Self Indulgences

One on impulse, the other after some thought.

The impulse buy was that cute little tin with a hinged lid at the upper right. I was in The Sow's Ear yesterday, and they had a small basket full of these in different designs. It could hold stitch markers, tapestry needles, even a little folding embroidery scissors. I don't really need it for this purpose, but it was only $1.99, and so cute.



I thought longer before ordering the larger indulgence. It's a Hiya Hiya convertible circular needle set. These had been calling to me for a while, but I'd put off ordering because I already have a set of Denises and a Boye Needlemaster. I like my Denise set a lot, but 1) the needle sizes don't go any smaller than US #5, and 2) the cable lengths don't go down 16". I'd like the Needlemaster just fine if it weren' for the really, really stiff cables (and I think the shortest one is longer than 16" though I would have to go check for sure).

So I went back and forth in my mind for several months, then finally splurged. I was a little hesitant to order these without every having actually handled a set, but so far I am very happy with them. The super thin cables (like heavy fishing line) are lightweight and flexible. The needle sizes range from 2 - 8, with a very slick finish. The joins seem extremely smooth. The tips are not stiletto sharp, but aren't bad. I haven't given them a a real heavy workout yet, but so far I haven't had a problem with the connections loosening up in use.

I rarely use a needle larger than a size 8, so the size range is sufficient on the upper end.* If anything, I wish they could go down to 0, but that would be smaller than the connector. I would like to have some stoppers for the ends of the cables, so I hope the Hiya Hiya folks come out with those. I might like to have connectors to join two cables together, though as the longest one is 40", that really might not ever be necessary. A person can cram quite a lot of stitches onto 40"

I didn't find a lot of sources for this set online, but the wonderful Little Knits has them. The only problem with shopping there is the temptation to stock up on sale yarn at the same time. Aside from a ball of Opal (kinda bright color, but 70% off) I resisted.

*According to the Hiya Hiya website, larger needle tips are available, but it looks as though they require a different set of cables, presumably because the connector size is different.

Standing Up to the Snow

I've Been Just a Bit Obsessed

with the whole double knitting thing lately. So I've been practicing and trying things out.



Now this is a fairly seriously ugly swatch. First there's the color. But I'm not going to use up yarn I actually like on a practice, so the orange goes here. And then there's the fact that I'm not exactly smooth with the technique yet - getting better, but there's still a lot of tension wonkyness. Still, the exercise led to some interesting possibilities.



You can't tell from this picture, of course, but see those little horizontal stripes by the red arrow? On the other side, they are vertical stripes. How cool is that? Now I don't know where or why this might be useful in a design, but it could happen....

And then, that little eyelet motif by the blue arrow? Flip the piece over and you'll just see solid stockinette, and both layers were knit at the same time! Of course, one could knit an eyelet strip and a stockinette strip, and seam them together, and end up with much the same effect. But where's the fun in that?

Yay! Gayle is Coming to Town.

This is a plug for my friend Gayle Roehm, expert on working with Japanese knitting patterns. She's coming to Madison in April, and I'm very excited to be able to see her. I'm also excited that you will be able to see her, too (at least if you are within driving distance).

She will be teaching three different classes at The Sow's Ear on April 10 & 11, and will be the featured speaker at the Madison Knitter's Guild on the 12th.

Japanese designs feature some of the most innovative stitch patterns I have seen, the garments can be spectacular, and you don't have to read Japanese to use them as they are entirely charted. You may need a little help to get the hang of the charting system, and that's what Gayle can (and will) provide.

My Mind is Officially Boggled

and I think I have a new knitting hero.

Alasdair Post-Quinn has designed a three-color double knit hat with a different design on each side! I don't want to rip off his pictures, but you can see it here. The pattern is for sale on Ravelry.

I had to buy it. I doubt I will ever knit it, but 1) I thought his brilliance should be rewarded and 2) I wanted to see how the heck he would chart something like that.

I have learned the cast on he uses, thanks to his helpful You Tube video. He also this good one on the basic technique.

My Littler Heart

Practice makes better, if not perfect. (Who knows, with more practice it may be even closer to perfect.

The smaller double knitting sample came out better, and was less hair raising to work.



You may wonder "Why are there cords coming off one corner?"

Well, Mr S asked me to make him "something colorful" to tie to his backpack when he goes on his trip this summer (to help him spot it among all the other dark luggage on the rack). I figured this would be appropriate.