Zip top bags and tiny little hair elastics

I have a new love for gallon sized zip top baggies. I ran out the other day and didn't know what to do with myself! I use them for EVERYTHING. Need a place to put the rest of that salad? Zip top bag! You finally got up the nerve to shred all that block cheese in the fridge? Zip top bag! What to do with all the puzzle pieces for the kids puzzles that seem to end up all over the floor EVERY day? Zip top bag!

And the best of all... Need a convient way to keep your knitting project together, away from little hands, and portable to take with you everywhere you go? ZIP TOP BAG! The Gallon size is just about right for a copied pattern (folded in half) various dpn, yarn needles, small ruler, ball of yarn, etc. I currently have 3 nice little packaged baggies under my desk. One has completed teddybear parts, and my spare teddy eyes. One has that lacy sock I haven't worked on in a few weeks, and the third has a ball of woolese and the cabled hat I am working on for my Dad. I'm hoping to get the last one done today. It is also great for housing your ball of yarn while you're knitting on the go. Simply leave the ball of yarn in the bag, set it on your lap, floor, etc and it will roll around happily in the bag. It won't roll across the floor and get tangled in everyone's legs as they pass by. It won't get dirty on the floor of the car/bus/grass in the yard, etc. It won't pick up the pet hair that always seems to be on the floor of the house. It just lives happily in it's little plastic bag never knowing all the trouble it could get into if it were allowed to be free. Now if they just made the baggies with a nice little handle on top I'd be even happier.



Which brings me to my second favorite knitting accessory: Tiny little hair elastics. I bought a package of something similar to these at Target that had about 5 different colors for my 2 yr old's pig tails. These are not rubber, but a stretchy kind of plastic that doesn't snag hair. They are also very small, so are perfect for the thin hair on babies, or for very small braids. Since I bought them, I have found a few new uses for them:

1. Keep your hair out of your face (yea! that's what they're intended to do).
2. Stitch markers! They are just the right size and you have 5 different colors to chose from for 5 different purposes in the same project. Now these will in no way replace those pretty beaded stitch markers, but are a far sight better than buying band type stitch markers from knitting shops. Why do I say that? I am constantly losing those little bands, and 100 is MUCH better than 10 or whatever you get in a package from knitting suppliers.
3. Turn your dpn into single pointed needles, or into temporary stitch holders.
   

When I began my teddy bear saga, I realized that I did not own a pair of single pointed size 2 needles, nor did the Michaels have them in ANY brand when I had the chance to get out and look. Now, I wasn't about to wait until some that I could order from online got here, or until I had a chance to take a trip to Boulder to a proper yarn shop. I grabbed my dpn wrapped a little elastic around the end a few times, and instantly had some nice short little single pointed needles! Yea!