Designing

My big present at Christmas was a bitty baby laptop computer, a Dell Mini. At 9" x 6.75", it's way too small for a regular notebook case (and a wee bit of a strain on the eyes, but that's another story.) I've decided what I need to do is to knit and felt a case for it. This will be the first thing I'll knit for myself. I want yarn with beauty, character and dignity. If I'm going to use it for business at all, it can't be pink or ruffledee. (Not that I've ever tolerated pink or ruffles in my life, but one must occasionally exaggerate a bit to make a point.)


Enter Manos del Uruguay in colorway 101, Jungle. Ooh, yarn lust! It's dark enough to look businesslike, but has strong green tones with an occasional turquoise glint. Perfect.

I knit a sample with a single strand of yarn, size 10 needles, 20 stitches wide, 20 rows of garter stitch, 20 of seed stitch and 20 of stockinet. Unfelted, I think the stockinet shows off the colors best, but I shall not make a choice until after felting. A double strand swatch will also be knit and felted -- I must have multiple options. Must measure carefully both before and after felting. And time the felting process too. I'll need to watch that like a hawk because the Engineer just turned the water heater temperature up to the point it's dangerous if one is not careful.

Now comes the needs assessment: Do I want a simple envelope to keep my baby Dell from getting scratched in transport, or do I want a case that can carry the charger, mouse and maybe other accessories as well? Do I want a strap? Hand or shoulder? Knit or leather? What kind of fastening?

Better line it, I don't want fuzz getting into the fan and causing problems.

I'm sure the Engineer would have me drawing up a spreadsheet at this point, but I'm going to do concept sketches instead. I do like plotting and planning....

Watch this space for further developments.