There’s a great craft supply shop located at the intersection of N. Howard Street and North Avenue. The store,  Artist and Craftsman Supply, is part of a small retail chain of arts and crafts supply stores. It’s incredibly useful to have this store so close my house. It really doesn’t meet any of my yarn-related needs, but it has a good selection of general crafting supplies at decent prices.

Last time I went in, I had just broken the zipper on my notions bag and was hoping to find a replacement. I am on a constant quest for the perfect bag(s). I look for purses big enough to hold the usual purse stuff and a small knitting project (without coming across as the enormous tote-wielding crazy-lady that brings an overnight bag to the bar), project bags for big and small projects to be carried around in, and notions bags to hold all the little things needed for knitting projects. I seem to have a talent for beating up notions bags and they only last about 9 months. Artist and Craftsman Supply usually carries some bags/totes and has a selection of pouches for holding little supplies. I found a rack of Blue Q bags in four or five different sizes. I ended up getting both a pouch to replace my notions bag and a larger bag with a nice flat bottom to use as a project bag. The little bag was $6 and the large bag $15.

The project bag held my plain vanilla sweater for a while but now that project is done, so I emptied it out to take pictures of the inside. The bag is really simple – nice, sturdy flat base, one outer pocket, and the top zips fully closed (something I strongly prefer over other closures or those zippers that only partially close the top).

I carry the notions bag with me nearly everywhere I go so even though they match, the two bags haven’t stayed together. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with both bags. The project bag is great for holding a sweater-sized project; it’s big enough to hold everything and wide enough to easily see to the bottom for those things that fall down  (like loose buttons). My only complaint about the notions bag is it’s deeper than I usually use so I’ve had a little trouble digging out stitch markers. But that’s also not the bags fault and part of the reason I usually get pencil case sized notions bags. Either way, the Blue Q bags are great for holding knitting supplies and at $21 for the pair of bags, were a great deal.

Happy Knitting…