Livin' in Perfect Harmony!

Hey!

Just got my set of Harmony Knit Picks circular whatsits...from TIK, (specifically from the lovely J. Thanks!).




Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'k/nitpicking'.

No, really, I see a connection. Ha Ha.

All joking aside, these babies are SHARP!!!!

First of all tho', they're soooo purdy! Those marbelled colours, and the wood grain. Lovely.

Er...I know that's not the most practical response, but after all, we spend so many knitting hours transferring needles from hand to hand, sliding stitches up and down, going thru' the stitch rhythm, and most importantly easing stitches and needle tips in and out of cables and lace, that - just like with a violin, a flute, a plane or a saw - it really matters what the instrument/tool is like.

Is it sticky, halting, jagged or smooth as butter?

Is it plastic, metal, aluminum, wooden or smooth as butter?

Is it shiney, grainy, splintery or smooth as butter?

In other words, is it as smooth as butter?

Yes it is.

(I should point out that here in Ireland, in case it's differnet in your part of the world, butter is smooth, and er....buttery...and oh yes, yellow-ish and kinda salty! Yum.)

At first with the Knit Picks, I must admit, (in the interests of full disclosure), that while I was bedazzled by their good looks, I was freaked out worried about how sharp the needle tips are. Not that accuracy and ability are a handicap. After all, I'm the kind of knitter who wants their boyband to be able to actually play an instrument and hold a tune. And Boyzone, are they sharp and pointy. But I haven't knit much lace, so these seemed over the top for my purposes. And painful.

I even thought - argh!- that maybe I had been once again suckered by the bandwagon to buy into something that looked lovely but would be inappropriate to my needs or fail to deliver. I'll admit, if I see a bandwagon passing, any bandwagon, about the right height and speed I think about jumping abord.

However, I:

- assessed this issue calmly, soberly,

- allowed for a suitable passage of time so that my crush on appearances would have time to pass,

- cast a beady eye on the knitting budget

...and I came to the sensible, adult and mature conclusion that they were just too darn pretty to resist!

*cough*

So there I was, piercing the pad of my left index finger with every stitch and wondering if it was all a mistake.

*sigh*

However, it turns out, that the very 1st project that I try these babies out on, the Berry Cluster Stitch, has a VERY tricksey purl 2 together THROUGH THE BACK LOOP for which quite frankly a blunter set of tools would be useless.

So, not only are they good lookin', they pack a punch.

Yay, redemption.

And you can't ask for more than that.

Or you can. (A free trip to the great knitting shops of the world, dinner for all your knitting friends - online and local - with the Yarn Harlot, tutorials with your favourite designers and a lifetime of free yarn.)

But that's just silly...