Review: KnitPro Thames Bag

I had a little treat last week. I’ve been so overly excited about it, that it verges on the ridiculous – so I thought I’d share it with you. I bought a beautiful new bag for my knitting needles – a KnitPro Thames Bag. I bought mine from A Good Yarn and if they’re not in stock, then they can be ordered in for you (I ordered mine).

They’re available in black, yellow, red, purple and blue. I bought the blue one and I’m really glad I did. It’s a beautiful blue – almost verging on purple and the velour material on the inside is such a rich colour.

I do take my needles out with me to knit and natter quite often. I had one of the fabric KnitPro cases for quite awhile and it did the job, but if the case was upside down, then sometimes the needles fell out and the soft fabric didn’t quite feel like enough protection. I kept a few fixed circulars in one of the pockets too, which was a bit cramped for them; so I’ve been on the look out for something that fit the bill better. The Thames bag is perfect for what I needed.

The material is faux leather and the straps are detachable, so if you want it purely as a case then you can. The case is quite hard for extra protection. On the inside, it is like a folder. There is storage on the front and back covers, as well as, two “pages” on the inside.

The elastic section is on the front and there is more than enough room to fit in my interchangeables. I’ve managed to fit in 13 pairs. Some share a space and the large needles have a section each – with a bit of jiffling, I think I could fit another pair or two in. The elastic is good and the needles do not move at all.

The next page has four deep pockets (all of them go down to the bottom of the “page”) and one sideways buttoned pocket. These would be quite good for notions, I store mine in a different way; so for the time being I have crochet hooks, needle gauge and some fixed circulars in mine.

On the other side of the “page” is a full zipped pocket, which is perfect for all the cables for the interchangeable tips.

The next page is a clear pocket, which I think is brilliant. I’ve used mine for all my short 16 inch circulars and the keys and stoppers. Being able to see what’s in the pocket is great, especially when trying to find the key that locks the interchangeables in place.

The back page has slots, which are very tight, so the needles don’t move about at all. I’ve put my most used DPNs and sock circulars in there. Though it could be good for crochet hooks too. At the moment the slots are perhaps a little too tight but I’m sure they’ll loosen up a bit with wear.

The whole thing zips up, so nothing is going to drop out of it. The one downside is the velour, which looks absolutely beautiful but will probably mark with use; particularly with the needles pressing on it.

If the case was another inch or two longer, then I would have been able to fit my 25cm straights in, which would have been the icing on the cake. However, I really love it and would definitely recommend them – particularly if you have a needle collection like mine!

And just because, here's a photo of my knitting...

Cathedral Windows Yet again

I seem to have a thing for Cathedral Windows. I've made lots of different projects with them. 

My favourite is this wall hanging (the photography is dire and you can't see the detail, the entire hanging is quilted and the windows are metallic fabrics and look amazing). 

Then there is this cushion

 and my little needle case. 

There's been lots more too that I haven't blogged about like one year when everyone got a cathedral window pincushion and the next when it was Christmas decorations.

I had a weekend recently when the sewing machine came out and there was lots of industry.

Secret Garden block during sewing. The block starts in a similar way to Cathedral Window but the "windows" are put in a different place.

Finished needle case

I've had a project sat for awhile, and I finally had some down time so I got cracking with it. It'll be a cushion when I'm finished similar to the one above. Here's my progress so far:

Cathedral blocks sewn together before ironing.

All the blocks ironed flat.

I've used what I had leftover from the wall hanging for the windows. With better photography you can see the fabric is really stunning. 

It took awhile to figure out the arrangement for the fabric as I didn't have enough to do many squares in just one colour. I just have to sew them all in now, which is the time consuming part. 

Day Six: Favourite Tools

"Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers."

From Eskimimi Makes 

My favourite tools... I'm not sure whether I have favourites because everything I use has its purpose. If I'm in a hurry and want the bare minimum with me, then I would grab my scissors, my sewing needle case and my favourite crochet hook (as well as my knitting, of course).

I've had these awhile, so excuse their condition. The scissors are little Fiskar ones: I have two pairs. One in my knitting bag and one in my sewing bag. The first pair I've had for at least 12 years and they are still as sharp as when I bought them. Attached to the scissors is a hardanger scissor keeper that I made a long time ago at a workshop. Originally, it had a tassel but that's long since disappeared.

My needle case is made of two little folded fabric squares sewn together. It's a similar block to cathedral window but is contained to one square. The instructions for the square can be found in  Cathedral Window Quilts: The Classic Folded Technique and a Wealth of Variations by Lynne Edwards. The book is fabulous and I've made lots of different things from it, including some lovely little pincushions. Here's a few bits that I've made using Cathedral Window blocks - cushion and a wallhanging.

There's a needle for all occasions. Several knitting sewing needles, darning needles, tapestry needles, betweens, sewing needles, glass headed pins and knitters' pins.

I'd not really noticed that there was a bit of a purple theme going on.