- When I showed you the tools that have helped me conquer this first lace project I left out a very important one: the needle.
That is a 40" US#4 Signature circular needle, and it is the finest circ I have ever used. Bar none. The points (medium; you can specify middy (above) or stiletto) are perfect, the joins are smooth and strong, and the cable is as flexible as certain politicians' stance on the issues.
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Flexible, man, flexible!
- The needle was $40 plus $8 shipping, which is a lot to pay for a knitting needle. I keep reminding myself that, 1, I spend a lot of hours with this tool in my hands, and B, part of the reason it was expensive is that it was made in the US by US employees, subject to FICA and Medicare and FUTA and who knows what else, and probably union members to boot; not Chinese slave labor.
- I find myself reciting the pattern as I knit it -- "Yarnover, knit 2 together, knit 5, slip, slip, knit, yarnover..." This helps me keep track of where I am and ensures that I am Paying Attention.
- It amuses me greatly to shout in my head, Threeway! whenever I have to do a double decrease.
- Don't judge me.
- I also forgot to praise the yarn, Dream in Color Baby. Some yarns (Malabrigo, I'm looking at you) are wonderful to touch, like buttah through the fingers. This is not one of those, but it is nicely woolly. The main thing is that It Does Nothing Wrong. It doesn't split, doesn't tangle, doesn't break, has no knots, no vegetable matter. It just does what it is supposed to do and does it perfectly. In all my [actually minor] struggles with this lace, none have been with the yarn.
- I was knitting away on the lace today and realized that I was also watching the news and chatting with my husband (!) Quite a change from when I started and could only work on it fully caffeinated, alone, no distractions, no interruptions. I told my husband I Was Da Bomb. We will not speak of those three (3!) yarnovers I missed; that kind of thing also happened under the previously described optimum conditions.
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This is how we learned of #2 Son's engagement. Hurrah for electronic communications! That photo was taken in the parking lot of the [something] Cowboy steak house in Custer, WY.
