Sometimes I just find myself browsing through “The Loloko Shop”:http://www.loloko.com/default.htm, daydreaming about having a desk full of cute Japanese office accessories.

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Card Stands

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A Trinket Chest

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A Sewing Kit

I’m not sure if it would make my days any more productive, but a desk full of Loloko goodies would sure make working at my desk a whole lot cuter!

Over the past couple weeks I’ve become totally mesmerized by all the wonders of Flickr — I swear, I could spend hours on there, pouring over all the photos of plushies, toys, fabrics, yarn, Hello Kitty — The list goes on and on…

I’m also posting my own photos that don’t necessarily make it on to this site, like this one of some Black + White Mod fabric I bought:

(I guess it’s on my site now!)

I’ve joined a couple groups, and one of my favourites is “Wardrobe Remix”:http://www.flickr.com/groups/wardrobe_remix/, where you post photos of whatever you’re wearing that day — I love it! Total heaven.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been making some rough sketches of the knitting tote, trying to get the design straight in my mind.

I want to include a lot of features, but I think having them all is going to make the purse too large and cumbersome:

1. Notion pouch
2. Notion pouch pocket
3. Needle pocket with elastic

4. Yarn hooks with snap closures
5. Roll-up / Water bottle holder
6. Large inside pocket for project or pattern (with magnetic snap)
7. Magnetic snap closure

8. Outside back pocket

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Feature overload!

(The holster on one side that will fit a matching needle roll-up, which means now instead of just a knitting purse, it’s an entire knitting set!!)

I should have a prototype done up tonight.

In working through some rough sketches for the knitting purse, I was thinking about all the notions that come along with knitting — the scissors and wide eye needles, the stitch markers, needle caps and needle gauges — they all need to come with you whereever you knit. My first idea was to include several small pockets for it all, but then I realized any little jostle or sideways position would spill the little notions out. So, instead, every knitting purse is going to come with a matching pouch.

This is what I’ve been using for my own notions, so I’ve already got the start of the design:

I especially love this because matching coin pouches are one of my favourite purse features, and the thought of including one with my own purse makes my heart flutter…

Inspiration has to start somewhere, and it struck me while I was watching late-night sitcoms and sewing away on orders from last week’s sale.

It’s funny, how you don’t know where it comes from? I just got up, pulled out a variety of fabric and sewed up something that looks like a combination of the Union Jack and woven candy:

I don’t know if I captured exactly what I pictured in my mind, but I can see some potential somewhere in the mess of rough edges and not-quite-right colours.