Knitting Tools: August 2007 Archives
Whenever I go through something stressful or something frustrating I buy myself treats to help distract myself from whatever it is that is causing me stress or frustration. Strictly speaking, motherhood, so far, isn't really stressful or frustrating, but the bed rest beforehand and the challenges of dealing with the life changes that a newborn baby brings to the party fall into that category. So besides the occasional facial, body potion or book (sadly, it seems the cute new clothes are out of the question until I dump some of the baby weight and my, er, upper body, decides what final shape it wants to take on) , I've also been treating myself to some knitting tool treats as well.
I bought my first set of Lantern Moon Destiny Circulars in Rosewood about 6 months ago, when I was looking for circular needles with a smooth finish, nice join and a flexible cable that weren't too slick. These fit the bill. They don't have the needle sharp tips that most people like for lace knitting, but they are good for most of the uncomplicated knitting that I do. I really like the finish on these needles. Smooth enough so that most everything passes easily over them, enough drag to make slippery yarns easy to work with. The joins are nice and smooth and the cable, while not quite as flexible as that of a good Addi Turbo, does move easily and doesn't require the more aggressive heating process that I usually have to apply to other circular needle cords to get them to behave. The only drawback to these needles is the price -- at $24/set they're not something that you buy a whole lot of quickly.
With my bed rest followed up relatively quickly by delivery of Zosia, I decided that I had "earned" a few more of these needles. And I discovered that I "needed" a US size 5 needle for the Diamond Fantasy scarf (it seems like every time I start a project lately, I am lacking needles of the appropriate size and surface texture). True, I do have my Denise needle set, but I really hate using the size 5 needle because the needle diameter and the cord are the same size and it's never really worked for me. Since I was going to be using the Handmaiden 2 Ply Cashmere and Silk, I also needed a needle with a little bit of grip to help keep those slippery stitches in place. So I took one of my first after delivery trips out to Nina's and added a size 5 and a size 7 (my first needle was a 6) to the collection. The 7 was the size I needed for May... and I figured as long as I was giving myself a treat...
I love the feel of knitting with these needles. Little by little I think I am going to phase out all my Crystal Palace and Clover circulars and replace them with these. I love knitting with wooden needles -- and unlike my other favorites, my Addi Turbos, I don't take the finish off of them with use (there is something in my skin that does not entirely agree with the finish on the Turbos). These needles are hand crafted in Vietnam and have a special story that explains where the name came from. And they are now in the category of "my favorite things".
