Cavalcade of Xmas FO's -- Best Friend Bag

I'm posting my Xmas FO's bit by bit, to get more posts out of it, don't you know.

I posted here and here about the Best Friend Bag from Knitty.com. The member of my family who got this is a bit of a party girl, and turquoise is her favorite color. She just loved it.

After blocking, this project got set aside until I just had to finish it for Xmas. The idea of sewing on the beads stalled me, I think. In fact, when it actually became time to sew the beads on I cheated and skipped the center cable. Hey, it was late at night, and the bag is still symmetrical.

Tada!


And the inside:


Fabric and beads were from stash (to be precise, from DD's stash, who graciously permitted me to poach), but I bought the yarn (Jaeger extra-fine Merino DK), purse frame (same one and same vendor as specified in the Knitty pattern) and matching thread specifically for this project.

I was especially pleased with this Xmas FO. It's not the kind of thing I would use myself, but it seemed to be a good match for the recipient. And I learned some new skills, like attaching a purse to a frame while listening to Madame Bovary on CD.