needles, needles

I have spent a few days with my Knitpicks Options needle set and have come to a conclusion. Though I am very happy with the product, my purchasing technique has to go down in the record books as yet another Random Act of Stupidity. I really should go back through the blog and create a tag for those buggers.

I bought the starter kit plus one 32" 2.00mm circ (imperial/metric hybrid confusion rears its ugly head once again) for magic loop socks. Now that I have the set in my hot little hands I recall online discussions that I should have remembered earlier. The set comes with a lovely little binder case with plastic sleeves. There is a full set of tips, plus two cables in each of the 24" and 32" lengths. Now, I knit a lot of blankets for charity. Given my budget constraints, I realize that I would have been well-advised to skip the starter set with its storage case, as others have done, and instead ordered some extra long cables along with the basic needles. As I have just started the Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting and am anticipating the need for a long cable in the very near future, I have just placed an order for the longer cables and a couple of other odds and ends.

I already own the Denise and Boye Needlemaster sets, both of which come with cable connectors that allow you to customize lengths. I suppose this wouldn't have been possible with the Knitpicks cables because they are so wonderfully thin.

On the positive side, the tips are light and pointy, the cables are thin and flexible, the joins are ultrasmooth, just as a thousand other knitters have said. I am a tad peeved that as far as I have been able to tell there is no way to identify needle sizes without hauling out your needle sizer thingie every time. I see myself accidentally knitting a few items with different sized tips. Fortunately, the cute little binder has pockets to hold the sizer thingie and with some luck I'll remember to keep it there.