Yep, he’s 12, and he had a pretty happy birthday. For one thing, he managed to get the very thing he wanted most. It’s not just a birthday gift (we wrapped it in Christmas paper and sung “Happy Christmas to you, Merry Birthday to you…”) and Peter traded in some stuff to help finance the whole thing, lest you think that we’ve suddenly come into an inheritance or something.

We gave him another game, too.

Now, about that knitting bag.

It’s going back, but I was tempted to keep it because the colors and fabric are perfect. I think I’m going to have to develop my sewing skillz so I can design my own bag, dammit.

I liked this bag because:

1. Namaste is a cool name.
2. The aforementioned colors and fabric
3. Inside zippered pocket which stayed out of yarn’s way while providing some security for important stuff.
4. Larger inside pocket which was the perfect size for socks-in-progress.
5. Enough room for a main project, and then some.
6. Space for my wallet, lipstick and mints … separate from the rest of the stuff. So important!

It’s going back because:

1. 1. It’s just too big. The outer flap is 15″ wide, which means the bag itself is pretty huge. I can’t fit it next to me in the car if there’s someone in the passenger seat.
2. The outer flap gets in the way when you need to get into the bag quickly.
3. The magnet snap closure isn’t very secure. It’s tricky to get the snaps positioned correctly, especially the ones for the outer flap. I know that I’d end up never actually closing the flap.
4. The zipper pocket on the outside of the flap is a great idea, but it’s just short of 8 1/2 x 11 — which means a sheet of paper won’t fit inside unless it’s folded. Another 1/2 inch, and it would have been a very useful pocket.

This bag could be an awesome knitting bag, if it were a little deeper (more than 2.5″) and had needle pockets. I’m really impressed with this shop in general.

End of blah blah. I’m hanging on to my Lady B for now.