Wendy Knits

Sock Needles

By Wendy on September 16, 2009

In the comments Dorothy asked:

I was looking at your sock and was wondering what length of circular do you use. I am using a 26″ well two of them from knit picks and I am not quite sure I like the length. For comfortable knitting I need the needle part to be at least 4.5 to 5 inches long. Any thoughts to help me along?

When I first switched to two circulars, I used Knitpicks needles in the 16″ length. Those worked pretty well for me, apart from one thing — the needles didn’t last long. After one or two pairs of socks, the joins lost their integrity, and I’d have to toss the needles out and get a new pair. The Knitpicks needles are dirt cheap, though, so this wasn’t too big an issue.

But I decided I’d be happier knitting my socks on slightly longer needles. I took a look at my 24″ Addi turbo needles and started a pair on them. Big mistake for me! The needle portion of those circulars is longer than the 16″: 5″ compared to a scant 3.5″ for the 16″ long circulars. Unlike Dorothy, I like the needle portion of the circular to be shorter.

But I found a good compromise for myself — Addi turbos in the 20″ length. They have the shorter needle portions like the 16-inchers, but an ootch more cord.

My one regret? Addi Lace needles apparently do not come in the 20″ length. They come in 16 or 24.

Dorothy, I’m not sure if you are wanting a longer or shorter cord on your needles, but if you are thinking shorter, I’m afraid you are out of luck! The shorter cords have the shorter needles.

Eye Candy!

Claudia recently put up for sale in the online Wollmeise shop some “grab-bags” of one-off colors. I bought one (sight unseen) and it arrived today. Check out these babies:

These colors could not be more perfect! Yum!

Meanwhile, Lucy pauses in her play with her Plague Rat to tidy up.

Posted in Wendy Knits | Tagged addi turbo needles, grab bags, lace needles, needles eye, plague rat

Bork! Bork! Bork!

By Wendy on September 15, 2009

It’s been one of those days. You know the kind — when you fix one thing it breaks three other things. Lots of internet weirdness along with work weirdness made me very happy to leave and come home for the day!

Oh, and my email has been borked all day so if you’ve contacted me and wonder why I am ignoring you, it is likely I haven’t seen your email yet. Hopefully the emails I’ve sent today have reached their intended recipients.

Bork! Bork! Bork!

Now, if it had been Bjorked, it would look like this:

And if it had been Birked, it would look like this:

Yes, it has been one of those days. So much so, that I felt the need to Squirrelize the photo of Bjork:

And I don’t have much of anything of my own to show you. I’ve got a chunk of knitting done on the second sock of my current pair:

I took this with me to New York over the weekend. I got a total of 10 rounds done all weekend, I think. For some reason, although I knit socks on the subway every day, I don’t like knitting on Amtrak, so I spent the train time reading. And since the trip to New York was for book signing and teaching classes, well, not too much time for personal knitting!

And I won’t even bother showing you the True Love Stole. It looks pretty much the same as the last time you saw it.

Bottom line? I’ve got a lot to do, but not a lot to say!

But I do have something pretty to show you.

This is a handmade crocheted bead bracelet made by Julie of Big Sheep Jewelry. Isn’t it gorgeous?

And just so Lucy wouldn’t feel left out, Julie made her a pretty necklace.

Check out the clasp:

Here is a pic of Miss Lucy is wearing it.

And something I received a couple of weeks ago from an anonymous gifter:

One of Rosemary Hill’s shawl pins — in the shape of a sock. How perfect is that??!!

Lucy sez:

“I’m a princess — I have a necklace!”

Posted in Wendy Knits | Tagged bead bracelet, bork bork bork, miss lucy, rosemary hill, train time

Quickie

By Wendy on September 14, 2009

I’m just popping in to announce the winners in the “suggest music for Wendy’s iPod” contest. They are: Katherine, Melia, April, Gail Lucille, and Tonya. Congratulations to you five and thank you for everyone who suggested songs in the comments. The winners have been emailed, and each win the WendyKnits pattern of their choice.

I arrived home at 9:00 last night from my weekend in Manhattan. This morning was devoted to a lot of errands, and since returning home and finishing the laundry, I’ve done nothing but lie on the couch. Ah, the joys of getting older.

I’ll be back tomorrow. Hopefully coherent. But I’m not making any promises.

Here is a sign that autumn is coming:

Lucy is napping on her sheepskin!

Posted in Wendy Knits | Tagged gail, lucille, melia, returning home, sheepskin

Rebel Without a Clue

By Wendy on September 10, 2009

It amused me no end when I found out this morning that yesterday was No Cats Day on the internet. And what did I do yesterday? I did a blog post that was contained numerous photos of Lucy and nothing else.

No I am not a rebel. I am merely clueless.

So, some progress pix. The True Love Stole:

And the as-yet un-named sock:

Ribbing has commenced!

Thanks, by the way, for all the music suggestions you have submitted so far. Of course there are many of them that I already have, but there are also a bunch that make me think “Doh! I forgot all about that one!” I am compiling a list of must-haves so that when my iTunes gift card arrives, I’ll be ready to start a-downloading.

Today is Thursday, right? I am toddling off to NYC this weekend and won’t be back til late on Sunday, so don’t look for a blog post from me before Monday. I’ll announce the pattern winners in my music-themed giveaway then.

And have a great weekend, okay?

Lucy sez: