denial? If you got any tips on doing something like this I want to hear them!