A Poll for the Knitters (and bonus author coment)

[neadods]

Author comment:
The only problem with the line "Just because I can communicate with the dead doesn't mean that I don't find it creepy" is that it wasn't spoken by a fictional character. (It's one thing to read a Mary Sue character. Between this and the woman who thinks she's a prophetess descended from Mary Magdalene, I think I have to institute a personal ban on reading authors who think they are Mary Sue.)


Knitter's Poll:
Having decided that I like knitting with wooden needles and gotten rid of all of my aunt's aluminum ones, it's going to be ironic if I go out and buy more. However on the other hand, the Rowan Summer Tweed (a silk/cotton boucle) is so stiff that it literally *squeaks* on even my glossiest wood.

I'm thinking that if I'm ever going to knit it up without my shoulders working into celtic knots of frustration and tension by the end of a row, I'm going to have to get a different set of needles for this project. I'm not sure that acrylic will be smooth enough - the Knitter's Pearls are so lacquered that they're practically acrylic needles anyway - and glass is WAY out of my price range. (Also too pointy. I knit by pushing on the tips of the needles, particularly to move stiff yarn.)

So, for those who knit with other substances:


[Poll #1397207]

Comments

[fourzoas.livejournal.com]

This is a job for addi turbos.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I have to giggle, because I read that in the Superman Announcer voice.

On the other hand, I think I stand a chance of finding Addi needles in the local yarn store, which is helpful. The big generic craft stores around here only carry acrylic and Clovers.

[lagilman]

or it could be an excuse to come up to NYC and hunt all the many wee upscale knittery shops....

[neadods.livejournal.com]

On my list of things to do next Monday was announce that there's going to be another work-sponsored bus trip up to NYC on June 6. I've been waffling back and forth, but I have reserved a seat...

[evil_plotbunny]

Oooh. I'm actually free that day.

*waits impatiently for more details*

[neadods.livejournal.com]

There aren't any more details yet, really. Just "probably coming up June 6."

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

I think you stand a 100% chance of finding Addis at the local yarn store. For a mere fraction of the cost, though, you can get KnitPicks needles -- which, I've only used their metal circs, but I find them exactly comparable to Addi Turbos. And srsly, $4 vs. $12.95. No contest.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

My Knitpicks woods are extremely sharp - somewhere in this thread is a link to a review site that shows the points of the Addis and the Knitpicks metal side by side. Based on the blunter tip, and the number of times I'll be pushing it to make the project, the added cost of the Addi seems worth the lowered number of stab wounds.

[melusinehr.livejournal.com]

I like wooden/bamboo needles, but only in larger sizes; the wee sizes get splitty really fast. So I've mostly been buying metal recently.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I inherited all my aunt's aluminum ones from the 60s, but decided that I like wood more. Had I But Known, I'd've kept some of the older ones.

So far, only one wooden needle has split to the point of catching yarn, and that's a Knit Picks... as soon as I find the bugger again, I'm going to tell them. I'm told they're very good about replacements.

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

I love my Knitpicks nickel plated. They're slick and sharp, this a nice long taper that makes the stitching go fast. I'm like you and knit by pushing, but the callous is worth it.

Barring that, you don't specify what your "glossiest" wood is. Have you tried the Grafton Fibers needles? They're the only wood needles I like, and they have a really nice finish on them without being *too* smooth.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I love the Knitpicks wooden ones - they're so *beautiful!* But I don't use them for the stiffer cottons because I've cut myself before I've calloused.

Never heard of the Graftons yet. My "glossiest" woods are the heavily-lacquered Knitter's Pearls (ebony and about 100 coats of varnish). I've also got Britanys and Lantern Moons and even Clovers, but none of them have been good for the tweed.

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

The Graftons aren't varnished, but they are sharp, so they might not suit. I got a pair to test out on socks, as I've been hating wooden needles, but these are wonderful and the only ones I'll use when I don't want to use my metals. http://www.graftonfibers.com/

[neadods.livejournal.com]

*checks site* Oh, they've got lots of tempting things - not just for knitting; I kick around going back to weaving someday.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Er - missing option of none of the above?

I occasionally crochet using my grandmother's bone hooks, and i also have some of her bone (at least I hope they're bone and not ivory) needles - but I don't suppose that you can get these easily or cheaply these days, unless you have a few good second-hand/charity shops you can haunt.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I know one place I can get bone - there's a place up north that has a surprising range of needles, although I think their bone ones are only for laceweight. But I thought bone was really "grabby"?

[inamac.livejournal.com]

It probably is 'grabby' if new - I've never tried new bone needles (though as a 'push through'knitter myself I expect that it's as easy to file down the tips to a 'safe' smoothness as to wear them down with age).

Also, of course, natural needles (bone or wood) pick up the lanolin from natural wool, which improves the smoothness.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

pick up the lanolin from natural wool

Ah. That would be a problem - I'm allergic to wool. Too snobby for acrylic and too poor for much alpaca or silk, I knit almost exclusively with cotton and cotton blends, although I have worked with some interesting bamboo.

[swallowedbysky.livejournal.com]

Metal all the way. The thought of working Summer Tweed on anything else makes my hands hurt just thinking about it. That being said, before you go spend money on needles, have you tried the waxed paper trick? Running a piece of waxed paper over the needle makes for a somewhat slicker surface. I doubt it would make enough of a difference for me, but YMMV.

As far as metal needles, KnitPicks makes my favorite needles of all time, both wood and metal. Their nickel-plated needles are very pointy, however, and I have the painfully-earned callouses to prove it (I also push at the needle tips when working.) Addi Turbos are very similar but significantly more blunt. They're known for their circs, but they do make straights as well.

If the nickel-plated needles prove too slippery, Susan Bates Quicksilvers work rather nicely (not the cheap colored craft-store kind, the blue-case-grey-needle kind.) They're grippier than nickel but smooth enough that they aren't too grippy. I also love Addi Lace needles, though I don't think they make them in straights. Also, check out the Knitters Review (http://www.knittersreview.com/tools.asp) needle overviews and reviews.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It's certainly making my hands hurt to *try* to knit it on something else!

I doubt it would make enough of a difference for me, but YMMV.

I'm not sure it would make a difference to yarn that could defeat the Knitter's Pearls. Those have about a bazillion coats of varnish. (Consequentially, they're usually quite good for cottons; I can blaze through kitchen cotton with them.)

I have Knitpicks in wood, and know to my rue (and occasional blood) how pointy they are. If the Addis aren't that sharp, they're going to win! Circulars aren't an issue if I can't get straight - usually when I'm traveling I use a pair of tipped circs rather than straights anyway. (ETA: This particular project would work best on a pair of 16-inchers anyway, so tipped circs would be perfect.)

*bookmarks site I didn't know about*

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Can you take the yarn to your LYS and try it on different needles?

I'm surprised that nickel-coated or gold-coated metal ones didn't work out, since I actually find them too slick for most plant fiber yarns.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I might. Tangled Skein is amazingly mellow and helpful.

I'm surprised that nickel-coated or gold-coated metal ones didn't work out

I got rid of them well before I got the summer tweed - once I touched my first set of Clovers, cheapass though they be, it was Game Over for metal.

Until now. I'm not giving up my England yarn because it doesn't like wooden needles!

[selenay]

I think that I'd have to third (or fourth?) the Addi Turbo recs. They're unbelievably smooth, blunter than KnitPicks without being unusable and I haven't found a yarn yet that won't slide comfortably on them.

Erm, sometimes too much :-)

I'm acquiring myself rather a collection due to my love for them.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm acquiring myself rather a collection due to my love for them.

I'm not saying anything. I know how many needles I've got in the stash under the bed. :)

Addis (addies?) it is. Smooth and blunt is what I want.

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

Addis would work well, or the Knitpicks rainbow wood - it's lacquered up something fierce, so it's smooth as silk.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I like the Knitpicks wood ones, but with stiff yarns it feels like knitting with a porcupine.

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

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