Monday Magic: August 20, 2012

It's Monday, and it's my "little" brother's birthday!! André is 19 today, and well over 6 feet tall, so really, I can't get away with saying little brother anymore. Today is also my cousin Jake's birthday. And my friends Steve and Colin are also celebrating their birthdays. Holy crap, most intense birthdate ever!

Anyway, I woke up just before 5 this morning, and I wasn't able to get back to sleep. So I finally rolled out of bed a little after 6, and I've been up since. I played some online games, and read a few blogs.

Here are some neat things I've come across this past week.

First up is the Abra Alba pattern. These wrist warmers are beautiful! I love the different coloured scallops. It's a free pattern, and it looks fairly easy. I've been gazing at the pictures of them imagining different colour combinations. The best one I've come up with is a greyscale version, and a close second is purples. But really, they would look great in nearly any colour. There is a small amount of crochet involved in this pattern, but I think I could figure it out well enough to do it.

Secondly is this beautiful purple and grey tweed yarn from GeckoYarns on Etsy. I came across this shop searching for yarn to make hexi-puffs (I'm thinking about making a Bee-Keepers Quilt), and I found some absolutely stunning yarns. I love the tweed look this yarn has, which happened due to the mixed content of the yarn. One strand is superwash, and the other two are not. So many pretty colours in this shop.

Last but not least, are the new Sunstruck wood interchangeable needles from KnitPicks. These are SO pretty. I wish they'd come out a couple months earlier, as I would have gotten them instead of the Harmony needles I purchased a little while ago. I love my needles, but there is something about the blonde wood that is just stunning. I think it would be easier to see the individual stitches on a solid coloured wood, rather than the different layers of colour. Regardless, I love my needles. If I ever need to buy another set, I will definitely be getting these ones, though.

I hope your Monday is going well!

Monday Magic: August 6, 2012

I took a little time away from doing my Monday Magic posts because of work, and a bit of a disinterest in it. I am going to replace it with the improved version! I will showcase three yarn or yarn related items, such as patterns, tools or clothing/jewelry, that I have come across. I will usually stick to a colour scheme, or theme, but who knows how these will go! This is what I found this week in a turquoise colour scheme.

The first item this week is some Shadow Tonal Lace yarn from KnitPicks, in the Pacific colourway. I currently have nearly $200 worth of KnitPicks products in my cart, and this is one of the skeins I am coveting. I have a skein of this yarn in Summer Blooms that I received in my order a little while back, and I spent a while petting it when it came in the mail a little while back. This colour is gorgeous, and I really hope I can place my order soon!

Knitting needle bracelets are awesome! I definitely want to get myself a set. I've seen them all over Etsy, and I just think they are so neat. They would be an awesome way to show my knitterly pride, that's a little more subtle than, say, getting a knitting tattoo (which I plan on doing) or wearing a knitting t-shirt (which I wouldn't mind acquiring) I'm keeping my eyes open for these!

The last item for today is some yarn from Gynx yarns. This is called Oil Slick, and is so incredibly pretty. I've mentioned before how much I love Gynx yarns, and this one is definitely one of my favourites. I don't usually go for variegated yarns that aren't in the same colour family, I like a more blended, tonal look, but this one is super nice, and I would definitely make an exception for it. I want to knit myself a beret/slouch hat/whatever you want to call it, and I think this would look great knit up. The only problem is that it wouldn't match the other wintry knits I already have, which are mostly pinks and reds. Who knows what will happen, all I know for sure is that this yarn is damn pretty.

Time to Upgrade My Tools!

I have been knitting since December 2001. For the most part, my knitting needles have been metal or plastic, bought cheaply from whatever store had them. I have a couple pairs of bamboo needles, but that's it. I want to start knitting items on circular needles that require shorter lengths than the 20 some-odd inches most of mine are. I've found some awesome hat patterns that I want to knit, but I hate using double points. I understand how to do the magic loop, and I want to use that method to get some new types of items made.

Here is my problem:
What brand of interchangeable needles should I go with? This is going to be an investment that I want to keep using until my old age, so I want something that can last that long.
I'm going to post in the Ravelry forums about this, and hopefully get some good feedback. In the mean time, tell me about your favourite knitting needles, interchangeable or not.