Celtic weekend tote, Bag style

This weekend I worked on this bag. It's from the bag style book by Pam Allen and Ann Budd.
This is a great book if you are at all interested in knitting bags you need this book. This pattern is called the Celtic weekend tote and it's done by Lisa B. Evans. I am using Rowan Yorkshire tweed Dk. It's very very similiar to the Rowna scottish tweed called for in the pattern. To make the bag you hold two starnds of the yarn together which is making for a wonderful heavy dense fabric, perfect for a bag.

When I started I wasn't going to do any of the color work but the after finisheing the back so quickly I decided that I did want some colorwork on the front. So the bag will be just striped and then the front will have the colorwork.

The white yarn running through the top is my marker for where the top gets folded over to form a facing.

I don't love the design on the pattern so I decided to recreate my own version. This also makes it more "my bag" rather then a copy. I used graph paper and colored pencils to plan out what I wanted to do.

Then I would some bobbins and got started. I am using a long circular needle to do the front because it's easier to handle all the work this way rather then juggling everything on a straight.

It will take longer to do the front then it did to do the back but that's ok.