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The topic for Day 6 is ‘Revisit a past F/O’ but I’m embarrassed to say I don’t have many past FOs. I’ve given some as gifts (mostly socks). But I’m such a perfectionist, I invariably frog most of the things I knit for myself as I’m rarely satisfied. I guess that makes me a process knitter.
So, I’m going for the wild card topic today, which is craft tools that you love. I’m going to pick a few knitting tools I use every day and wouldn’t be without.
KnitPro Symfonie wooden interchangeable circular needles (KnitPicks Harmony in the US). These are quite simply the best needles I’ve ever used. I bought the deluxe set and I’ve added extra tips over time. The wooden tips are laminated birch wood in swirly colours. They have everything the KnitPicks image describes below – sharp points, smooth joins and flexible cables. When I took up knitting again, I bought a set of straight needles but I realised very soon they didn’t suit me. Knitting with straights makes my arms ache, so I moved onto circulars and I’ve found them so much better. The last time I used one of my straight needles, it was as a stake for a drooping hyacinth flower!
Image from Knitpicks website
Namaste Oh Snap! mesh pouches. I tend to carry small projects around in my regular day bag, rather than having a separate knitting bag, and these are great for keeping everything tidy. I use the smallest one for my notions and the middle sized one is perfect for a small, portable project like socks.
Image from Namaste website
I bought an iTouch at the start of 2010. I use it every day and I love it. Here’s a screenshot of page 2 of my apps, which is where the knitting apps live. I use KnitBuddy as my row counter. ConvertKnit is handy for metric/imperial conversions. If I need to learn a new technique, then YouTube is my friend – I learned to knit socks with two circular needles by watching a short Cat Bordhi video. I’m finding the groups on Flickr more and more useful – there are some great photography groups and I find the Knits from Knitty group gives me lots of inspiration. I use Dropbox to store pdf knitting patterns, so I can access them from my iTouch. When I need something to accompany my knitting, I download a free audiobook to Stanza or I listen to music I’ve copied from my CDs. Great gadget.
iTouch screen with knitting apps
However, if I had to choose my favourite knitting tool, it wouldn’t be anything new or technical, it would be something old and simple – my mum’s green plastic row counter. I remember being fascinated with it as a child and I loved twiddling the numbers around.
Mum's row counter - an endless source of fascination
It’s only now I can appreciate how infuriating this must have been for my mum, realising she’d lost her row count again in the complicated aran sweater she was making for my dad. I’ve apologised profusely since I took up knitting again. It might sound silly, but I treasure this little bit of plastic.
