My tools of the Trade

Every knitter has their ideal knitting needles. I know some people love shiny metal needles, some like bright plastic needles, but my money is always on wood. I love the smoothness and feel of them in my hand. I have now found my perfect needles at Knit Picks. The new Harmony wood straight needles are like nirvana in needle form. I got a few pair for my b-day and they have a nice sharp point and are smooth as butter. Not to mention that they are gorgeous to look at, see above. I will definitely be getting myself a full set once my Big Ass Craft Show money comes in.

Another tool that is a pretty individual chose is stitch markers. I don't use them all the time but I like them for lace in particular to mark changes in pattern. I have some pretty beaded ones that are lovely but just not all that functional in my book. I don't want the beads to catch on my yarn or get in my way so I tend to use plain old plastic ones from Clover. They are nice and flexible and come in lots of sizes for different needles. And if I loose one it's not going to break my heart like a pretty set would.

Row counters come in high tech form now and can be digital or manual. These are used to keep track of what row you are on in a pattern and are necessary for complicated lace or cable stitches. I favor the low tech version myself. I like the good old plastic Coats & Clark row counter. It can attach to your needle or I will sometimes loop it to a piece of yarn and wear it around my neck. With this little guy you don't have to put your work down to mark a row or pick up your digital counter.

I have multiple tape measures since they tend to hide in every crack and corner of my house. My favorite and the one that surprisingly I can usually find is my sheep measure from lantern moon. My nieces also like to play with it and pull the tail. My husband got if for me for Valentine's Day one year and it was a very thoughtful and fun gift for me.

Every knitter has their favorite stitch pattern guides. The standards are from Barbara Walker which I have one used copy and I've asked for others in the series for Christmas this year. I also have the Vogue Stitchionary books but my first and most well worn stitch pattern book is The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns. It has a really nice mix of cable, lace, and traditional stitches all in one edition. It is also very reasonably priced for a new knitter to experiment with.

So these are my favorite tools of the trade. What tool can you not live without and do you have a coveted tool that you would love to add to your repertoire?