Tools

Like any trade or craft, the tools you use can make all of the difference. They can make your experience pleasant or frustrating, satisfying or infuriating. Knitting is no different, the tools can make or break the experience. Believe me, I have knit cheap acrylic on old metal needles and I have knit cashmere blends on handmade wooden needles - there is a difference, a ginormous one.

I have a confession: Three years ago, I didn't realize that you could buy yarn places besides the big box craft stores. Yes, really. Stop laughing.  I realize this is ridiculous, but there it is. I remember looking at magazines like Interweave and wondering where people were getting these yarns like Berroco and Malabrigo, since I sure wasn't finding them at JoAnn's.

Enter me finding a local yarn shop (lys) near me through a friend (who has now since become a partner in the lys, how awesome is that?). I walked in and started fondling squishing the yarn they had there. That, my friends, was the paradigm shift that shall never be reversed. Once you have felt and knit with quality yarn, you will never want to go back to the cheap stuff. Ever. There are affordable nice yarns, acrylic blends even, that I use, but they are not cheap in the sense that they are of inferior quality.

Long story short, I walked out with a sweater's worth of nice yarn, became a regular customer of that store, never even went to any other lys, and now I work there. It's just perfect. I get to be with pretty yarn all day, help people pick out the right yarn for the project, help them fix mistakes that come up, and I get to pet all the pretty stuff that gets shipped in. My version of heaven, right there.

Where was I? Tools, yes, tools. Yarn is definitely an integral tool, and I have some favorites for sure. Three Irish Girls was my first indie yarn crush and it will always be at the top of my list. Yarn Love is another awesome indie dyer, she makes some amazing colorways, and they have an amazing depth and richness. Madelinetosh is another fave, along with SweetGeorgia. I am a sucker for rich colors that aren't super bright, and all of these companies fit the bill for me.

My other tool necessity is good needles. I learned on old fashioned aluminum straights, but found them clunky and not super fun to work with. Clover bamboo needles were the next step, when big box was my only option, and they did the job, but they have been in exile for a few years now. You see, when I found the good yarn, I also found the good needles, and WOW what a difference! I did that first good yarn sweater on Addi Turbos and was amazed at the difference.

Those are great needles, but I have been lucky enough to find my perfect needle since then - Dyakcraft They (a husband and wife team) make their wooden needles BY HAND in Vermont. Seriously, the awesomeness knows no bounds here. They have a huge amount of color choices, different needle lengths, interchangeable sets (which are my favoritest in the whole wide world. I may or may not have two sets on order in addition to the ones I already own). They also have their Heavy Metals which are the only sock sized interchangeables that I have ever heard of, and they are also awesome. I ordered a couple of tips to try out in a size 0 (yes 0, they are sized from 0-3) and I really enjoyed working with them. and then there are the Northern Lights metal needles in same sizes as the wooden needles, plus a size 3. I have these too (big surprise, right?). They were my first Dyakcraft needles, and served as my company Kool Aid. They aren't available right now, but will be again (hopefully) soon.

What could possibly be so great about knitting needles? Two words: swivel cables. Oh yeah. No fighting the cable on your circulars anymore, it rotates freely in the ferrule that attaches to the needle and it means easy knitting for you. The tips and finish on the needles are amazing too - all done by a person, not an automated robot.

I should note that I don't work for Dyakcraft and don't get anything for waxing poetic about the awesomeness of their needles. I'm totally open to that, don't get me wrong, but this post is just from a fan.

Darn Pretty Hazelnut needles playing with Three Irish Girls yarn - Curiouser and Curiouser above and Enna below