Tools of the trade

The shutterbug in me wasn’t happy with pictures of only St. Brigid and my new mitten book the other night, so I snapped a pic of my “toolbox.”

This is the larger of three or four Tupperware containers that I’ve picked up at rummage sales over the years. It’s about 6”x9”x1” with a snug lid. It normally resides on the table next to “my chair,” but it’s very portable and fits nicely in almost any take-along knitting bag.

I’ve used the smaller of these containers for cross-stitch supplies – floss, scissors and needlecase don’t take up a lot of room – but they’re a bit too small for knitting stuff.

My knitting toolbox contains various sizes of stitch holders, cable needles, and crochet hooks, some seldom-used point protectors, three or four different types of stitch markers, a flexible tape measure, a small wooden ruler, a metal needle sizer/gauge ruler (the only metric measuring implement – gotta fix that), highlighters, sticky notes, two pairs of scissors – there’s an old stork pair that’s purely for decorative purposes, as it doesn’t cut worth a damn - and my clicky row-counter.

These are the essentials. There are other tools and gadgets in various drawers, baskets and bags (the storage arrangement for tool is similar to that for stash!), but these are the things I like to have handy at all times to get the job done or get me out of a fix.

I’m curious about your “essential” tools for both at-home and on-the-go knitting, and how you keep them. Please share.

Comments

[yvette]

Oh Vicki, you do not want to see the mess my tools are currently in. I would take a photo to give you a laugh but I am currently camera-less. My straight needles are crammed into a fabric needle roll I made when I was at school, a few years ago!! My friend sent me 2 cute PVC bags one small which currently holds all my new circs etc and a huge bright pink one that now holds everything. I have bought fabric to make new needle cases, its on the TO DO list somewhere!!!
When I go anywhere I pack one of two fabric totes and include my essential litle leather pencil case complete with crochet hook, needle, ruler, scissors etc but I am never very organised.

[Cindy]

I am a fanatic as I have shared my cleaning regime with you previously. I have a Vera B. bag for the 3 knitting baskets I have going with everything I could possibly need. And my sewing and craft supplies are in Martha Stewart clear tool box type containers...very organized. Okay let me have it. : )

[kate]

Mine are all over the place in several different containers. I keep trying to consolidate my containers, but then I only need some of my tools when I travel and then they end up all over. I should really try to organize myself. I used to keep my stitch markers in film cannisters. Then I would loose the film canister. Now I attach them to safety pins or stitch markers. I lose everything and then only find it when I buy it again. It's the story of my life (and by coincidence what I posted about today)

[Annie]

I love your tool box! I have a small pencil box (plastic) that I keep all the small stuff- point protectors, tape measure, row counters, crochet hooks, etc. But I definitely need a larger box. Yours would be perfect.

I have recently consolidated all my knitting bags into a big basket that I keep in my room. When I take a project, I can throw in that little box and my knitting and be all set. It works for me, but I'm constantly looking for new systems.

[Eilene]

I use 2 different things to hold my tools...

1. A leater double decker zippered pencil case (I love this) from Levenger's. This goes with me everywhere.
2. A zippered pouch from a knit store. You can see through the front.

[Melanie]

I use a small, zippered pencil pouch to hold all the little basics--which are stitch markers, stitch holders, a row counter, measuring tape, random lengths of waste yarn, a crochet hook, pointy scissors, "sewing up" needles, and a cable hook. I've also got a pencil in there, but no sticky notes--that's genius. This little kit is all about not getting up off the couch.

[Lydia]

At home:

My needles all (supposedly) live in a needle roll I made a while ago out of purple canvas with gold ribbon binding the edges and a Roman numeral embroidered on each needle pocket.

My other stuff lives in a great little container I got from Staples; it's a clear plastic school box with a lift out tray, and the top and the tray are both divided into sections. My essentials in there are various yarn needles, stitch holders, point protectors, any stitch counters I'm not using, cable needles, and, most wondrous of all, my stitch markers. For them, I use a package of hair rubber bands I got at Target a while back; they were unspeakably cheap, there are a lot of them in all sorts of colors, and they don't catch on the stitches.

I have scissors and seam rippers around the house, so I don't carry them.

I put in my knitting bag whatever I'm about to need.

By the way, anywhere on your blog that isn't a link to something else is a link to the Audrey blog. I'm using Safari; do you know if this is just a quirk of my browser?

Thanks.

[Elizabeth]

I was gifted the BagSmith knitting bag last Christmas and use it for all my tools (in the pockets) and my current wool and p needles. The rest of my needle collection is in a roll-up fabric holder with the rest of my stash in a big plastic bin.