Sunday, December 27, 2020

It All Started When I Didn't Check

 A squirrel project of another kind:

It all started when I knit a hat for my grandson, for Christmas, without checking my notes from the last hat I made him. Long story short, it was too small. I went back and checked my notes, and sure enough, I had decided that the pattern was too small, so I had gone up a size, and down a needle size., for the last one.

So, I ripped out the whole hat, and opened the drawer where I keep my knitting needles, to look for a 5mm short circular needle. I found a total mess, and decided that it was time to do a tidy.


I emptied everything out onto the dining room table. I first found my needle gauge, then I started sorting. (Like my new Christmas tablecloth?)


These are the first "grown-up" needles I ever owned. I had started out, at the ripe old age of 5 or 6, with a pair of poorly made needles that came in a craft kit. They eventually broke, but not before I used up all the yarn in the kit, and a number of scrap balls, donated by a neighbour who knit. (My mother didn't knit.) These needles were gifted to me by a family friend, who got me started on a hat in bulky yarn.


I love how the plastic needles bend and stay bent. I don't use plastic ones anymore. 


I have a huge collection of straight needles. I can't remember when I last used straight needles. So I decided to find a new home for these, to help resolve the mess. 


The cardboard mailing tube that I use to wrap the Christmas wall hangings around provided a storage place for the needles, and they will soon be cozy and warm, wrapped in the Christmas quilts.


My needles of choice are now circular needles with interchangeable tips. I separated these into tips and cables, and discovered that I seem to have an extra point. If anyone needs a single 6mm tip, I have it. (I found the other 5mm tip missing in the picture, and now I wonder why I have two sets.)


By the end of the day, I had this. I found a cutlery tray to put into the drawer, it it holds the double pointed needles, crochet hooks, needle gauge and a couple of other tools. The brown envelopes hold the cables, and circular needles. The short circulars now have their own envelope. Needle tips are in a zip lock bag. I wonder if I can keep it this tidy?

Meanwhile, in a weak moment, I decided to join annual Mystery Quilt Along over at Persimmon Dreams. She publishes a block per day, and I am already behind! So, I am going to try and play catch up over the next couple of days. 

This is my fabric selection, pulled from stash.


I finished the first block, but it looks wonky so I may be redoing that, too.



7 comments:

  1. Well - that's a good job done! Now you should be able to put your hand on the right needle for any project.......and yes, the Christmas tablecloth is a good one.

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  2. Hubs hates it when I start on any organising because sooner or later I run out of steam and take a long break, like days, weeks. And I leave the stuff out everywhere so it's total chaos. I haven't switched to interchangeable tips needles because over here they are super expensive. Currently, I like double pointed needles.

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  3. Love the way you have organised it all. The plastic needles look like you had a lot of use out of them Funky fabrics which will make a great Quilt. We all fall behind on Quilt alongs, so that is very normal. Will you have enough yarn for another hat for the young lad? Your table cloth would fit in perfect in our town, as 90% are Scottish decent here.

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  4. Well done organising your knitting needles!
    It’s always nice to have them ready to go for the next project.
    Nice tablecloth.
    Interesting QAL, look forward to seeing how yours turns out!
    Hugs,
    Barbara xxx

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  5. First. I DO love your Christmas table cloth. Second, I also love a good clear out, especially of crafty bits. I put all my old straight needles into a vase because I'm too nostalgic to toss them (plus I sought out the ones in bright colors so they're kind of cheery).

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  6. I have some of those bendy plastic needles, too! And lots of straight metal needles that I never use. Won't they be valuable relics someday?

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  7. What a great squirrel, so useful and satisfying! Why haven't I gotten the circular needles with interchangeable tips?? I still use straight needles from time to time but I don't knit much these days, something I want to remedy! I also have a hat I need to rip back a ways as it turned out too floppy. Thank you for linking up!

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