My Knitting Bag

I was a flight attendent on a Portland, Maine overnight about 20 years ago when I bought this bag at L.L.Bean. I would have never thought all these years later I would be using it every day as my knitting bag. I have several boat totes from Bean's...a lot of them are over 25 years old, (YIKES!) that I got when I was in college...one, most recently last fall that I had monogrammed with our school logo to take to sporting events....I've always got stuff to carry! Anywhoo....I came across this bag when I was shopping one afternoon and knew I had to have it because it was different than the boat totes I had...it has all of these great pockets. Soon after I got home it became my knitting bag. I can't even imagine all of the miles it has traveled, or how many projects it has held...the countless football, soccer, karate and lacrosse practices it has been to. Visits to the hospital, the community pool and vacations. But mostly it sits next to a big comfy chair in my great room...one of my favorite spots to knit.

It hardly looks like it has been used....these bags hold up FOR.EVER!!!!! There are three little pockets on the one side for candy, post-it notes, a sharpie, my cell phone and keys. And one bigger pocket on the other side that I slip my patterns into. I have the keychains from the boy's football season dangling on it...it actually has a zipper top that I can honestly say I have NEVER used!

But here's a peek of what I keep inside....



This is a knitting needle organizer that my mom made for me when I was in high school....



Notice the pink and kelly green??? I was REALLY into them way back then....all that "preppy" stuff...Funny thing is, I still kinda am :( I prefer bamboo needles and I have quite a collection....



I have NO idea how I started using this little Barbie purse CindyLou got when she was 3 years old....



I think she was ready to part with it and I couldn't bear to put it in the Goodwill bag, so I started keeping all of my little neccessities for knitting in it.....darning needles, tape measure, scissors, stitch holders, cable needles etc...

What a wonderful hobby knitting has been for me. I have been knitting since I was probably 10 or 11 years old. I wasn't allowed to watch t.v. unless I was doing something "constructive". My mom had always knit and I watched her since I was little....I kinda taught myself and she would help me when I got stuck. There was an adorable little knitting shop in the town near where I grew up and I would spend hours in there. She would always make me use my own money to buy my yarn, then when I finished the project she would pay me my money back.....kinda like insurance to make sure I would finish!

There have been periods when I wasn't knitting....and times where I just can't stop. But pretty much it has been a favorite past time of mine for over 35 years! I wish to this day I would have taken a picture of everything I've made and put it in a notebook...oh well. And I can't even remember how many people I've taught to knit over the years. Knitting has really become more "cool" since I started, and the yarn section at Joanne's and Michael's is pretty good...very tempting to grab more yarn to keep busy!! My day ususally includes at least a few minutes of knitting...it keeps me happy.