I know, I know, if I could be there to fan you back to sensibility, I would. But seriously: how cute is that picture? I think I need to start a Pinterest board just for the knitting pictures I've taken that make me happy, so I can find them all in one easy place.
Now, what I've got cast on up there are the last two club yarns from Knitterly Things. On the left, we have Dancing Waters trying out a set of Knitter's Pride Nova, a nickel-plated needle. On the right, Spring Garden is set up on a quartet of cute blue Pony Pearls in a plastic/something else combo.
Without knitting further, I can tell you that if you've worked with KnitPicks Harmony Wood, you've pretty much worked with Knitter's Pride Dreamz, and the same goes for Nova and Knitpicks' nickel needles. I do have one more skein of Knitterly Things yarn in my stash*, and I seriously considered casting on with the Dreamz that came in this shipment. Then I did a quick comparison and found the Dreamz are actually slightly less slippery than the Harmony Wood so, um, not today. Wood needles are awesome and I do love them, but I'm on an information-gathering mission and I've already got their number.
I think I also have the Pony Pearls' number. You wouldn't expect this because, being partly plastic, they are really too bendy to be quick, but are they fun. (that was sort of a rhetorical question: yes, they are fun.) They don't feel slippery and technically they aren't, but for some reason there is no problem knitting fast on them. And the bendy is actually pretty comfortable in your hands. They have fairly stubby tips, but the material is smooth enough to make up for the lack of precision there. I am pretty sure I like them.
*Digression Alert:
OMIGOSH! I thought I would never get to the bottom of my Vesper sock yarn, and here I only have one skein of stripey stuff left that's never been knit. Admittedly I do have two skeins of slightly heavier solid-colour Vesper I have to get around to (hello, lace) and the solid heel and toe yarns I bought when I still cared about doing contrasts for those bits (hello, more lace) but if I finish these socks soon I will be almost caught up.
End Digression.
There was one more set of double pointed needles in that envelope so against my better judgment, and with serious consideration before I did it, I used them to cast on the second Universal Sock.
It's not really a good idea to switch needles partway through a project because even in the same size, every different material feels different in your hands and can affect your tension. Changing between socks? You are totally setting yourself up for one sock that feels tighter than the other.
On the other hand, not using the Karbonz needles to knit the second sock would mean using the Signatures again for the duration and I just could not face it. It was such a joy to get to the Karbonz - which in itself was unexpected because I didn't think I'd like them - that after I got enough down the leg to be sure my tension hasn't changed too much from sock number one, I ordered several (cough) more sets.
Okay, that's all I'm going to say about my dpn testing for now. When I'm further along I'll set up a point by point (heh) comparison which hopefully will help you decide which type of dpn might work for you, next time you're in the market for some.
Meanwhile... well, I'm afraid I succumbed to a different project after knitting about an inch on each of these socks. I'll show you what, tomorrow. Till then, have a great day with something crafty in it!
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