Needles, Needles, Needles...

We meet again!  I hope you've all been very well since my last post a couple days ago.  I hear a lot of you have been knitting up a storm & I'm oh so excited to see what you've been making!!

For the first time, a photo popped up on my Facebook news feed from a guy with his current knits!  My eyes just widened & my heart melted - cheesy, I know.  Anyway, here's just some props to Sam for that.  =)

So!  I've been getting a lot of questions about needles..  & I have so much to tell you about my experiences with the different types.

Credit: Knitsburgh Wordpress Blog

Basically, when I started knitting, I just used straight needles to do all of my projects.  The very thought of circular needles intimidated me & double pointed needles (dpns) just straight up horrified me.  I would run away from any pattern that asked for anything other than straights.

What a silly thought that was, looking back.

While I studied out at uWaterloo, I borrowed a huge set from my Auntie Monica while I was back in Vancouver for Christmas break.  That's where I got started.  Out of the blue, my Mum pulled out this Aero set which completely blew my mind!  They looked like this except my kit is dark blue..  

I'm missing one single needle though because when it took the trans-atlantic flight over back in the 80's, it snapped.  = (

Aero Needle Set (UK)

I was a happy camper with this huge set until I started knitting a crazy amount of projects in a very short time - Handmade by Sylvie Rush Season.  ;)  

The thing is, I used to do a lot of heavy weight lifting and be a huge gym rat/fitness enthusiast.  The first time I strained my right elbow was from pushing myself to a point of doing too 25+ body weight dips until failure.

With that said... my elbow and shoulders started bugging me again since those were the places where I hold a lot of my tension while knitting.  It's the basic, repetitive movement of knitting where the elbow has to come out to get into the next stitch.  

On Boxing Day, I went shopping at Urban Yarns (big surprise).  I was introduced to these new needles, addi Click Turbos!!  Its a set of circular needles that are adjustable in size and length.  

Aren't they just GORGEOUS?!  I'd worked with the Aero circulars before, but the twist in the connector was just too tedious for me to want to knit with them.  (Remedy:  soak the cord in warm water to make it more pliable - thanks Auntie Phyllis!)

With the use of these addi circulars, they helped relieve the pains I was getting from the straights.  My elbows stay closer to my body when I'm knitting & it's a little more wrist work.  I don't think I could go back to straights, to be honest.

Hopefully this helps you to find you next pair/or set of needles!  It was quite pricey for this set ($200-ish), but well worth it.  

Hand Massage

Don't compromise your body for your hobby!  I used to go to a massage therapist... initially for my work outs, but it turns out the knitting was putting even more major tension in my neck/shoulders/arms/hands.  What a scream fest - you'd be laughing if you were in the room next to my appointments.  = )

PS. While I was searching for images of needles, I came across this!  It's a blog post about "Uses for Straight Needles" - it's pretty funny, I think.


With screaming delight, I wish you happy knitting!! xx.