Blog Week

Blog Week Day 4: Conversations Between Workers 5KCBWDAY4

Write a few short paragraphs from the point of view of one of the tools you use for your craft. Then, write a dialogue between yourself and this item.

I may look unassuming, but I’m actually the most vital and important item in Triona’s knitting arsenal.

Before I came along a few years ago, this is what her notions bag looked like:

Pretty horrific, huh? You should have seen her root through there every time she needed a stitch marker, yarn needle, or tape measure.

Not to toot my own horn too much, but I’m awesome. I have a tape measure, crochet hook for picking up dropped stitches, row counter and yarn cutter… and that’s before I’m even OPEN.

Inside, I’ve got room for every common notion a knitter needs:

I mean, really. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Triona: Okay, hang on. I’m stepping in here. I know you think you’re the greatest knitting tool in the universe, but I think you’ve forgotten one important fact. I replaced almost all your inside contents with my own stuff within a month of getting you.

Knit Kit: Hey, it wasn’t my fault that I came with an inferior yarn needle, stitch markers, and point protectors. Or that my creators didn’t assume you would be using interchangeable needles and would therefore need tightening keys. My awesomeness still stands.

Triona: All right, I’ll give you that. Having a small, compact container to throw in my knitting bag when I travel has been pretty amazing.

Knit Kit (smugly): I’ve been to Rome.

Triona: Don’t push your luck, KK.

ChaioGoo!

Remember this post from Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, where I gushed about ChiaoGoo needles and wished for a set?

Look what I got for my birthday from my awesome in-laws (with an assist from my husband):

That’s a full set of the red lace interchangeable needles, exactly what I wanted! The size US #9 is missing from the photo because it immediately got switched out for the needle I was using in my WIP. :-)

With the help of these needles, I’m working away on the Imperial Columbia sweater. After ripping out the yoke four times (urgh), I think I’ve finally got it figured out. Hopefully I’ll have pictures by next week!

Day 6, A Tool to Covet: 4KCBWDAY6

Today’s prompt asks us to write about our favorite knitting (or crocheting, spinning, etc.) tool. I’m taking the title a little more literally and telling you about a tool I don’t have, but am seriously coveting at the moment!

For those who don’t recognize the picture, that’s the ChiaoGoo Twist Red Lace interchangeable set. I really, really want one. I like pointy, long-tipped needles, as you can see in this comparison of every brand of circular needle I currently own:

From top to bottom: Knit Picks Harmony, Addi Lace, Addi regular, ChiaoGoo Red Lace, Boye

The Addi Turbo shown third from the top is the bluntest circular I own, and quite honestly I hate working with it. I much prefer my pointy needles. My ancient Boye Needlemaster set works pretty well, actually, except the cord is awful. Here’s a comparison shot of the cords for all of the needles above (same order as before). See how the Boye cord is so stiff the needles won’t even go to the side?

I currently knit most of my projects on my Knit Picks Harmony needles, which I like very much, but there are yarns that work better with metal needles than wood (plus the KP set only goes down to size US #4, which isn’t always small enough. The CG set goes down to #2!). The two fixed ChiaoGoo circulars I currently own have convinced me that I NEED this set.

Unfortunately for me, I’d have to buy two sets to get all the needles I need. The ChiaoGoo is split into two sets, one with sizes US #2–#8 and the other with US #9–#15. It makes sense to do it this way, since the connecter can then be narrow enough on the smallest sizes and wide enough on the largest… but I work with a lot of worsted/aran yarn, so I’d definitely need both. And they’re about $90 each, yo. A little too rich for my blood at the moment.

But they’re just SO PRETTY AND POINTY. And look at that adorable fabric case!