Hi everyone. Been lurking here a while, finally found a reason to post. I've never been fond of the little plastic tubes. I know they're handy, but putting the bits back is sometimes a challenge. I've been experimenting with a chess-board container based loosely on a tcg playing-mat/storage unit I made up several years ago. Basically, it's a big soft chessboard sewn on a piece of felt. There's a drawstring in the bottom (in these images it's in the top, but I decided on my real one I'd rather not have to take everything out and flip the mat when I wanted to play) and when you want to fold it up, you simply tuck in the corners and pull. A bow with a knot in it keeps it from coming undone. Some (only very mildly blurry) images... unfolded - http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7770/1000481kc1.jpg edges folded up (there's no need to be this neat about it) and starting to pull the drawstring - http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3701/1000485ck2.jpg Pulled up into a bundle - http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/3231/1000487ao4.jpg I don't really have a pattern, it's just 8 two-inch squares by 8 two-inch squares with a strip of fabric sewn in a big circle (to run the drawstring through) on a piece underneath it. Leave a gap on one side to pull the drawstring through. The very first prototype didn't have the big purple circle around the square, but it felt kind of flimsy when it was all pulled up. I'm working on a less bulky one, but it may take a while. Velcro is not my friend. What do you think? Jessie ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase. http://farechase.yahoo.com/
