I love bags, purses, satchels, totes.  You name it, likely I have at least one in my collection of “containers for carrying stuff in”.  I am particularly fond these days of this bag. 

 

My dear friend Cozy has a lovely Etsy shop: CozySpirit where she sells bags of all sizes, moth-away sachets to match, and gorgeous yummy hand-dyed yarns.  This bag was a synthesis of both our creativity.  She did all the hard work though. 

I wanted a bag that was a good size to carry a small yarn project in.  I was particularly looking at it from the standpoint of classes at conferences.  I sent her the measurements I was contemplating and she did some figuring for me.

I purchased 5 bags from her and  I used all the bags at this summer’s Chain Link.  They were ideal for the classes, easily holding numerous small balls of yarn, my hooks, class notes and a pen.

The pockets of this bag are a gorgeous Asian style print she had leftovers of.  I had fallen in love with another bag she had in her shop, but missed out on purchasing it.  She only had a bit left and came up with this design to utilize it.  It is perfect in so many ways. 

The straps are long enough that I can slip the bag over my shoulder and keep stitching away on my project while walking around.  The outside pockets are very handy for a place to stow my keys, a small pad for design notes, or even a spare hook or needle when I need my hands free to do something else. 

And the interior details are just as nice as the exterior.  The seams are fully finished, so there are no fuzzy edges to add lint to my yarn or otherwise gumm up the interior.  There is a handy pocket on the interior too for keeping my hooks and such from diving to the bottom of the bag.  A nifty little loop on the interior also provides a good spot for stitch markers to rest when not in use. 

Cozy has numerous versions of this style of bag at her shop now.  She calls them “Project Cozys” and they are very reasonably priced.  I use all of mine on a regular basis. 

Cozy has also come up with a larger project bag that I will be adding to my collection very soon.  Sometimes I need more room in a bag for a project that outgrows the Project Cozy, so I’m looking forward to getting my new bag. This one will be large enough to carry a big shawl project in. 

And even if you are not a stitching kind of person Cozy’s bags are a wonderful well-made addition to your own collection.  The Project Cozy size is ideal for using as an everyday handbag with lots of good spots to stow your wallet, phone, car keys and all those other necessities when running about.