Accessories: Norwegian Mail Bag

Hey y'all -- it's been a while since I posted a FO (finished object), but here is one upon which I just put the finishing touches and submitted for potential publication.

This WAS going to be a Norwegian sweater for KAL over at Ethnic Knitting -- but as I knit, the yarn told me to make it into a "mail bag" ... so I did.

This is actually knit upside-down -- the CO edge is the bag opening while the bottom is mitered to give a 4x10 square base (I cut a piece of cardboard to give it shape).I really like the way it turned out! It's a solid bit of knitting -- so won't stretch out of shape as it's used and the whole thing just looks way cool.

The strap is done like a really wide i-cord -- which I do by using three dpns and working round and round as if I were using 4 or 5 needles, on the 16 sts for the strap ... this makes a flat, double-faced strap without ever having to turn it. To keep the strap from stretching, I did a running stitch in the green to either side of the strap .... easy to keep the running stitches even by going thru every 3rd st! So, what do YOU think?

BTW, the yarn is my favorite -- Dale of Norway's Heilo in a dark charcoal grey, dark olive green, and a really nice cream. I used #3s for the knitting, which gave quite a nice fabric!