Bag It

It's been so long since I've posted that I bet you thought I'd bagged this blog. Thanks for sticking around!

I was in a knitting slump for awhile, mainly because I was busy doing other things, but I've been picking it up again. We spent a lot of time traveling this summer, and the canvas tote that I'd been using as my knitting bag for the past 6 years was looking pretty rough since it got dragged everywhere. My day-to-day purse was not in great shape, either. After looking at a lot of options, I found something that I can carry every day but that can also serve as a knitting bag.

This is the Monroe bag from Namaste, which I got on sale from KnitPicks. I've had it for a couple of weeks now, and I really like it. There are 3 compartments with magnetic snap closures, plus a pocket in the back. There are little feet on the bottom, which I think will keep it from getting grungy too quickly. Even though it's much bigger than the purse I used to carry, it's still light and doesn't get in the way.

Here's how my bag looked when fully packed for my most recent flight. I used the front compartment for "purse" things--wallet, phone, pen, notepad, cosmetics--and fit an iPad in the back compartment. Combined, there are 4 open pockets and 2 zippered pockets within the front and back sections, and I used one of those zippered pockets to store some knitting notions. The middle compartment has a zipper and a snap. That's where I put my knitting. You can see that the sweater I'm working on does fit in there along with the felt yarn holder I use, but the compartment didn't zip up comfortably with that much in there. It didn't really bother me, though, because I could still wear the bag comfortably.

I stored a copy of my pattern in the back pocket, and it stays very neat. In my other bag, it would roll down to the bottom and get crumpled.

There's a tab that can be snapped closed to keep the two handles together, which is great for traveling since I didn't have to worry about one of the straps slipping off my shoulder. It would have been even better if the tab was attached to one of the handles; it's a separate little piece and I'm worried I'll end up losing it some day.

All in all, I've been really pleased. I like there are are so many different sections and pockets, which keeps me organized. The size is both manageable and versatile, and I love the look and feel.



Over the next couple of days, I'll be sharing more about that sweater project you see inside the bag.