Pouring Out the Bag

I have become hooked on Eskimimi Knits' blog. I admit that I'll read others first and wait to end with hers as it is almost guaranteed to make me smile.

Some time ago she posted Who Would Knit with a Bag Like This? which was an exposé of what is inside her wonderful knitting bag. I peeked at mine and made a comment but that's as far as I got...until tonight.

I finally took the time to pour mine out and look at my life, or what I take with me by choice at least. So, without further ado..

Let's start with the bag itself. This small,  half circle plastic bag was a give away from Spin a Yarn. I remember the day I got it looking and thinking there was no way my sharp, pointy scissors would make it more than a day or two in that bag. So, I loaded just a few things at first. Over time (4-5 years now) I've loaded and unloaded and never had a puncture yet. I am still amazed, but loving it.

I have the "normal" stuff...paper and pen to write notes as I go, scissors and a metal gauge thingy, just enough stitch holders to complete my standard doll sweater (needs three) and two circular needles for said sweaters and other small projects.

What makes me chuckle are the memories as I laid these out. There is a tiny paper chart of a star and the heart one I found I had left inside the bag when I snapped this photo. I don't quite remember what I used them for but vaguely remember drawing them. The tapestry needles are down by one. I look in my bag each time and grumble that I still cannot find the third, which was my favorite.I swear it fell into the couch but I cannot find it anywhere, for months now. It was one a friend's Mom had passed along to me and it was the perfect size, with a smaller eye than the others.

The stitch markers range from thin new ones in a tiny box to a piece of yarn tied small or safety pins. The bee, peace sign, and Mary medal are new and are actually jewelry findings that were on clearance. I love the bee, although I hate insects, because my name means "honey, a bee". You'll see the small amount of red yarn on the bobbin and quite a few bread ties. I believe I learned on Knitty Gritty, to save those and use them as bobbins. It may have been another HGTV show, but I'm not sure as it was years ago.

Three crochet hooks live in my bag. I crocheted before I could knit so I have a fondness for them. I have actually used the light on the pink one that I only purchased because it was the right size and just $1. It was actually fun to finish a project one night by the light of my hook. LOL!

My favorite items I've saved for last. You'll see a button with my eldest daughter's picture and a cutout of my younger one whose button broke. These are obvious favorites because they're my children but they also remind me of my determination to take care of my kids. I had taken a retail job and those buttons were on my lanyard with my name badge. I took my knitting to that job for break times and somehow managed to maintained "me" in all of the commotion.

Well, thanks for peeking into my knitting. I hope you saw a bit of yourself and maybe you'll want to share as well. What's in your bag? What kind of bag do you use?

Oh, I almost forgot. When I was hired at my current job each new employee was given a large canvas tote bag with the company logo. My first thought at seeing the large pockets was how much yarn and knitting goodies I'd be able to fit in it. So, many times the Spin a Yarn bag and my work-in-progress (WIP) get thrown in with my "day job" stuff in that fantastic everything bag (which happens to have my own embroidered flowers on it now).