My knitting notions bag is kind of like Mary Poppins‘ carpet bag. If you dig around you might find a floor lamp or a potted plant in there.
Oh, I aspire to the tidy, orderly notions bags my bloggerly friends post about.
Agujas recently wrote this post and photo about the contents of her notions bag:
I saw this and whimpered a little. Where are the dozens of stray markers, congregating in every crevasse? The little scraps of yarn, saved “just in case?’
I don’t have one notions bag. I have three. Plus a few roaming tape measures.
Notions Bag #1
This is my primary notions bag: the one I carry everywhere and have a conniption when I cannot locate.
- Count ’em: 1-2-3-4-5 crochet hooks. I only ever use two of them. The others are there to keep them company.
- 2 cable needles: Part of a set of 3. Their brother ran off to join a cabled cardigan team and hasn’t been seen in months.
- 3 small containers of markers: I’ve tried to re-sort the marker by size, but this never lasts long.
- 5 needle tip guards, which I never remember to use.
- 1 stitch holder, which I also never remember to use.
- Stray Knitpicks tightening key and cable cap: My goal is to return them to Knitpicks set from whence they came. I’ll let you know when and if that ever happens.
- Embroidery scissors: It’s a miracle I haven’t lost them in airport security yet.
- 1 spool reinforcing thread: When I fished this out of the bag, it had wound itself around my crochet hooks.
- 1 bobbin wound with black yarn: This bobbin should be returned to the bag containing my half-finished blended intarsia project. By the time I return to that project, I may have forgotten where I put the bobbin.
- 1 tube of darning needles: I’m just proud that I finally started using a container for my needles. Prior to just a few months ago, they littered the bottom of my bag and the bed of my couch.
- 1 yarn scrap that, for some reason, I felt it necessary to keep.
- There should be a retractable tape measure in here too, but it’s gone on walkabout
Notions Bag #2
I’ve got A LOT of little bits and do-dads. They would never fit in one little notions bag. That’s why I’ve got my backup notions bag. This is where I put all my extra equipment. At the moment, this bag is on the empty side, which tells me that I have some notions corralling to do. At the moment, this bag contains:
- 3 containers of stitch markers, one of which has only two remaining. Where are the others, you ask? No idea. But the cats might know
- 5 spools of reinforcing thread – I must have gone on a binge
- 1 baggie of novelty stitch markers that are annoying to use, but too cute to give away
Notions Satellite Box
Sometimes when I’m working on project I’ll put together a task force of specialized items and give them their own little container. And there they live for months, like an island of shipwrecked sailors. These are the survivors of my recent Rocky Coast Cardigan project.
- a handful of loose metal stitch markers: Not sure what I’m going to do with these in terms of permanent storage. They lack their own little box and I’m afraid that if I take them out of this box I’ll never find them again.
- a few rubbery stitch markers: These are stubborn. They stick to the yarn and the needles. I’d like to get rid of them, but I don’t know if I know HOW to get rid of knitting notions. At least not on purpose.
- 1 needle guard: odd that it’s in here, because I didn’t use it for this project
- 1 large cable needle: The missing big brother of the set in my primary bag.
All She Wants To Do Is Knit 
Again, I understand you like you’re living in my head. I recently broke down and bought a giant purse. I hate purses. I refuse to acknowledge that it is even a purse. It is my knitting bag. That also carries my Kindle to and from work and my wallet and keys. But it is definitely not a purse. And in this bag I have a notions bag that holds my knit kit plus everything else I’ve deemed necessary to my knitting sanity and survival. The Knit Kit is a huge help in making sure I have everything along, but I still have random packages of stitch markers and tape measures, etc that all float at the bottom of the giant bag all the time.
I can *so* identify with this..
Are you peaking into my knitting basket? I can’t help it. I LOVE containers. So what if I have 3 (that I admit to). I NEED them ok?
I *have* a nice little notions box. I just can’t ever seem to keep my notions in it. I take one thing out to use, and *poof* 5 more are missing. It’s terrible.
loving the mary poppins reference!
I have two or three notions kits. One in a bag with a picture of the Louvre and the other in this kooky purple bag shaped like a jelly bean. I don’t think that’s enough. I think I need a third notions kit in circulation, but I’ll start doing that after I organize all of my knitting bags.
I’d be interested to read about the logic or your notions kits once you’ve gotten them all put together. DO you have a primary? Satellite kits? etc..
I should try to rganise all my stuff someday.
I love the crochet hooks keeping company to the two useful ones, haha
It’s like Bob Ross’ happy trees.
[…] found this post about travel tools on Agujas (via this one on All She Wants To Do Is Knit) and decided to share my own portable notions storage. This is […]
[…] My Knitting Notions Storage: Like Mary Poppins’ Carpet Bag, Only Less Organized (all-she-wants-to-do-is-knit.com) […]
WOW! I don’t even have one set of stitch markers (although I’m dying to get some!)…And I totally only use two different hooks for everything as well 🙂 Don’t think that I’ve ever considered a notions bag for keeping everything in though…I might have to try this…although my method of keeping it all on my “desk” is working pretty well for me lately (It’s actually an entertainment cabinet with some carefully placed boxes and a show-organizer for all of my yarn).
[…] 9) Slovenliness: Have you seen my knitting notions storage? Seriously, what’s wrong with […]
I have a neat “little” bag, I knit myself with leftover acrylic yarn with compartments for all the notions, I ever use/ would use, sewn to a lining I made of denim from an old pair of jeans. Am quite happy that I don’t have to dig out my stitch markers or scissors from between the cushions or pillows! Only problem is that anyone who sees my bag gets all curious to peep in! Loving my bag, hope it stays with me loyally, forever and ever!