happy accidents

I inherited a bunch of knitting needles from a friend’s mom, about 4 or 5 years ago. She went through a knitting phase, which obviously ended…wonder if that’ll happen for me.

Anyway – the needles have been sitting in the back of my closet for years. After I bought my ultimate source book of knitting stitches I thought I’d practice by knitting little blocks of each stitch. Starting with the ‘easy’ stitches and working my way towards the ‘intermediate’ slipstitch color patterns that are honestly what inspired me to buy the book.

I picked two 8’s out of my bag – same size, but different colors (one’s silver, the other’s yellow). Thought they’d be pretty to look at – but turns out it's very helpful to use different color needles when working a pattern, because it helps indicate if you’re working an odd or even row, which helps clue you into which stitch combinations you should be doing. I’m working ‘moss stitch’ a very easy pattern, but the combination of stitches you’re doing depends on which row you’re on (1 & 4 are different than 2 & 3). Knowing that my yellow needle = even rows, and my silver needle = odd rows helped a lot. (note: i've been told that 'lush' yarn is great for slipstitch.)

I don't want to buy two sets of needles each time I need a new size, and don’t think I really like knitting with metal needles (which I think are the only one’s that come in colors). Circular needles are easier to maneuver in tight quarters like an armchair or sitting next to someone on public transport (those obviously come attached and matching). But I like being able to tell my needles apart. So maybe if they’re wooden, and not attached I can wrap a rubber band around one, and if they’re circular…maybe I can paint one, or put a tick of nail polish at one end.