I am thrilled with the outcome. It is like a rotund little pet, or the home of that round little pet. Photo second from bottom (basket on wooden bench) is pre-felting. Outdoor photos (top) are after felting, under the cedars and with the moss on the Bruce.

I had wanted to do this pattern for years, ever since receiving the book, but I only decided to go after it recently. I learned the yarns had been discontinued, but I managed to find the Fizz for sale here on ravelry.

I picked a yarn to go with it. I’m hoping the fuzzy felt looks good with this thicker felting yarn along with the eyelash.

I’m so happy with the outcome I’d like to make another, perhaps half-sized, to use the remaining yarn.

PROJECT DETAILS
The super bulky worked up at a much larger gauge (9 stitches over 4” instead of 12 stitches). I cast on only ~75% of the stitches and scaled the other counts accordingly (making sure I could match the ratios in the pattern).

MCO 52

I chose the size 13 needle, but after reading more about felting, I’m wondering if I should have gone with the size 15 instead. The argument is that you should use a looser fabric to allow the full felting magic to happen….I’m usng the suggested needle size, likely an undershoot for felting….

For the rim and handle, I’m using the 47” cable on the size 13 needles. It worked well. For the body of the basket, I’m using a 24” rather than a 16” cable. I’ve always found 16” cables awkward, and my 20” was in another project.

It is working up quickly, I’m curious to see it after felting. I realized I had stopped doing a 75% on the stitch counts for the decrease at the bottom of the basket. I should have done this…it’s a little more conical than I’d like….The eyelash makes it more difficult to pull apart, so I imagine it will turn out OK after felting and some hand-shaping so I will leave it and felt it.

7/7/2015

Knitting complete - time to felt. I’m excited I finished this up north since we have a top-loading washer up here (front-loading at home, which is more of a nuisance for felting).

Felting: Hot water, agitation for ~4 wash cycles (~48 minutes).