Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Since today was a beautiful day, I took the opportunity to sit outside to eat my lunch and do some knitting. There are some seldom used tables by a fountain and some trees near my office building.

Lately I've been focused on finding the perfect knitting bag and organizing my knitting notions and projects.

First the knitting bag. I wanted it to be large without any dividers. My two Namaste bags don't quite hit the mark. The Laguna is large but had the center divider, the Zuma was one big pocket but not very large. After browsing the Knitting Bag Lust group on Ravelry and listening to the review of the Zhivago bag on Lime 'n Violet. I had narrowed it down and began obsessively researching an Atenti Weekender; the Fiona, Gatsby, and Zhivago bags by Offhand Designs; and the Tom Bihn Swift.Once I saw reviews and action photos of the Tom Bihn Swift I knew it was what I was looking for. I was on the bubble between the Atenti -- which could double as a work bag -- and the TB Swift. I wasn't too crazy about carrying a cordura or nylon bag to work because it was a little too sporty, even for my casual work environment. Then I saw the Swift in cork and that was it.

Here is my Swift pictured with a Namaste Buddy Case in turquoise. I bought the Buddy Case because I didn't like digging around at the bottom of my bag looking notions.



Here is an interior picture of the bag with the buddy case, and project bags from KnowKnits and Tom Bihn.



The Tom Bihn project bag is included with the Swift; like the GoKnit it has a yarn feed loop and a clip for clipping either to a belt loop or the inside of the bag. Extra ones can be purchased for about 15 USD. I'm glad I have the project bags, because I carry several projects at a time I no longer have tangles of yarn and needles I have to sort out before I can get to knitting.

The photo probably does not convey it but this bag is roomy, there is plenty of room to spare in here. The two see-through zippered pockets at the top of the bag are great. I would have liked a dedicated cellphone pocket but that is not a show stopper, at least I don't have to furiously unzip 5 pockets to find where I put my phone since I can easily see it. I'm also concerned about putting sharp metal knitting needles in the pockets, I'm afraid they would punch through the polyurethane. In the GoKnits project pouch is the Melody Shawl by Morehouse Merino which I am making with the March Malabrigo club shipment.



Here is another photograph of it.



It is hard to photograph because it is first knit in the round then cut down the middle.