Some knitting progress: I have recently joined the Colin's Sock Knitalong Yahoo group, learning to make sock using Colin Andersson (knitman) 's method.
I had a couple of false starts as my two longest toes are significantly longer than the others, so my overall foot shape is fairly pointed - and the first couple of toes I knit were too wide.
I think I have finally cracked it though - here is a picture of my progress so far. I am knitting the main part of the sock in a simple charted lace pattern that I adapted from another pattern I saw on Ravelry. (I think it was socks called Spring Forward from Knitty.com)
I started each sock on one circular using magic loop, once I was sure they would fit I got them both to the same point in the pattern and transferred them so I can knit them "two socks on two circulars" style.
I had treated myself to some new circular needles for this, and as I couldn't decide what brand would be best, I ordered one each of four types - Addi "premium" (also known as Turbo I think), Addi Lace, Knitpicks, and Knitpicks Harmony.
My first impressions were that they were all good needles, so I picked two at random when I started knitting - the two Addis. They both have reasonably flexible cables and the points are good, Addi claim the lace ones have sharper points but on a 2.5mm needle there's not much in the point itself, although I think the shaft of the lace needle is tapered slightly further up.
The red cable on the lace needle feels firmer to the touch than the premium, but it have found it to kink less often.
However it is in the coating on the needle that I really see a difference. New, they both felt similar - perfectly smooth and shiny. However after knitting only one sock toe on each needle, I find that the lace needle is dragging the stitches, making them difficult to slide along the needle - and I am not a particularly tight knitter. When I transferred the socks to the two circs, I took out the lace needle to have a look at it, and the shiny gold-coloured coating now looks dull. I tried washing the needle as I wondered if it had become coated in someting transferred frm my hands, but it made little difference. The impression I have is that the perspiration from my fingers might have corroded the surface of the needle - I can't use standard cross-stitch needles for that reason, needing to buy gold-plated ones instead. I have swapped it for the Knitpicks metal needle as it was becoming so difficult to work with.
The knitpicks has a much softer cable than the Addi, and again the tip is a similar shape and made of smooth metal. I can't yet comment on how it is in use as I've not used it enough. Ditto the Knitpicks Harmony which I haven't used at all yet.
I have to say that overall I am disappointed with the Addi Lace needle - the other Addi is fine, but both are more expensive than the alternatives (the Addis retail at £4.95 each, both knitpicks types at £3.00 each, and HiyaHiya stainless steel ones at £3.29 each)
For the money, I would have expected the Addi Lace to perform much better than it has - I may still contact the retailer about it and see if I can get a replacement. In future though I think I'll stick to HiyaHiyas or Knitpicks, as so far I have failed to see an improvement in quality to match the increase in price. However if the environment is your main concern, my pick would be the Addi premiums. Manufactured in Germany, they have a much lower transport footprint for UK buyers than needles manufactured in China or the US.
The next one is slightly surreal. Without further ado, I present to you - a tube of Udder Cream!
