The Kipster KIP Bag, you know, Knitting in Public!

I worked on this design with a customer who wanted a bag that she could use while walking and knitting. Hmm I thought,how unusual. But, after a bit of Googling, on my part, I discovered this is a growing trend and this type of bag is commonly called a KIP bag, for Knitting in Public. In fact, there is a World Wide Knitting in Public Event.

On June the 13th & 14th as well as the 20th & 21st, knitters all over the world are encouraged to gather and knit in public together.

I've been working on making a few for inventory, taking pics, (in order to do this I had to borrow some supplies from one of my neighbors) writing the description, all the "behind the scenes" work that is required to add a new product.

Today it's all finished and so for all you KIPer's this bag is designed to make it easy for you!

Find them in my shop by clicking here

A few features

Tall

9”

22.86 cm

Diameter

5 1/2"

13.97 cm

Two zippered pockets circle the exterior. Great for stitch markers or even a place to put your id and money.

A d-ring between the two pockets provides a place to hold while zipping the bag closed

and

also a place to attach a pair of scissors, or other tool, to avoid leaving them behind in some random waiting room, on a park bench, or on the bus. The scissors can still be dropped into the pocket, but are secured to the bag as well.

A set of pockets circle the bag’s interior

Three slots for needles and three open slip pockets for circular needles, crochet hooks and all your other equipment

A split key ring attachment point at the upper back provides maximum versatility

This allows you to...

attach a sewing gauge, or other tool to the bag

or

attach a carabiner to the bag to hang from your belt, belt loop or another bag

You could also purchase a wristlet strap or an ABC shoulder strap

I decided to line it with a bone colored 420 denier nylon packcloth.

Its smooth surface allows your yarn to move easily while you knit, plus it gives the bag some needed structure.

________________
What did the customer say?

"Your work is excellent. I couldn't find anything that even made me go "Hmmm" on close examination and three days living with it.
The design is great - sits up, steady when I'm pulling on the yarn, nothing catching, all my goodies in the bag where I can find it, there are several sets of needles, crochet hooks, circulars in it without crowding the bag or keeping it from closing. I added a set of 7" double pointed needles and it didn't burp. :)
I like the ring on the top of the bag, I find I end up carrying the bag by it. I need to get a carabiner out and hook it to my purse like I do my keys.
Summary: YAY!



Thanks M"
May 26th 2009

African Women one of a kind Zelda Deluxe Messenger Bag

I bought this fabric quite a few years ago. I made a Tallullah purse and a couple of other bags with it. I was looking through the drawers last week and came upon the last piece. Enough for a Zelda Deluxe I though. Here it is in all its glory! The colors are wonderful and the gold accents are perfect. It's another one of a kind Zoe Designs bag. Beautiful!

You can find it here in my store
5/27/09

Tale of Two Geisha Britta Totes #2 Zen Charmer Alexander Henry

Geisha's are a popular theme in fabrics. I always have a few prints in stock. I decided I wanted to use a couple that I got specifically for Britta Shopper Totes. The large scale makes them ideal for that style.

What we have though, are two entirely different styles of geisha's which I think is really fascinating.

Which do you like best? Can you even answer that question?

This fabric is incredible. The motif and the colors are stunning. I consider this to be a contemporary geisha print. But it's just as amazing as the traditional print, shown in the post below this, isn't it?

You can find it in my shop here

Tale of two Geisha Britta Totes # 1 Traditional Kona Bay print

Geisha's are a popular theme in fabrics. I always have a few prints in stock. I decided I wanted to use a couple that I got specifically for Britta Shopper Totes. The large scale makes them ideal for that style.
What we have though, are two entirely different styles of geisha's which I think is really fascinating.
Which do you like best? Can you even answer that question?

This print is stunning, there are four panels, each with a different geisha. This is the first, so I expect this to be part of a series over time!
The panel isn't wide enough to fill the entire front of the bag so I expanded it by framing, on the sides, with a subtle black and charcoal kanji print. It makes the panel glow, as I hoped it would.
It's in my shop right now, you can click here to find it

What's in the garden this week

I can't remember what this plant is. I got it at the Boulder Farmers Market. It's a wildflower, in the lupine family. I used to know the name of them all. But memory is failing!




Another great ground cover, again, darn that memory, just can't find the name in my brain's filing cabinet



Snowball Bush



Bleeding Heart



Iris



Mountain Bluet and Bee!

Black and Purple Batik Zeldina Mini Messenger Bag

As I was looking through my fabrics, in search of a peace sign print for a custom order, I saw this and thought, yes, pull it out and make a Zeldina.

It's such a great print!

Find it in the shop by clicking here

5/20/09

Custom Order Echino Damask Honeysuckle Tote

I was pleased to work with one of my regular customers to create this gorgeous bag!

She wanted something that would hold her laptop. We started with a large Honeysuckle tote and expanded the width slightly to ensure the laptop would fit inside.

She wanted side pockets like the Zelda's and Tilly. That meant adding to the depth also, since putting side pockets on the Honeysuckles serves no purpose. Pockets need a minimum width or you can't put anything inside them!

On the back we added a shallow zip pocket. Inside a sleeve, like you would find in the Panthers, this to hold the laptop in place.

Instead of handles she selected a padded shoulder strap.

The end result was a beautiful bag as you can see.

What did she think about it? See below! Notice she turned it into a Bag in a Bag, as did my other customer. I see a trend here!

"My lappy bag / airline carry-on came today, and I am just ecstatic with it! OMG Karen, it's perfect!
The fabric is gorgeous and coordinates beautifully with my existing neoprene Mac Book sleeve. It slides perfectly into the pocket - and the little piggy on the fastener is adorable! My Zeldina slides in next to it, and with the Morphin flap removed gives me full access to my purse without carrying an extra bag. And there's still room for a bottle of water and a good-size book or knitting project. The outside pockets will keep my phone, reading glasses, and travel documents within easy reach. Y'know, it's as if it were made just for me! ;-)

I can't wait to show it off when I travel...!

Becky"

5/17/09

Kawaii Hedgehogs Zeldina Mini Messenger Bag

This fabric is about as cute as it gets. I thought the scale was small enough to work all over the Zeldina rather than just the flap. I was right, it creates a wonderful effect.

Find it in my shop by clicking here

5/15/09

Abby, Madi and more European Travels!

Abby, her Morphin Zeldina and Two Gentlemen in Verona, Italy near the coliseum


Madi and her Gamer in Slovenia



Abby, her Morphin Zeldina in Porec, Croatia

With summer coming, many of you are going on vacation and taking along your bags. Please feel free to send as many pictures of you and your bags, ( or just your bags if you are shy) as you'd like. I get many comments on these pictures, people really enjoy seeing them!
5/13/09

Messenger Bag with custom made Peace Sign patch

I am excited to share this bag with you! I am now able to add custom designed, embroidered patches to my bags. Not only that, but they are made of a felt that is constructed with recycled bottles. How cool is that?

I have been looking for a peace sign patch for a while. I had this one custom made for me. It's gorgeous, very bright and colorful. It pops off the bag. Looks even better in person. The bag is dark black allowing the multi colors of the patch to really glow!

I can also get names, phrases and other motifs, so if you want to customize a bag in this manner let me know!

You can find this awesome bag in my shop by clicking here!

_________________________________

I just got three brand new, gorgeous batik peace sign fabrics in stock on 7/21/09. I will be making messenger bags and laptop cases with them. I will also be doing a new blog post. But I know many people are coming to this post looking for peace sign messenger bags and laptop cases.
Here are the new prints. Most bags will be made to order so please feel free to contact me to order yours! If you take a look around my shop you will see the many styles available.
Thanks Karen

click here to see all the fabric options

click here to see all the messenger bag styles

click here to see padded laptop cases

Click contact at the top of every page in my shop to order your custom made peace sign messenger bag

Purple

Multi

green
721/09

A Second Bag for the" Bag in a Bag" Concept

In a previous post I wrote about a customer who wanted a small bag that would fit inside a larger bag. She hated moving all her stuff from one bag to another. So we created a set of bags so she could slide the smaller bag, full of all her daily necessities, inside the larger. The smaller was a small Honeysuckle Tote, the larger, a Zelda Deluxe.
Well she decided she wanted another large bag,but this time with a zipper closure. We made a Tilly, again , with the inside pocket to hold the Small Honeysuckle.
The camel print she had liked originally was the chosen fabric. It turned out to be a stunning, classy bag as you can see.

Same Giveaway new location! Please join and try again

I teamed up with Jessica over at Funky Finds and she is hosting a Giveaway, on her blog, of a Morphin Zeldina and a flap of your choice. Exact same Giveaway I had on my blog, but different location and entry qualifications.
You enter on her blog
The Giveaway ends on Tuesday May 12th at midnight CST
Good luck!
Karen

Giveaway winner Please Contact me!

Still waiting to hear back from the winner of the Giveaway. I'm thinking the notification is sitting in a spam folder. If your name begins with a "J" you might want to check!

Too Much Traffic to my shop overloaded the system! Wheee

Never thought I'd see the day when my shop got such a burst of traffic that it became inaccessible.
It happened this morning. I couldn't get to the inner workings , nor could I access the store itself.
Wow!
There is another Giveaway beginning this morning, on another blog, and I think the traffic from that overloaded the system! I will be back with details later today.( Plus the winner of my blog Giveaway. She has been notified and I am waiting to hear back. ) I want you to get the chance to enter that Giveaway also, but being able to get to my shop is part of the process for the blog writer so I don't want to cause any more traffic to happen right now! What a thing to do, try and slow down visits to my shop ! Arggg LOL! I'll be back later! Stay tuned
Karen
5/7/09

Frida Kahlo Wallet on a String- Custom Order

Sometimes the scale of a print is the perfect fit for the item a customer wants.

This wallet on a string was ordered as a replaced for one the customer bought years ago. It was one of those "I know someone who" type of things. One of my regular customers forwarded the newsletter with the info about the Giveaway to a few of her friends. One of those friends was this customer who had bought a wallet from the local store where I sell in Lafayette, Goldie's. She had been looking for a new wallet, loved all the features on mine but didn't think they would still be available. Bingo she finds out, from a friend, that they are made right in town and she can custom order the one she wants.

This is the fabric she selected, I love this wallet!

Important Message for those entered in the Giveaway!

I am so pleased to see how many of you are interested in my Giveaway. I have received an incredible amount of wonderful comments, here on the blog. Quite a few of you have said you have signed up for the newsletter , but , and this is a big one, you don't seem to have appeared in my newsletter sign up list. If you did not receive a confirmation e-mail, requiring you to click on a link to confirm (this to avoid being signed up by someone other than you!) you are not entered in the Giveaway. I think some of you might have signed up to receive blog post updates via e-mail and not the actual newsletter itself.
If you think this might be the case, because you didn't click on a link in an e-mail, let me know and I will add you. Or you can still sign up right here on the blog, top of every page to the right>>>>>>
Send me an e-mail to service(at)zoesbagboutique dot com I appreciate you took the time to look at my Giveaway and don't want you to miss out on your chance to win! Good luck to all
thanks
Karen
5/3/09

Spring Time Flowers in Colorado--One of my Inspirations

Yellow Tulips that looks more like a daffodil!




The shine on the inside of this tulip really caught my eye



Sweet Cicely, I love ferns and this is as close as I can get here.



These tulips get more comments than any other in the garden, ohh look at that color




Blue, I love blue flowers!!!



Couldn't resist posting these pics today. Weather report said expect crummy, instead, it's glorious. I'm weeding and surrounded by these beauties.Since I am so inspired by colors and form in fabrics, it makes sense that I would be a flower lover too. Luckily my bags last a lot longer than these babies!
And my hats? Another way to do a flower arrangement, of course!
5/3/09