Patrons at any level (yes, even the levels that cost less than the pattern!) get this pattern for free as part of their membership. So sometimes? Sometimes I knit something just to see if I can, with absolutely no thought to whether I should. Luckily, I design knitting patterns (not, say, rockets or bridges or viruses), so the consequences of this rather haphazard approach are fairly low. But that's totally what happened here. You see, I was having a little dalliance with sewing. And I was at that awkward stage of learning a new thing where you're sort of surrounded by tools and supplies and practice projects and everything feels more than a bit overwhelming. I needed to take a little break from being terrible at sewing and do something I actually knew how to do. But sewing was apparently still very much on my mind, and these where what happened when I switched to knitting needles instead of sewing needles! Oddly enough, thanks to the inclusion of a few strategically placed magnets, the big ones actually make a really useful pin tray and pattern weight. So I did find a way to use them to do something more than just soothe my ego (those first few sewing projects are a humbling experience).  And I have a feeling I'll use the tiny ones to show off my treasured collection of gorgeous silk embroidery thread. But really, I suspect most of you are going to knit these just because you can!

Ok so you were undoubtedly a much cooler kid than I was. But I, utter weirdo that I was, was absolutely convinced that adulthood would involve a significant number of important things tucked away in secret hiding places. What can I say, I was a credulous child, and I read a lot of really bad spy novels. But for a while there, the idea of a book with a secret compartment was just about the coolest thing I could imagine. My actual adulthood has, alas, turned out to be rather lacking in the sorts of intrigue and adventure my eight year old self was anticipating. But somehow a tiny little knitted book, complete with handy storage compartment, still holds a certain appeal (or, possibly, it’s that I’m just utterly unable to resist the charms of a good tin or a little slide out box). Now it's true, I'll be using mine to hold stitch markers and darning needles and scissors and a tape measure, rather than cash and jewels and forged documents and some sort of clever device that will let me foil a dastardly plot at the last possible second. But really, I suspect that's probably for the best.