Tools
Needles, Needles, Everywhere
Jan 12th
If you’re a knitter, then you know that needles are a kind of obsession. Nickle, aluminum, birch, bamboo, acrylic… the options are endless. And that’s just for tips. There’s DPNs (double pointed needles), straights, circulars. Then there’s fixed circular or interchangeable circulars. And do you get Denise or Addi interchangeable? KnitPicks or HiyaHiya?
Once you have all this figured out in a way that works best for you, then you have to figure out where to store all these bad boys.
I have an okay selection of all kinds of needles. I got a bunch of cheapo aluminum straight needles from my mom when I started knitting. But those don’t see much use and I keep them packed away, for the most part. I’ve found that even on projects that call for flat knitting, I prefer to use my circulars. I have some DPNs for times when you can’t avoid them (Kitchener stitch!), but again, I don’t particularly care to knit on DPNs. Too fiddly for my tastes. I have a KnitPicks nickle-plated interchangeable set that Kile got me for my birthday and I do use it fairly often, especially for those flat knitting projects I was mentioning. I also use them to “magic loop” most small circumference projects that can’t be knit with my 12″ circulars. This would include things like hats where you decrease down to 4 stitches or so.
But I’d say above and beyond, I love my 16″ and 12″ circulars. I even have a 9″ that a friend gave to me. I know there are some people that cannot abide knitting on such a small circumference. And here I would say it all depends on the needles. I am loathe to use any other 12″ circulars besides Addi (though I’ve seen the HiyaHiya’s are similarly styled). The needle tip is short and bent so you’re not as cramped with the knitting. I’ve found I can just fly though a project with those bad boys. The only problem is, it can be difficult to find 12″ Addi circulars. And there are no interchangeable sets that come with cables that small. (KnitPicks goes down to 24″, HiyaHiya goes down to 16″). The best place I’ve found so far is on eBay. Depending on where you look, you can get a really good price. Which reminds me, I think I need to order a few more.
Plainly put, though, it can be hard to find quality needles at your local craft store. It’s sad, but true. If you want something that you’re going to truly enjoy knitting with, you pretty much need to order it online (or pay out the nose at your local yarn shop, and even then, they might not have the sizes you need in stock!). Best to make peace with this now, before you frustrate yourself!
And, like I said, there’s the question of storage and organization. I’m still working on this myself. My interchangeable needles have a neat plastic pouch that they can be contained and organized in, but the rest of my circulars are pretty much operating at a “free for all”. I’m considering making this case, if I ever have the time. Or I might find one to buy.
So tell me: what is your solution to needle storage? And what are your favorite kinds of needles to knit with?
Swifts and Winders
Oct 25th
If you work with yarn a lot, you understand that a yarn swift and a ball winder are two incredibly useful and important tools to have. If you don’t have either, you want them. If you have them, you wouldn’t give them up for NO ONE. If you have one that doesn’t work very well.. that’s frustration right there.
I have a winder that isn’t working as well as it should. Which frustrates me because lately it has been winding some UGLY center-pull balls. Lopsided, loose… bleh. Frustrating! My swift was made for me by my husband. It’s not the fanciest, but it does the trick and sure beats wrapping it around my knee or the back of a chair like I used to.
Now if I had my druthers (I’ve never had the opportunity to use that word in a blog post before. I’m so excited!), I would get a “squirrel cage” swift. Have you ever seen one of those? Google it. And then drool. It’s a vertical swift and you can attach your winder to the top so it’s one, contained unit. Stick it in the corner out of the way and super easy to pull out when you need it. I’ve read countless accounts of people who have these swifts that say they wind all the skeins in their house when they get them, they’re so easy (and fun!) to use.
So yeah. One of those would be nice.
I saw an electric ball winder at Joanns from Boye and that was mighty tempting. Electric! No cranking! AWESOME. But then, I don’t trust Boye so much (needle snob) and what if something got tangled? You’d have a heck of a mess to sort out. Believe me, I’ve had to sort out some mighty scary yarn messes and that is NOT FUN. So maybe just a quality winder, like the ones that Royal makes. Or some of the custom ones I’ve seen on Etsy and around the web that allow you to wind BIG skeins. My winder is from KnitPicks and while the price was VERY right and it sure beats nothing at all, it makes those darned ugly yarn cakes. And makes me want to chuck it across the room on many an occasion. But I will admit it has gotten some VERY heavy use.
But yeah. Need a new one. OH yeah.
So if you knit, dye yarn, spin yarn, etc and so forth: what do you use? Do you like your swift? Hate your winder? I don’t want to hear from the people who don’t have either and see nothing wrong with not having either because I can’t relate to you people. No offense. But I question your judgment.
Recent Comments