The case about my new case: Della Q

In the last weeks I had to reconsider my knitting-needle "organisation": My "system" wasn't working anymore. Circulars were everywhere and although I tried to keep them from tangling up with each other by storing most of them in their original sachets, they were also starting to show their age and tearing up. It was extra hard and quite unpleasant to try to find anything in my big mess of a bag...

So here you get the exclusive before + after pictures!
Behold on the left my wonderful striped tote, which I used since the dawn of time to keep (most of) my needles in one place... While on the right please do welcome my new and all professional The Que Grand Circular Needle Case!

It might look like an innocent, elegant silk clutch from the outside, but beware - the inside holds the best tool for all of us slightly neurotic and archive-maniacs knitters out there:
Pockets... Labels,
TABS!
In this organisational wonder you get 21 labelled pockets, plus another 3 plain pockets. 
​All of them do have a flap and they are about 15cm x 10,5cm big, which makes each pocket large enough to hold about 3 (smaller sized) needles comfortably.

The labelling helps me to find whatever I need at a glance - that is, almost… since there is no info on length of the cords given in the tabs. On the other hand this would have limited each pocket to only one length and for me at least, it is so much more practical to keep all different lengths of the same needle-size in one space.
Well, I guess that what I will do is to hold up all the same-sized-needles of one pocket, so as to quickly see which is the 60cm, the 80cm and the 100cm length one. That does not sound too bad.

The half sizes stop at 6,5mm, so that there was no pocket provided for my 7,5mm circular (the labelling goes from 1,5mm (000US) to 12mm (17US) by the way). There are even quarter sizes for the smaller needles, which I do not use at all - so I thought that I could put stickers on the existing tabs to personalise the labelling according to my own needs and together with the pockets that do not have labels, I can still find my stuff at one glance and have all of my needles together in one case.

Thankfully I checked the website again when I was going to write the blog post - because there I read that this case also features a zip pocket, which I didn't see at all! It says on the site that this pocket is here, “just in case you need to store something other than a circular needle.”… What a great addition!
This extra deep and large pocket is very well hidden underneath one complete row of flap-pockets!
So I proceeded and put ALL of my short circulars TOGETHER with their original plastic pouches (that mention size and length) into this zipped pocket and yes, they all fitted in there!

While the pocket organisation is most practical and welcome, the main star of this case is of course the fabric! When I first saw it, I thought that it is made out of pure silk - but no, the material is called “Poly Silk” and as I found out with a quick google search, Poly Silk is essentially polyester and silk - it is a mix designed to make the silk more durable, easy to wash and wrinkle resistant. So you get the gorgeous look of silk and hopefully the durability and resistance of polyester with this material. 
Sounds good to me (who always walks around with wrinkly clothes, if they aren’t knit-wear… my knits are perfectly blocked, always!!! But everything else, not so much).

It is very soft to the touch and provides a relatively sturdy but extremely lightweight case. Although it is not small (29cm x 18cm x depth: diverse - my overfilled case measured 2cm on one edge and 4 cm on the other), it can look sleek and still hold all of my quite big needle collection.
​A big collection, which makes me want to reevaluate why I had to buy this 15mm needle back then? It takes up almost as much space as half of my other needles… and I never ever have used it anyway!

But back to the actual case: Especially for all of my travelling around, I love that it isn’t heavy and that it takes up considerably less space than my former storage.
I think that I will still continue to use my cute Cath Kidston case seen here on the left for my straight needles and probably for most of my DPNs, since I really love the combination of the two of them together. I never use my straights anymore though, so I normally don't have to travel with this much heavier case.

The colour I have is called “Seafoam” and it is a wonderful, vibrant, light venetian green. I especially love the different hues the silky fabric provides and I have the impression that it will age gracefully by getting lighter at the edges and make the rich texture of the weave come out even more. On the website there are quite many different colours to choose from, depending on the model and there is also a big choice of different sized needle cases for interchangeables, straights, DPNs or crochet hooks. I also think that I saw some lovely project bags over there, but I tried to ignore them for the time being.... 

But what I love the most, is the fact that these cases aren’t produced by a big international company but by a small business based in Seattle, which seems to be working ethically with the people that produce those handmade bags in Vietnam.

The tag on my case informed me that “A portion of your purchase trains low-income and rural Vietnamese women in the art of quilting” - How cool is that!

Even if the prices of items produced by these  shops sometimes seem more elevated than equivalent products offered by giant business chains, I still am actively looking out for these “small and true shops” each time I need something.

I really believe, that if we all could support the smaller businesses that still try to show a conscience in today's consumerist jungle, the working conditions in some otherwise exploited places might maybe get a bit more acceptable.
At least I am feeling so much better about any of my own purchases when I try to actively reflect on the type of company I am investing my little money in and when I then choose to wholeheartedly support all of the individual "Ma and Pa" shops out there.

There is so much more info you can read about the DellaQ shop and the quirky owner Della in her about page (or you can also check her out on instagram). Her blog “The Knitting Bag Chronicles” features also a lovely post that introduces the Vietnamese sewers and the workshop she is working with.

Now I am off to find a different solution for my DPNs, since I guess that my old Cath Kidston straight case (although very cute) will be too cumbersome to take with me when travelling…

For the dimensions, offered colours, price and other info about the cases, check out the DellaQ shop.
My case is this one: The Que Grand Circular Needle Case in the colour seafoam

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