Thursday, November 04, 2004

Indiana Robbyn and the size 4 DPNs of Doom

Okay - quick catch up :)

This is going quickly and easily.  If anyone’s curious, I seem to have solved my frustration with the cast-on for DPNs.  I cast onto straight needles and then knit the stitches onto the DPNs rather than just transferring them.  This helps me keep things from getting twisted, makes a nice, tidy join and I can remember it from one item to the next.  This makes the thought of doing a project on DPNs much less daunting, therefore much more likely.  It was hard for me to get used to working with these things but now that I’m growing accustomed to it I find that I’m liking it more and more.





I found a couple of things this week (digging deeply into the stash) that would work for the tones of the afghan - a bit of a cerise mohair blend and a magenta acrylic.  I’m also finding that I’m unwilling to throw out or leave unused, bits that won’t make a full square.  So I’ve been using them as far as they’ll go and replacing them on the next round with something compatible (if not identical).  I hadn’t imagined switching yarns mid-square, as it were, but it seems to be working, adds to the variety and relieves me of the need to decide whether to throw out a few yards of something.  A few inches, I can toss with no regrets :)





I have been wanting to get this underway for a while now.  Dad mentioned that his feet get cold and he can’t seem to warm them up.  Of course he doesn’t wear shoes in the house but his socks are cheap little nylon things - very thin, providing no warmth whatsoever!  So I wanted to make him some banging-around-the-house socks but the pattern I’m basing them on uses size 4 DPNs.  Of course, I had everything but.  So this week I made a concerted effort to find them.  The first place I looked was Michael’s and I checked two stores - and older one and a brand-spanking new one.  Not only no size 4s, but no double points of any kind - none!  I find this extremely puzzling - why wouldn’t Michael’s carry double pointed needles?  Very strange.  Okay, so be it - onwards!

Then I went to the mill store downtown.  They did have double points, both Brittany birches and Susan Bates Quicksilver.  I will probably invest in the birch needles at some point but for sock knitting I want something I’m not afraid of breaking.  The Quicksilver?  I have a couple of Quicksilver circulars and I love them.  But for socks?  All I could see in my mind’s eye was all those little stitches cheerfully dripping off the slick needles into my lap accompanied with moans of grief and howls of frustration.  Eh...maybe not.

The next stop was A. C. Moore.  They had the plain, old-fashioned, aluminum needles I’d been looking for at a reasonable price.  However they also had Clover bamboo DPNs and some sets of larger sizes (9, 10, 11) in plastic from Lion Brand.  I did consider the bamboo but on close inspection (and I had noticed this on the birch needles as well) the points seemed almost to be flat at the very tip, as though the tip had been cut off.  And I was afraid that the bluntness of the needle would make a frustrating job of knitting, let alone picking up stitches or doing a K2tog.  So the aluminums it was and I went home happy :)

We got this kitty-condo a long time ago.  It’s a cheapie from WalMart and it turned out to be too small as both our guys were (and Goldie still is) big and hefty.  We put it out for them, they sniffed it all over and promptly and cheerfully proceeded to ignore its existence.  The other day, Myria was watching Jade trying to squeeze herself between the windowsill and the screen (the window was open and Jade is a real sun-seeker) and remembered the condo.  She fetched it out and put it in front of the living room window that Jade favors.  It didn’t take 10 minutes before Jade had checked it out, pronounced it good and settled in for a leisurely and sun-warmed nap.

Of course Goldie, seeing Jade on the condo decided he did want it after all.  However, in addition to pronouncing it good, Jade had also pronounced it hers and after a very minor bit of scuffling, the issue was settled.

Hope all your days are sunny!

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1. Wow, I just love the colors in the 7th row of your squares.  That is gonna be a beautiful blanket when you are through.

   Posted by Dawn  on  11/04  at  12:01 PM
   Location :



2. those are rich colors- you are certainly giving us all a lesson in sticking to a project with this afghan- the question is, will *some* of us (ahem, pointing finger at self) follow your good example?

   i’ve read that a lot of people don’t care for the clover bamboos but i really love all of mine and use them a lot- i think i really prefer my clovers to the brittany ones i have (blasphemy, i’m sure)- i’ve found that when the tips are getting worn dull or flat a bit of careful filing with an emery board (and i am sure a fine-grained sandpaper would do the same) solves the problem-

   there you go again- mill store here, a.c. moore there, everywhere a michael’s, (with apologies to the song about old macdonald)- it’s probably good that we live in the boondocks though, as i don’t think will power in purchasing is in my character!

   stay happy-

   Posted by  on  11/04  at  12:57 PM
   Location : texas



3. Thanks Dawn - 73 squares down, 70 to go :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  11/04  at  01:51 PM
   Location : Over my head...



4. Barb - The reason the afghan consistently gets worked on is because I can do those squares in my sleep, blind-folded and with one crochet hook tied behind my back.  So even wehn I’m frustrated, super-tired or upset, I can still manage these.  In fact I often turn to them exactly because I’m having a problem with my knitting.

   Posted by Robbyn  on  11/04  at  01:58 PM
   Location : Over my head...



5. I love the Brittanys and they’re guaranteed for life, so if you break one, just send it back and they’ll get you a new one. Of course, if you’re in the middle of a project… but I haven’t heard of any breaking problems on a size 4. Size 2 and below is where you really need to be careful. I want to try the new Lantern Moon double points, so I’m saving my $$$. $22 for double points is steep, but they’re such nice needles! And it’s such a good cause…

   Posted by Jennie  on  11/04  at  01:59 PM
   Location : Michgian



6. Jennie - I probably will try the Brittanies at some point, but I knit socks so tightly the yarn bleeds - so I feel safer - for right now - with the metal :)

   I haven’t tried rosewood needles, though I’d like to.  I have a couple of ebony circulars that I adore.

   Posted by Robbyn  on  11/04  at  02:30 PM
   Location : Over my head...

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