I bought this case to fit in my project bag and keep all my bits and pieces from getting tangled up in my yarn. Each project has it's own set of must-have bits. Here is my knit knit for the Helena.
( 1 ) These are my half-frame +2.0 reading glasses. I'm officially
old. When I got my eyes checked last year I asked the girl if I needed bifocals and she said, "No. When people get old like you, sometimes they just need reading glasses." Ha ha ... old like me ... erm ... sigh.
What's funny is otherwise my eyes are pretty awesome. I started wearing glasses at 16 and my near-sighted prescription has barely changed since then. It's just the close-up bit that doesn't work anymore. I guess I'm officially mid-sighted now since I can't see near or far.
( 2 ) This is my tiny, hand-drawn, graph-paper chart of the lace pattern with the row numbers written out. It's a 12-row repeat. Then, in all my other charts and notes, I refer to the row numbers on the chart and know what the heck I'm talking about.
( 3 ) This is my blocked swatch. It's so soft! Softer than my knitting, which is weird, but awesome. I carry it around to touch it and make other people touch it. I also measure it a lot to reassure myself that this sweater is totally going to fit after I block it. Totally. It's going to fit. Really really.
( 4 ) A crochet hook to fix dropped stitches, and my pencil to mark off rows on my row chart as I knit.
( 5 ) My row chart for the section that I'm working on. For each section, I put a number for each row. Then next to that I put the lace chart number. If there are increases or decreases, I somehow note that on the appropriate rows. As I knit, I make a mark next to that row.
For this sweater I'm knitting both halves at the same time. Sleeve, sleeve. Neck decrease, neck decrease. Body, body. Etc. So I mark of a forward slash for one sweater half and then complete the X for the other sweater half.
( 6 ) I'm using my Knit Picks
Zephyr Acrylic Interchangeable Needles to make this project. I really love them. I made the
Purple Striped Sweater with them, too.
The first couple of times I switched back and forth between the two halves of the sweater, I moved the whole circular from one to the other (leaving a lifeline in one). Eventually I realized (duh!) that I could leave the purple circ cable in the knitting and just take off the needle ends. The purple circles in the photo are the end caps for the cables.
( 7 ) Here is the pattern printed out. You can see my two color highlighting. I'm also taking tons of notes on the pages and taping my section charts to the last page when I'm done with that section.
( 8 ) This number is pointing to the
clear plastic case. I got it at Daiso, the Japanese 1 Yen store (which is a $1.50 for us Americans). It's just slightly smaller than 8.5" x 11" and about 3/4" thick. You can probably find something similar at the office supply store or craft store near you.
I initially wanted it to keep my printed-out crochet and knitting patterns from getting all wrinkled up in my project bag. I also liked that it was clear because when I'm outside, it can sometimes be windy and this case won't blow away AND I can read my patterns and charts through the case. Win-win.
Eventually I noticed that it was a good place to put my needles and hooks, my pencil, my yarn needle, and scissors when I need them. It's slim so it keeps everything from going to the bottom of my bag. I also don't have to dig crochet hooks and scissors out of the middle of yarn balls ... which I've had to do before.
When I work on a project at home, I keep this next to me open on the arm of the couch. When it's time to go somewhere with my project, I just close it and slip it in my bag. Cake! No hunting for tools or trying to remember everything. It's all right there. Woo hoo!
For my yarn and my project, I use various sizes of zip lock bags. Oh, so glamorous.
Do you have any project organization tips for toting your project or craft supplies places?