27 February 2008

Tools of the trade

For Christmas my parents gave me the Knit Picks' Options Harmony wooden interchangeable needle set. I had gushed about these needles back in September when they first hit the online store, and I'm so glad Mom remembered. I really enjoy using them! They have nice pointy tips, which are great for picking up stitches and other thorny stitch manipulation (I'd be cursing at the Log Cabin Blanket much more, were it not for these). The join - where the cable meets the needle - is perfectly tapered and smooth, and when you use the key to screw the tips to the cables, they cannot be turned by hand or accidentally fall off mid-project. Woo-hoo! They're birchwood (I prefer knitting with wooden needles) and beautiful to boot. You know you've got it good when your eyes don't know with which to feast themselves - the hand-painted alpaca, or the needles...

My one complaint is that the smallest length you can create with this system is 24". I use 16" fairly often, knitting for a toddler and all. But when a door closes, a window opens; now I use the Magic Loop technique with my pretty pointy sticks. Problem solved.

1 comment:

Scott Rohr said...

So resourceful you are, or as we say in our house, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade with bits of grass floating in it!

I wonder if the needles work for iPhone cozies? Probably not . . .