First Post is a BIG One!!!

Might as well start with a bang, huh? Here goes...

Hi all. I’m working on doing something different over the summer- I need to get involved in something that isn’t studying veterinary medicine!

Anyhow, I love to sew, quilting was my first craft art as an adult. But when I had cervical spine issues, I picked up knitting since I couldn’t bend over the machine. Then I had opposing interests when my neurosurgeon was able to return me and my neck to full duty. (I know, this is not the worst problem to have!)

Well, my knitting and the quilting can overlap in bags. I’ve yet to find the perfect knitting bag, and I’d love more than just my ideas to go on. So, here it goes. I’m going to run a raffle here and all you have to do to enter is post a list of _at least_ the top three features that every knitting bag would have.

There will be one grand prize and two runner-up prizes.

~ Grand Prize: a full-size knitting bag, designed by me taking into account ALL of the entries, in the fabrics of your choice, plus a smaller Work-in-Progress bag to match, plus a coordinated notions sac to throw into either one AND a knitting needle case of your choice- for straights, circulars, or DPN’s.

~ Runners up: a work-in-progress bag (big enough for a lace shawl project or a few pairs of socks), designed by me after taking into account ALL of the entries, in the fabrics of your choice.

When I say “fabrics of your choice,” I mean it. Anything you can find for sale in a local quilt shop, home dec store, or online, I will purchase and make the bag for you. I really need your best ideas, people, so I’m going all out on this!

You may qualify for two separate entries if you have ideas that are different for a full-size knitting bag vs a WIP bag, but not if you have 6 ideas for the full-size bag. Just make one post with all of your ideas, and I’ll keep a tally.

This raffle will be drawn on June 30th, so I will be taking suggestions and ideas for over a month, and posting prototypes for you all to see and comment on here on the blog. I hope to generate a LOT of discussion, so let's get to it!

Oh, and don't worry AT ALL about covering similar ground as other people have posted already. If it's on your top 3 list, too, that's important information for me, as well! Just post whatever matters most to you.

And, if you post anonymously, please include your ravelry ID or some other way to get in touch with you when you're the lucky winner!!!

Comments overfilled on this post. (Wowsers!!!)

Please go here to enter the contest!!!

Some of my bags

I want for this raffle to be a success. I think that for that to be so, you have to believe that I am a capable seamstress (otherwise, why would you want a bag that I made for you?). So, here are a few of my recent bag projects:

I'd love to hear what you have to say about them! Don't forget to throw yourself into the hat for the raffle!!!

What You Want in a Bag- Pockets 1

So, you all want pockets. Some of you want very particular pockets. Very, very particular. :) It makes me happy to read your pocket wants, because I am very much a pocket girl. In my time in the emergency clinic, I sewed myself and all of the other technicians waist strap-on pockets, basically they were the dreaded fanny pack, because scrubs don't have enough room (and they start to sag when you over-pack them).

I hear you about the pockets. 3 days' worth of this outline series will be dedicated to them. If we all agree about handles, we kinda don't agree about pockets. But that's ok, because I think we will all LOVE the ideas that we've generated here. So, here's pockets: day 1- removable pouches.

We need removable pouches. That is the conclusion that I have come to. We need a pouch for our notions, we need a needle case specific to our knitting preferences, we need to have a little case for darning needles, and we need my surprise knitting pouch. That will have to wait until the final rollout of the "perfect" bag, but I promise you a revolution in your stranded knitting and even in your simple one-skein wonders.

The thing I'd like to know from you, my darling readers, is whether you'd like to have pouches for your mp3 players and cell phones, and whether you'd be interested in a matching wallet or business card holder. So, respond here about that or anything about removable pouches. And don't forget to enter the raffle if you haven't done so yet. It costs you nothing but a few minutes' time, and you may win a "perfect" knitting bag of your very own!!!

What You Want in a Bag

I've finished the compilation process for the first 94 comments. This is a GREAT starting place for me, and for those of you interested in using this for your own design project, I thought I would share this. So, watch here every day this week, and I'll post another section for you to read & use.

I'll be using the outline to design the "perfect" knitting bag this week, and hopefully have a prototype for you all to see in 7 days' time.