The blessing of having gifted "neighbors"
You meet the nicest people while in the blogosphere. Take for example, Brian and his wife Jennifer, proprietors of BeanQuest and Jennifer's Nest, respectively. You no doubt recognize their names and/or their blogs from 
previous posts...a wonderful young couple living in Ohio. Both are quite talented, which you'll quickly perceive after spending a little time on their blogs.
They're both generous with their talents, which is even better, and I've been the recipient of some of that generosity. Brian has helped me with scripting issues in the past (although it's like trying to teach a dog to play Wagner). And now Jennifer has bestowed upon me a one-of-a-kind handmade bike tool roll-up pouch! And I just have to share more about that with you.
That's a photo of it on the right, in its unloaded, rolled-up configuration. You can click on it to see a bigger photo. You may not be able to tell from the small photo but once you unroll it, it's easy to see that it's made of a dish towel, folded and stitched in such a way as to form a series of pockets. Each pocket will hold a tool or other piece of bike-related gear, as shown below. Starting on the left, I've got a CO2 tire inflator, two CO2 cartridges, a set of nylon tire levers, a multi-tool with chain breaker attachment, a small crescent wrench and a small set of Channel Lock pliers. Again, you can click the photo for a closer look.
The whole shootin' match rolls up and ties with the integrated twill tape (as if I know "twill tape" from "8 track tapes"; Jennifer has some details on her blog). The rolled-up pack fits neatly into our tandem's rack-mounted pack, where things are now easier to find, and no long rattle around.
It's a great idea for cyclists. You can even use the dish towel to wipe grease off your hands after doing roadside repairs (although I'm hoping it never comes to that!) because, of course, the pouch is washable. I'm wondering if the product might have commercial potential...but, regardless, it's special because Jennifer made it just for me. And here's the best thing:
Yep...it's personalized! (And it also matches our bike, color-wise.)
I'm very appreciative of Jennifer's thoughtfulness and generosity. And if you're the least bit handy with needle and thread, you may be able to figure out other uses for this kind of project; she's made a sketching supply roll-up for her artistically-inclined husband.
I wondered if you knew what you were talking about.
As a wise fellow once said, a man's got to know his own limitations. I could have faked knowledge of twill tape, but that would have inevitably led to a sordid down-spiral through all manner of needlecraftian esoterica until I was exposed as a humiliated poseur with a staggering loss of credibility. And, frankly, I'm just not up to going through that again.
Posted by: Eric at March 30, 2006 05:45 PMThat looks really handy. Im tempted to make one up for my computer cables except sewing is not my forte hehe.
Posted by: Rachel at March 30, 2006 05:55 PMThat is suhhhhhhhhweeeeeet! And what a sweetie Jen is to make that for y'all!
Posted by: Janie at March 30, 2006 06:18 PM*blushing*
Posted by: Jennifer at March 30, 2006 06:36 PMAbout the publisher
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Very nice! As soon as you said "twill tape," I wondered if you knew what you were talking about. ;-)
J & B do seem like two of the nicest people in the 'spere. We're blessed to have them as neighbors. :-)
Posted by: Gwynne at March 30, 2006 05:29 PM