Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Check out your Options

Has anyone else checked out the new needles by Knit Picks? (Hope they don't mind that I "borrowed" a pic from their site!) They've come up with their own line of interchangeable needles which look fantastic.

This weekend I got their most recent catalog that featured them on the cover and after a quick peruse of that I headed off to do some online research. I ended up at Knitters Review where a lot of people who have already ordered and received theirs have given them the thumbs up. The only real negative I've heard so far is that the needles aren't marked with the sizes. But if that's the biggest complaint, it's a minor inconvenience.

Things that people have praised them for: The join between the cable and needles is said to be extremely smooth. The cable is very flexible, thin, strong and lightweight. The needles are hollow brass with nickel plating for a very lightweight feel and a smooth surface. I'll stop here since I don't want to sound like a commercial...especially since I haven't even tried them yet! But after reading all the available information on them, I have to say that I'm very excited to give them a shot. So much so that I placed an order today!

I ordered a pair of the Classic Circulars in size 2 for socks (the circulars in sizes 0-3 come in a non-interchangeable, one piece unit due to their small size) and a 24" cable set with a pair of size 13 needle tips (I needed these anyway to make the Fiber Trends felt clogs that I learned about from Chris over at the Tex Knitter site.). When ordering, they have a disclaimer that due to the high demand for the needles there is a one to two week backorder. But once they come in and I have a chance to use them, I'll let you know what I think. If you've gotten them and have any thoughts, please let me know in the comments section.

Well, that's it for now. I hope you're all having a great holiday today. Be safe and take care!

LISTENING TO: SEVERED HEADS - "Gigapus." Tom Ellard is the brains behind this fun Australian electronic band. They've gone from the early days of creating sound collages with odd samples and drum loops to a string of great electro-pop albums. But even at their most pop sounding, they still don't sound remotely Top 40. However, for the adventurous out there, they have a lot of smart music to offer...including their upcoming "Under Gail Succubus."

7 comments:

KBlicious said...

DYING for the needles, that came out only months after i bought my denises. :( one can't have too many interchangeable sets? ;) looking forward to hearing your opinion! Have fun with those clogs!!!

Chris said...

Hi Ken,

There has been some talk on Men Who Knit about the virtues vs. the set-backs over several of the interchangable needle sets on the market.

However, after a bit of back researching I cannot find where these needles were ever mentioned.

When you get them let me know. They look extreamly like the Addi Turbos that I love to knit with. Bamboo and other materials are just too hard to knit with given the humidity of Texas.

If you hate them... I still want to know!! You guys take care.

Chris

Chris said...

Ken, the following is on the behalf of Dave D. He says he tried to post to your blog but for some reason cannot do it. Here is his site http://tinyurl.com/gnl3q


Hi, Ken,
I've been hearing so much about the needles, too. I got two sets of each of the DPNs that they offer, and I love them. They ARE pointy at the tips, but in a great way. I've been holding off on the cirs pending reviews from a few of the guys. (I don't like the Denise's or the Boye, which I have. They are too short in the hand for me.) So, a review is in order. Maybe consider writing a review for Men Knit. There are a lot of us looking to hear a review from a decent men's prespective.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Ken! Thanks for allowing the rest of us non-bloggers to comment. I have you in my blogroll and Bloslines, just could never comment.
Welcome to the wonderful world of knitting. I started in 9/05, too. I've graduated up to a spinning wheel and a whole lot more. Just wanted to say Welcome. (Thanks to Chris, too.)

Jason said...

Hi Ken. Found your blog through Men Who Knit. Like Sean, I bought Denise Interchangeables from KnitPicks just months before they introduced their own set. Grrrrr!! Do let us know how you like them. I really like the idea of having metal tips instead of plastic.

Happy Knitting!

Tallguy said...

Just wondering how far you got on your sock(s) while on vacation. I'm working on a pair now too, but it is going very slow! Don't have all the time to devote to it.

I had heard that 100% alpaca doesn't have the memory that wool has, so you might find these stretching and not coming back into shape easily. But since you put that K2P2 all down the leg (and top of the foot?), that will help to pull it in. It should all be just fine when done... let us know!

Ken said...

Wow, thanks everyone for the comments! Cheers to you all!