Eek!

[firecat]

Proof that there is such a thing as a garment with Too Many Cables:
http://www.knitpicks.com/books/books_display.aspx?itemid=30920

Comments

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I'm an intermittent knitter and tend to dabble in odds and ends. Most recently I've been doing some lace knitting - I thought it would be horrifically difficult, but I've surprised myself by really enjoying it, so long as I have a suitably quiet space to do it in.

Knitting socks doesn't appeal to me at all, but playing with colours is fun. And those ganseys - I love them, I suspect I will be getting one of those kits sometime, maybe not soon but definitely in the not too distant future.

For the fine lace I've been doing I love nice, slippery, metal needles. For other things though I prefer a bit more grip. I'm not keen on the feel of bamboo for knitting with in general though.

I love the way that there are endless geeking possibilities about it as well. Geeking is fun.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I find metal DPNs are prone to falling out of the work, leading to excessive use of point protectors. Bamboo DPNs stay put better. The bamboo circs I've used, on the other hand, have the least smooth joins I've ever encountered. For lace, I want the pointiest needles I can lay hands on, and the bamboo needles I have are just too dull.

I did a sock and a half, and that was enough.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've seen bamboo dpns, but I've not looked very hard, I tend to use the standard plastic(coated) needles pretty much all of the time. Pointy for lace though, definitely. I have some nice looking metal circulars, but they don't like me any more than any others do, so they languish, unloved and unused.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't call plastic or plastic-coated needles standard on this side of the pond; metal is most common, with bamboo and wood being popular in some circles. Plastic exists, but it uncommon. The nylon circs I love haven't been made in decades; I have to get them off ebay. Are your metal circs the common-in-my-experience metal tips with a nylon cord, or the no-longer-sold-here kind with a metal cord (resembles a large-diameter metal guitar string)? (I have a lot of older needles.)

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

The ones that I think of as standard are (I think) metal with a thin plastic coating on them. They are the ones I'm used to and most comfortable with other than at the exreme ends of the size range. I have used bamboo ones but they aren't slippy enough for my tastes. The fine ones I'm using for the lace are metal though.

My metal DPNs are the sort with a nylon cord, I've not seen ones with anything other than nylon for the cord part I don't think.

What I'd love to find out about is how to use knitting sticks - I've seen them in a museum but don't know anyone who uses them. I also met a Swedish woman who did 'needle binding' - it looked like knitting with a single needle, but it decidedly isn't crochet.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I"m not sure if the most common metal needles here have a coating or not, but I don't think they do -- the ones I know do are much higher-end needles.

'Needle binding' is probably nallbinding (http://www.stringpage.com/naal/naal.html) -- I"ve seen it done, but haven't tried it myself.

Are the knitting sticks you mention the tool discussed here (http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=203542)?

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

Thank you - yes, naalbinding looks right from what she was doing. Her English was very good, but the place we were wasn't really right for teaching someone else how to do do a new thing across languages.

She was making her other half some new mittens - the fabric was very warm and dense that she produced.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I believe it originated with the Vikings. I have very little use for warm, dense fabrics, living in southern California, but may try it some day any way,

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

You're meant to make *useful* things with this stuff. What an odd notion...

[firecat]

I am using birch hardwood DPNs for the socks I'm knitting, and I love that they *aren't* slippery, because the yarn doesn't fall off the ends at all. I prefer slippery for large swathes of simple knitting though because it goes faster, and I also prefer slippery for cables.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

I think I prefer slippery needles pretty much at all times - I dislike intensely the feeling of fighting against the work when I'm knitting that I get with non-slippery needles. The normal-for-here plastic coated ones are the ones that I generally prefer. Some grip but not enough for me to notice it.

That and they're the ones that I've always used so it's what feels right.