Spindlitis

I’ve been a fan of Tom Bihn bags for some time now. I am finding that even people familiar with these bags don’t understand how great they can be for spinners.

This is a small yarn stuff sack in Solar:
As you can see, this is the size you’d use for maybe a sock project. This sack fits in the top of my purse. Notice that there is a snap hook on the side of the sack. Tom Bihn bags have o-rings inside, to be used to secure organizational pouches and sacks. If I were using my Swift, a really great knitting bag, I’d attach this to one of the o-rings. I do have o-rings in my medium Cafe Bage (which is what I use everyday), but this is secure enough without them.

And this is why I always have a spinning project with me! It’s a good size for my turkish spindles. The fabric is water resistant and I find that it doesn’t seem to cause felting of my fiber. The triangular hook on the side was designed for yarn, but it actually works well to tension singles when I am plying. You can see the remaining “turtles” from my recent plying project. Just run the ends up through the hook and pull the drawstring to close the top.

And this is the sack closed up, ready to travel. These sacks have a lifetime guarantee (as long as you don’t machine wash them.) There are two larger sizes. I use the largest size to store my niddy noddy and plying spindles, in my Swift. The medium sizes are mainly used for knitting projects. The two larger sized yarn stuff sacks can be purchased with a clear bottom. This is a handy feature for your projects, making it easy to see what’s inside.

TB also makes a travel stuff sack. I am finding these useful too. This is the largest of the travel sacks in Ultraviolet. This is how I normally have it down in the bottom of my bag.

Here’s the bag opened up. These are really designed for travel, so they do not have the snap hooks on the side. I’ve purchased extra triangular hooks and have one on this bag for my yarn.

See how the bottom is oval shaped? These bags can be used to put items into the small spaces of a backpack or one of the other traveler’s bags that they make. This particular size fits perfectly into the bottom of my medium Cafe Bag.

I’ve rolled down the sides, so that you can see my sock knitting project. I use 8″ double points for socks. They fit just fine in the bottom of this bag. Since I’ve discovered these, I can carry my sock knitting project with me and my spinning project. They don’t take up much space and I can leave them home if I want. It gives me a lot of flexibility. I used to keep my sock project in a fanny pack. I’d have to remember to grab it, if I wanted to take it with me. I’m always working on socks, so this is an easier system.

There is a new TB cross body knitting bag coming out later this year. I am really pleased with my new system, using just these two bags. I’m planning to buy more of both types of these bags. I don’t mind using cheap bags to store fiber and yarns that are not in use. I am really enjoying these more professional bags for my projects. And I am getting more spinning and knitting done, because I always have something with me.