Stuff

Reviews of Knitting Books & DVDs - on a separate page

Knitting Goods – needles and accessories that I love and find useful

I have bought so much knitting and crochet stuff in the last six months that I’ve put someone’s kids thru private school with my money. All by myself.

That said, there are a few things I’ve bought that I not only find useful, I love them. I find them indispensible to my life now.

#1 Favorite Knitting Item:  KnitPicks Circular Needles.  So smooth, so pointy, so light weight and with the best non-kink cables at the best possible price. Awesome quality and a true joy to use. I use these for virtually everything I knit.  Compared to these, bamboo needles are like knitting with the business end of a pair of spoons.  The individual parts are very inexpensive. I started with the basic kit and then started adding pieces as I decided I needed wanted them.  BTW, I have also purchased yarn from them and have found some great buys.

  The Fabuouls New Harmony wood needles!

#2 Favorite Knitting Item:  Sterilite Show-Off plastic boxes with handles. These are cheap and have a locking top that absolutely keeps cat hair, and cats, out of your knitting. The handle makes it easy to carry to Knitting Club. It’s got a perfectly smooth interior that won’t catch on a ball of yarn that’s whirling madly as you knit. A bag is good, but my cats can crack any bag in five minutes.

 

#3 Favorite Knitting Item:  Stackable Drawers on wheels. The top two drawers hold needles and notions, and there are drawers below for projects. This sits next to my knitting chair, the applicable drawer is open, and I’m knitting out of the drawer.  When I stop, I just stuff the project back into the drawer and close it.  Like the boxes above, this is also cat-proof.

#4 Favorite Knitting Item:  This one was serendipitous.  I bought a crawly play tunnel thing for the cats and it came in a small nylon bag that is perfectly-sized to hold a sock project and it even has handles. How cool is that?

Completely Unrelated to Knitting – products I own that I think are great

Roomba Vacuum - this is the best thing since sliced bread. I bought two of these, reconditioned (one for upstairs, one for downstairs at practically two for the price of one new one) and it frees up hours of time every week for knitting.

After using for a few months, I upgraded to the add-on kit for pet hair and it was worth the money. While not a 100% cleaning solution, it keeps my house livable between deeper cleanings with the Big Noise Machine that scares the cats.  The Roomba does not scare the cats at all. They watch it from the safety of a chair and will walk around it to get to their food dish. Handsome even lays there till it hits him and turns away.  It’s also very freaky to watch it work.

Saeco Vienna Superautomatica Espresso Coffee and Cappuccino Machine

Let’s face it. I only have one vice left (other than my Knitting Addiction) and that’s coffee. My deal is Cafe Americain, two shots of espresso in a larger cup of water. So I want the best coffee I can get, and I want to get it without leaving the house. After much research, I invested in one of these and it’s the pride of my kitchen. I use Peet’s coffee, and it makes my day start out just that much brighter.