For dorayme: Comparison review of the Little Swift and the Medium Cafe Bag

I have 1 small and 1 medium cafe bags. Someone mentioned recently that they used a large organizer pouch as a divider in a certain bag. I decided to try a medium pouch in both my cafe bags as a divider and also as security for those loose items in the largest section. It fits horizontally in the medium, and it fits vertically in the small. I also like the idea of criss-crossing key straps to help to hold things inside, but the medium pouch will be even more secure. Thank you to whoever suggested those ideas.

Well, I must eat some crow. At least was served very sweetly in the form of a gift!
A dear friend decided that I must have the Azalea MCB and it arrived today. I must say it was the perfect choice for me! I wrote about my initial thoughts on Ravelry and as I use it, I will have more to add, but I was sooooo wrong about how the MCB wouldn't work out for me.

Granted, I still love my LS's as my EDC, and don't think the MCB would be a great long term EDC for me, but for "trips" to the park, museum, zoo, etc. with my family it's going to be an excellent choice!

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Originally Posted by dorayme

I wrote about my initial thoughts on Ravelry and as I use it, I will have more to add, but I was sooooo wrong about how the MCB wouldn't work out for me.

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Ack! I was trying to stay away from Ravelry tonight. Guess I'm supposed to not knit tonight. :)

Congratulations on the lovely surprise gift of the MCB Dorayme!

Now if I am not mistaken, did you and I share the same apprehension about a cafe bag - being, at least for me, a vertical format rather than horizontal?

Does this mean I should place a small cafe bag in my next upcoming order....just in case? :)

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Originally Posted by dorayme

Well, I must eat some crow. At least was served very sweetly in the form of a gift!
A dear friend decided that I must have the Azalea MCB and it arrived today. I must say it was the perfect choice for me! I wrote about my initial thoughts on Ravelry and as I use it, I will have more to add, but I was sooooo wrong about how the MCB wouldn't work out for me.

Granted, I still love my LS's as my EDC, and don't think the MCB would be a great long term EDC for me, but for "trips" to the park, museum, zoo, etc. with my family it's going to be an excellent choice!

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What a wonderful friend you have! I went to Ravelry and read your review (with great photos). I'm not surprised that you discovered how much you like the MCB; isn't that often the way with TB bags? It's like they've anticipated little features that we didn't even know we needed, until we had one of the bags on our back or shoulders and realized, "Hey! This makes the burden of carrying all this stuff so much less of a burden."

What did surprise me was your revelation that you've rethought things and think the Azalea LS is not for you! Say it isn't so! You and I both carry our LS'es as daily bags, or purses, so I can understand why you prefer neutral colors that will go with everything. But I'm still thinking I'll buy one when they come off pre-order status. Azalea is such a cheery color that I want to surround myself with it; you know, as a kind of external endorphin to make myself feel good. :D

I also headed over to Ravelry to see your post. I would like to note that Azalea seems to go amazingly well with the purples you wear Dorayme! It seems so perfect for you!

Are you going to post those pictures here too!?

Katy, you are right, Azalea does go with the purples I love quite well. It's an awesome color that I feel was picked just for me! I will post the pics here tomorrow since you asked. It's harder for me to post them to this forum, (with my iPad) or I would go ahead and pop them into this post.
I will be calling you soon! Much planning needs to be finalized for my next order!

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Originally Posted by dorayme

Katy, you are right, Azalea does go with the purples I love quite well. It's an awesome color that I feel was picked just for me! I will post the pics here tomorrow since you asked. It's harder for me to post them to this forum, (with my iPad) or I would go ahead and pop them into this post.
I will be calling you soon! Much planning needs to be finalized for my next order!

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I look forward to it (both the pictures and the phone call) :) I'll have to fight Brian for the phone, but I think I could take him also I can be pretty speedy at picking up the phone ;).

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Originally Posted by ncb4

What a wonderful friend you have! I went to Ravelry and read your review (with great photos). I'm not surprised that you discovered how much you like the MCB; isn't that often the way with TB bags? It's like they've anticipated little features that we didn't even know we needed, until we had one of the bags on our back or shoulders and realized, "Hey! This makes the burden of carrying all this stuff so much less of a burden."

What did surprise me was your revelation that you've rethought things and think the Azalea LS is not for you! Say it isn't so! You and I both carry our LS'es as daily bags, or purses, so I can understand why you prefer neutral colors that will go with everything. But I'm still thinking I'll buy one when they come off pre-order status. Azalea is such a cheery color that I want to surround myself with it; you know, as a kind of external endorphin to make myself feel good. :D

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I second the thought of Tom Bihn Bags easing up the need to carry stuff.

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Originally Posted by Maria

Congratulations on the lovely surprise gift of the MCB Dorayme!

Now if I am not mistaken, did you and I share the same apprehension about a cafe bag - being, at least for me, a vertical format rather than horizontal?

Does this mean I should place a small cafe bag in my next upcoming order....just in case? :)

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Thank you Maria, and as a matter of fact, it does :), their features, size and shape are very functional (sometimes we need cross body, smaller than LS while bigger than SE, or a flap closure choice), and the o-rings combined with OP and keystraps keep everything where it's supposed to be so that it doesn't get lost. So I say go for it!

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Originally Posted by dorayme

Thank you Maria, and as a matter of fact, it does :), their features, size and shape are very functional (sometimes we need cross body, smaller than LS while bigger than SE, or a flap closure choice), and the o-rings combined with OP and keystraps keep everything where it's supposed to be so that it doesn't get lost. So I say go for it!

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Dorayme - thank you! I AM OH SO TEMPTED TO GET A SMALL CAFE BAG - for starters, to go along with my upcoming order. (Saves on shipping that way!)

Now, what colour....?

As I go search for photos of what people can pack in their SCB!.....

Have been eyeing a hemp LS. Question for you Little Swift owners: Are the straps wide enough to handle the weight of an iPad or a couple books? I perefer thicker straps on my ECB to save my shoulder. Also worried about lack of zippers on both LS and MCBs. Also wondering if the strap drop for LS is comfortable for a tall gal.

I keep eyeing the Imago in navy/cork, too. Love the look of that bag...but afraid my stuff would slide out. ;-)

I carry my original iPad regularly in my LS. If I have my normal load I place it horizontally. If I'm loaded up, it seems to fit better vertically. When the tab is buttoned my iPad isn't going anywhere. My LS has dumped off of the passenger seat on hard stops, been burgled by my toddler and been toted on more than one family outing. I haven't had any security issues unless I chose to not snap in my OP or button the tab, and then it's just my own fault. . .
I find the straps very comfortable which is surprising for how narrow they are. I can easily put it to my shoulder one handed which for me means it passes the armpitable test, and all of my bags have to pass this test. I often only have one hand free.
The imago is also a very nice choice. The capacity on it is much larger than the LS. It will keep your IPad secure as long as you have closed the flap, but if is under packed I could see how your iPad could have a lot more potential to travel within the bag and that isn't always a great thing.
I also have carried my iPad in my MCB. It's very secure, no travel, and security once again is dependent on whether or not you close the bag. The MCB offers the least additional room for other books of the three, but if you compared the volume of the bags you already know this :)

Thanks for the specifics, dorayme. Especially for the armpit test and toddler-burgling. (Amazing how that burgling also happens at 4 and 14.) I need an ECB to pass the "arms shrouded in heavy coat" test too. If a bag's straps are too short, that is vexing on a daily basis. But the prayer shawl ministry at church is trying to recruit me, so maybe that Little Swift would come in handy?

My bulkiest coat is my Mountain Hardware Downtown Coat and I can still armpit the LS one handed both on and off wearing it.
Do your shawl ministry shawls use sport or finer weight yarn, or dk and bulkier? If I have my purse contents and an iPad I don't like trying to stuff in more than a 100g project. It can hold more, but to me it starts to feel over stuffed. If you are using fatter yarns for the shawls and carrying your iPad as well as some purse contents, you may find the original Swift a better fit. you will also have flexibility to bring a sweater or blanket if you branch out to larger projects.
This is my 2cents and I welcome other crafters to chime in on their LS usage?
Or if the shawls are worked modularly, the LS would also be a good fit.