Hiya!

At some point in my knitting "career", I decided that Addi Turbo needles were the way to go when it came to circulars.  I bought various sizes with different sized cables.  And I loved them.  I used them.  True to my OCD-self, I had their packages labeled with the needle/cable size so I wouldn't have to rely on the packaging or reading the teeny, eeny weeny print on the cable.  For several years we were very happy, my Addis and I.  I made lot of felted bags & various other projects with them.  But I always felt that something was missing.  In the summer of 2009, I gave in to Knitting Group peer pressure, sold some of my Addis and purchased the Knit Picks Harmony Wood Interchangeable needles.  But the love affair was short lived.  The KPHW are sharp needles.  My poor little finger tips would be sore from knitting with them.  They were pretty to be sure and the wood is nice & smooth but I sounded like those ridiculous diabetes commercials where the people are constantly saying "OW! My fingers hurt!"  

Then I discovered Lantern Moon crack , I mean needles.  Their palm, rosewood & ebony needles called out to me.  I was seduced by their altruism.  I bought a few pairs of straights and was a goner.  Somehow they convinced me that I NEEDED a set of their circular needles.  So, I gathered up my ill-fated KPHW needles & sold them with the intention of purchasing the Lantern Moons.  But in the mean time I had purchased a 5/16" circular LM needle for a project (my Mermaid Tail Cowl).  I realized I'd been duped!  The LM circulars are pointy!  Owie pointy!  I had just gotten rid of pointy needles---I didn't need more.  And so I was back to square one--or was I?

A friend of mine has been working at Yarnhouse Studio so going to visit their shop now has two purposes---beautiful yarns/notions & seeing Lacey.  I've been reading about HiyaHiya needles lately & knew that YhS carried them.  Would they let me play/touch with the needles before purchasing so I could make sure they weren't too pointy for my delicate fingers?  Silly girl, of course they would!  And they did!

So today The Super Bookatarian & I went up to Opelika so I could purchase my HiyaHiya set and she could purchase yarn and some goodies for her niece who will soon join our knitting group. ( I'm going to mentor her!  So excited!!  )  I can't wait to start a project with these needles---they're not too pointy, the wood is smooth & lovely and the joins are smooth.  

Pretty cables, huh?  I have a confession---they scare me.  I know how to do them but have this totally irrational fear of them that I avoid patterns with them.  My brother (Mr. I don't really like hand knitted items & used to sell my hand knit socks to my other brother) has indicated that he'd like a black merino cable knit scarf has had to wait for the scarf because I just will not do cables.

Well, the Monthly Dishcloth KAL group's March cloth is a cable cloth.  Any other year I'd pass on it & pick up the Mid-Month KAL when it started.  But this year, I have committed to making all 24 cloths.  The good, the bad & the cable.  So, when Day 1 arrived on Thursday I admit, I panicked a little.  But I knew I wasn't going to break this commitment that I made to myself.  I WILL do this dishcloth.  I will overcome this irrational fear of cables.  I'll be mentoring Super Bookatarian's niece next school year---I need to be able to answer HER questions.  A cable stitch shouldn't scare me.  It can't.

So, last night I did my cable row.  And it wasn't that bad.  In fact, I'm looking forward to working the next cable row.  I was able to knit loosely enough (read: like a normal person who doesn't knit as tightly as I do!) so that the cable stitches flowed easily.  And today, I may or may not have been eyeing some beautiful black cashmere yarn.  It would make a beautiful cable knit scarf for my brother.  Or maybe for me. . .