Lucky #100 and Knit Picks Options

Last post I wrote about getting my trial needles. I did some testing of the needles, and I decided I wanted to stick with metal needles for now, and I went with the nickel plated needles. The wood worked fine on a ball of Cascade 220 I bought, but I tried it on my Simply Soft (which makes up like 90% of my stash) and there was too much friction happening for my liking. I knit pretty tight and the stitches just weren't sliding well. Placed my order for the kit today:

Knit Picks Options - Comes with 9 tips US sizes 4-11, 24" and 32" cables, plus the other stuff you see :)

I spent some time organizing the tips and cables into the cases. I also ordered some extra nickel plated needles, because the whole point is I want to have all sizes on hand. I order tips in US sizes 13, 15, and 17. I also ordered a set of 40" cables.

I've seen people on the internet warn that knitting with needles of different materials can cause different gauges, even in when the needles are the same size, but I'm throwing caution to the wind and transferring my baby blanket to my new needles. I double checked with my needle sizer and the size 10s are in fact the same in Boye and Knit Picks. I'm hoping a transfer of aluminum to nickel won't make a huge difference in my knitting.

Speaking of my baby blanket...I've been ignoring it awhile, but I picked it back up with the new needles and finally completed my 100th row! Yippee! Still got a loooooooong way to go, but it's all good.

While I was ignoring the baby blanket, and I was working on something else...ENTRELAC! I've been seeing this and I was intrigued. I watched a video tutorial (click here and scroll down). Here's what I practiced:

Not bad for a first try. I think this would make awesome afghan material, but I need to finish my baby blanket before moving on to anything else.

I think that's all for now. Happy knitting!

My Needles Are Here!

After a painstakingly long wait...(okay, okay, it was only week), my Knit Picks TRY IT Needle Set arrived! My first impressions are good! I pulled out the needles so I could inspect and feel them. I'm not a needle expert, but they were a lot lighter weight than I expected, which is a good thing in my book, as long as they don't snap. The needles came with some charts of stitch patterns to try, so I will take a rest from my baby blanket knitting for a little while to play around with the needles and form an opinion. I am making a swatch with the Harmony Wood ones first, and I like them so far.

Knit Picks TRY IT Needle Set: 2 - 24" cables, 1 cable key, 4 cable caps,  Harmony Wood tips (size 6),  Zephyr Acrylic tips (size 8) and Nickel Plated tips (size 7)

I decided new needles deserve new yarn, haha. I've been wanting to expand my yarn horizons, so I looked up some local yarn shops. I've been knitting almost exclusively with Caron's Simply Soft which is easily obtainable from Hobby Lobby and Michaels, and I really like it, but the self-proclaimed yarn snobs say there is yarn out there that is so much better. Well, time to see if they're right. The most popularly used yarn on Ravelry right now is Cascade 220, so I thought I'd start with that. I like it so far, I guess, but I'm not convinced yet that it's better than my cheap and soft Simply Soft. I'll keep going for awhile, but I'll definitely go back to my Simply Soft if it doesn't get better. I love the Simply Soft color choices, and people claim there is a big variety in the Cascade 220, but the store I went to must not have been carrying the whole line (which I can't blame them for), because I didn't see a "huge" variety. I've been looking at Ravelry reviews for Knit Picks yarn, because hey, if they make good needles, why not good yarn? But, they reviews are less than impressive thus far. So I might stick with exploring my LYS a little more.

New Project, New Needles

I found a new project I think I would absolutely love to try: Lullaby Blanket. It uses some techniques I have never tried before, but that's part of the appeal. The family I am working for is expecting a baby in January. I have no idea if I could get it done before then, but I'd really love to try. It's sooo pretty.

(c) Phyll from ravelry.com

I have also been interested in getting interchangeable needles for awhile. Every time I start a new project, it feels like I have to buy a new pair of needles (different sizes, different lengths, circular/straight, etc.), and it's getting old. Plus, after working with the Boye circular needles on my current baby blanket, I'm not impressed.

After watching many videos on dpns and the Magic Loop method, I would much rather try the Magic Loop method. Yesterday I did a lot of online research about interchangeable needles. I looked at the Boye Needlemaster, which I could get for about $25 with a coupon I have to Michaels. But the reviews overall from people who have used it and other systems don't seem to be positive, so I'm glad I decided to research first. When looking at reviews, many compared the Boye Needlemaster to Denise Needles. I looked for more reviews and they seemed a lot more positive. I don't love the idea of plastic needles, but I went ahead and placed an order on Amazon.

I decided to keep reading after I placed my order just to see what else was out there, maybe on the higher end, just for kicks. I had seen mention of Addi Turbos and their Addi Click Interchangeable Needles. They are very pricey, but people seem to love them. I thought maybe in the future I could save up for those if I really like the Denises.

Finally, I read about several people comparing the Addis to the the Knit Pick's line of interchangeables: Options. My first impression of these was great. They look beautiful, they have "options" on material for the tips, and if I want, I can just buy the sizes I use most often. They also are a much more feasible price than the Addis. I immediately hunted down several reviews, and they seemed to have great reviews. I decided after some looking that I preferred them to the Denises, so I cancelled my order on Amazon.

Now for the next big decision, do I want to go for the Harmony Wood, the Nickel Plated, or the Zephyr Acrylic? People seem to love their wood needles, and the Harmony Wood ones are gorgeous. I have been knitting on Boye Aluminum Needles for many years, so the Nickel Plated has the appeal of the metal I am used to, even though I know they won't be the same. The Zephyr Acrylic is intriguing to, and it is the cheapest set of tips. I finally decided to order the "Try It" set which comes with one of each for $20. It's adding extra expense to the purchase, but I think it will be worth it to see which material I prefer and what works best with my yarn. I made the order yesterday. I don't know how long it will take to arrive because of the holiday weekend, but I'm looking forward to getting them and trying them out!

Making Progress

Slow, but steady, wins the race, eh?

Progress as of September 2, 2011