Needles

I think all knitters these days are on a search for good needles. My own experience has shown it is a search of epic proportions, and with the variety of needles out there, it is a herculean task to find the perfect needles, much less the perfect needles for every job.

I started many years ago with a complete set of old Aero straight plastic needles. These are the spawn of the devil, and should be consigned to the depths of hell in my opinion. I know Aero made better needles, I have some, but this set from the late 70's has tips that are short and rounded rather than having anything like a long straight slope on the tip. The newer needles from Aero are pretty good, much improved tips that spawn of hell plastic set.

Then there are the old needles I have in slightly smaller sizes, whose maker I don't know. Some are good. Some have that darned rounded tip. The good tipped ones are still in use.

These were from the dark time (the dark and bad needle time) before I even really knit.

When I really started to knit, I bought a few Susan Bates straights. Good quality needles, easy to find, and available widely in a shorter than average needle. At the time, not so very long ago, I thought this would be all I needed.

Along came my Truly Tasha's Shawl. It needed something more than I had in needles. I picked up my first set of Addi Turbos for it. I liked them. A lot. I hoped to get by with only a small investment, buying only really long cables, figuring that I could always manage to work with a longer than needed cables, but too short and you are plumb out of luck. This has pretty much been the case, except that these Turbos are now my most used needles, and I have plumb run out of patience playing with the long cables. I have a good 'collection' of these in my most used sizes, and many lengths.

After you pick up a few Turbos, you have to try a few lace tips from the Turbo people. You discover that they have a tip you really like for certain kinds of projects. Soon enough I amassed a fair complement of needles with these tips too. I am trying really hard to avoid total duplicates, but there are some times where the lace tip won't do and some times where the regular tip won't do. You know?

And then when a crisis struck, and the size I needed was not available at the store in the Turbo line, I picked up a couple of Denise individual needles. They are great needles and surely have their place, but the best thing about these is the cables. Nothing like these cables for trying projects on. You just pop the ends on the big cable, and you can securely try on your sweater no matter no matter how much mangling and stretching you do. Decent tips, great cables, and the nicest of all the connection systems, and more. They are probably the only needles that will never be taken from you on a plane. (Though I am sure it has happened, these cannot be seen in a scanning device.)

My son and daughter in law gave me a set of needles that have tips that light up, a bouquet of needles really (she wraps things in the most creative way). These are not like the old plastic at all and I really like the way the yarns slips along them. I hope to use them for camping, to let me knit a little longer in the light of the campfire or on dark nights on the back deck while looking at stars. I can even see them being used to knit black yarns, if I ever am so bold and lunatic as to knit black yarn again.

I have some wooden straights from a couple of different makers. You just can't beat Nova Scotia's River John's needles for some yarns, some projects and if you like a little more cling to a needles than you get with steel.

So if someone can explain to me why yesterday in the mail I took ownership of two sets of tips in my most 'needed' (wondering how I can justify 'need') sizes and 3 sets of different cable lengths from Knit Picks, I'll never know. Furthermore, if someone can stop me from thinking that I could use the other two lengths of cables, and a few more tips in the smaller range of sizes, and maybe a pack to put it all in too, I'll be forever grateful.

Don't get me started on my 'need' for the Addi Click set, which I have seen (its the most beautiful thing) and heard very good things about, but which is extremely short supply here in Canada. Don't even make me think about Hiya Hiya needles which some of my knitting friends feel quite strongly about. Don't even make me wonder about wood tips, or bamboo circulars. Don't even start on how I dream of owning just a few Signature Needles, the short ones, just for scarves and nothing else.

I'm not even going to go into double pointed needles, because that is a whole other blog post.

Honestly all this selection exhausts me. I can't make up my mind which I like 'best'. I'm not even sure there is a best. Some of my personal journey through the land of tools is because I sell needles. I like to know that I can make an informed suggestion to help people find a needles they will enjoy.

There just aren't any bad needles on the market anymore. I really think it is a case of best for each kind of project, for each style of knitter, for each individual set of hands.

Meanwhile back in my study, I think it is fair to say I am collecting needles as much as I collect yarn.