Erin Lane Bags

 I bought this bag in the Erin Lane booth at Stitches South last year.  (There is also an Etsy shop here - Erin Lane Bags and More.)  I love the fabric - who wouldn't love sheepies knitting?  I love the saying.  I love the size and the shape.  I love everything about it.  It is one of my two favorite knitting bags.  My other favorite is my Feed 100 bag - because it is just the right size, has great pockets, folds down to nothing and most of all was bought by my daughter because the money went to feed lunches to 100 school children who couldn't otherwise afford it.

The Feed project is still out there trying to feed the hungry in the world.  There is a terrific Feed Shop that has all kinds of wonderful items for sale and the great thing is you know when you buy exactly how many school meals you are providing with your purchase.   I loved my bag so much that I went back and bought another for me and one for Mom and one for Dena as gifts.  They are terrific bags for whatever.  There are many other products ranging from shirts to teddy bears - I highly recommend checking out their site here:  Feed Shop.

So Friday, I got a big box in the mail.  It had some of the best goodies I've gotten all year in it!  This bigger sheepie bag was in it.  My original Erin Lane sheepie bag is called a bucket bag - size and shape thing, ya know.  This bag is called the barrel because it's just that much bigger than the bucket.  

 Here are the two of them side by side so you can see the difference.  The new barrel is not gigantic, just a bit bigger.  The problem with gigantic bags is that I fill them with lots and lots of stuff that I 'NEED' to have with me and eventually they start to weigh so much that I cannot lift them or at the least it is uncomfortable to carry them.  

 This new barrel is big enough to carry a sweater's worth of yarn and my second project (I always have a second, smaller and easier project - always) with ease.  It isn't so huge that I'm going to stuff it with four or five books, three cases with knitting needles, a couple of accessory cases and several magazines because I might have time to knit, tat and read while I wait.  (I will never understand why I think I'm going to be waiting that long, but I always seem to think I need everything I own with me.)

Also in the box was this generously sized drawstring bag.  I'm guessing this is 15" x 15" and it's fully lined with muslin to keep things clean.  It has a drawstring under that red grosgrain ribbon that locks it shut.  It will be excellent for keeping the extra balls of yarn for that sweater neat and tidy so they don't get messed up running loose in the knitting bag.  And look - more sheepies knitting!

These two items are for my interchangeable knitting needles.  I have lots of them because I do lots of knitting.  These are called Double Duty's because each of these packs will hold two sets of interchangeable knitting needles.  If you look at the second picture of the jewel tone knit pack you will see one set of needle tips is already in the middle slots.  There is lots of room for another set of tips and cables and all the other accessories I might need.  I really LOVE the colors of the jewel tone knit pack and the black and red and white one with knitting terms matches my sheepie fabric so nicely!

Those were things that I had ordered, well, except the barrel - Dena ordered that and gave it to me as a gift.  Lisa and Lindsey (the brains behind Erin Lane Bags) sent a couple of little gifts too!  See this little bag?  It's meant to be a sock knitting bag - just big enough for a ball of yarn and your double point needles.  For me it's going to be my tatting bag!  I always keep tatting in my knitting bag because sometimes you feel like a knit, some times you don't!  It is the perfect size for a couple of shuttles and a ball and maybe my little scissors, a sewing needle and my tweezers.  It is small enough to drop in my knitting bag and best of all, it matches!!

The other little extra that I got was this terrific pattern keeper.  Lindsey came up with this idea after finding a crumpled pattern in the bottom of her knitting bag one evening.  It's great for knitting patterns, but it works for tatting patterns too!  And I can fit one of each in it and put whichever I am currently using on top where I can see it.  Then snap it shut to keep pattern nice and safe and clean!

I do love my knew ensemble!  Thanks Lindsey and Lisa!