Needle Affair

I started yet another pair of socks. I had to frog one of the ones I did before, since the socks were supposed to be hand-washed and accidentally went through full wash/dry cycle. Since I’m not quite ready to redo that pair, I started some with KnitPicks’ Sock Memories in Easter. I bought this yarn at the end of last month when they came out with their circular needles, since I was buying a couple pairs of those and I didn’t want to waste all the shipping costs on just two needles.

Those needles are amazing, by the way. I like them better than the Addi Turbos, and I’ve been in love with those for months. The most notable difference is that the points on the KnitPicks needles are sharper, and the needles themselves have slightly more weight to them. This makes them the perfect needles for me, since those were my two main problems with the Addis. I was having trouble with stitches splitting because of the blunt points, and the needles were getting bent because of the death-grip I have when I’m stressed. Because of the added weight I don’t hold these needles as tightly, and they are holding up much better as a result.

The current pair of socks I’m doing two at a time on one circular, from the toe-up. When winding the yarn into balls I noticed that the colourway was going in the same direction and the ends almost started in the same spot, so I’m making these socks to match, as well. Both methods are new for me. I’ve tried two socks at once on two circulars before, but I couldn’t stand all the needle ends hanging around everywhere. This way is working out nicely. I’m using the same length needle I always do – 32″ – and it seems to work well for both one sock and two. I know most people seem to like 40″ needles, but they bother me with all the extra cable floating around. It’s possible that when I get to the heel and such I’ll miss the extra length, but I think for the most part I’m fine doing things this way.