Although usually conservative, even stingy, about purchasing knitting paraphernalia, I finally caved and bought an Ashland Sky case for my DPN collection, which is far larger than I had realized. It began so simply three years ago with a single set of 2.75mm bamboo DPN's and a skein of sock yarn to keep me entertained on the plane trip to Mexico. In the ensuing years I have needed to acquire smaller sizes for finer sock yarns. And then I needed larger sizes for sweater sleeves and cuffs. And then, of course, I had to have multiple sets of the same size so that multiple projects could be on the needles at the same time (since morning-tea knitting is different from travel knitting, which is different from TV knitting, which is different from I-need-a-challenge knitting, and so on).
I filled up the case, which has 14 pockets, many of them wide enough to hold two sets of needles. Looks tremendously organized, does it not?
There are 19 sets in the case, three that don't fit because they are 10" long, and two that are busy with current projects – a grand total of 24 sets. That's a heck of a lot of needles! And it's only DPN's in sizes between 2.0mm and 3.75mm. No bigger sizes, no straights, and no circs.
The case folds up quite nicely to one-third of its open width and tucks easily into a small drawer, a corner of a shelf, wherever. It's really dandy; I'm glad I bought it. Now perhaps I'll be less likely to acquire yet another set of needles because I can't lay hands on the correct size.
The collection of circs is heading in the same direction. I'm afraid to look too closely, but I know I have multiples of the same needle size with different cable lengths. And a variety of sizes. The sensible thing to do, clearly, is to buy a complete set of interchangeables. Knitpicks Harmony is looking like the brand of choice. I have 2.75mm and 3.25mm in their fixed circs and like them a lot – lovely sharp points and just enough drag. I believe that will be my treat for April.
3 comments:
When I moved from crochet back to knitting a couple of years ago, I was shocked at how much it would cost to amass the needles I would need. Then there's the logistics of storage and inventory. I bought an interchangeable set (bamboo). It served its purpose, and still does, but I confess I now have a lot of regular circulars (plus two more interchangeable sets). I like a fixed circ, one that doesn't have to be screwed together and might come unscrewed. And I just like having needle choices.
I also get a grip on my wallet when it comes to buying knitting things that aren't yarn, and I've looked at those needle cases and passed them by. But the Knit Picks set comes in a similar case, it it is really handy.
The other circulars that are really nice (aside from Addi Turbos and Addi lace) are Colonial. But they're very expensive. I have only two sets of circs. The Knit Picks are just about as good, and they have pointier points.
I need one of those! The best part would be not having to figure out what size each dpn is everytime I need some. I'll have to move "needle case" further up on my "to get" list.
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