Cast On: Doctor's Bag

Okay, okay...I know what you're thinking, Jonathan, why are you making a ladies purse if you are trying to encourage men to knit?  Well, about a year ago I promised I would make my mom this purse for Christmas.  Then, Christmas turned into her birthday, and now it looks like her birthday is turning back into Christmas, which is TERRIBLE!  I just can't seem to get excited about this project.  I cannot tell you how many times I've started working on it to stop 20 or so minutes later.  I really think that my reluctance to complete this project stems from two problems. The first problem is that the pattern, which is another first for me, is extremely tedious.  Herringbone makes me want to NEVER KNIT AGAIN!  I can't even really explain why I dislike this technique so much...with all of its slip stitches!  The second problem is the yarn I've chosen.  Much like the picture above the yarn I chose is red with blue and yellow flecks in it, which when knitted looks AMAZING; however, the texture of the yarn is murder to the touch!  Every slide of the yarn through my fingers feels as if sandpaper is being rubbed against my flesh.  And for those two reasons it has just remained one of those unfinished projects...a what-could-have-been...a promise unfulfilled.

But not anymore!

I am bound and determined to finish this freaking purse if it kills me!  I've made a secret deal with myself:  if I finish the purse then I can splurge on the yarn for my next project, a sweater!  So with that motivation I've started to create my very first bag...and a woman's purse at that.  And the progression of this project is painfully slow.  In about a day, I've only managed to accomplish 2/3 of the small side of the bag.

Here is my dismal progress:

Pretty sad, huh? But it IS pretty!

But I will be damned if I give up now!  I foresee much begging, pleading, and cursing in my near future, but that is to be expected when knitting a pattern created by Satan himself and using the coarsest yarn known to mankind...DAMN YOU HERRINGBONE!

P.S. I will be posting more dismal progressions as I have them to show...it might be awhile!