Pipped to the Post by a Pinwheel Purse

Have you ever had a really great idea, only to find out that someone else has already had it. I guess this happens quite a lot with knitting.

Well, I had this great purse idea. It started because my daughter's DT (design technology) project at school is to make a felt purse. As research she asked if she could take an old leather purse of mine into school. I'm quite fond of this purse, as a school friend bought it for me many years ago, in Tunisia. For some reason I keep it in my sewing box.

Anyway, on its trip to school, a boy, whose name I won't mention, snatched at it and ripped the leather. 





So I had been wondering if it would be possible to sew or knit a purse with the same sort of opening. I wasn't sure if it would work with wool, as I thought might just be too bulky with all the layers. And then I was browsing through Ravelry to see what someone who had hearted one of my things had also hearted, and there it was. A perfect little knitted version of my leather purse had already been designed. It is called the Pinwheel Purse in Frankie's Knitted Stuff, which seemed equally strange as that is my daughter's name.

So I have knitted a new purse, to replace my old leather one. It clearly is a great idea, as you can see by the enormous number of people who have knitted this little purse, and linked their projects to the pattern. What I particularly like about the pattern is that it is so simple that once you have done a few rows you don't even need to refer to it.  

I also thought I'd photograph the wool that I used. It came to me in a bag of oddments. I really love the mixture of colours. It had no label, and wondered if anyone knows what it is?

Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess....