Review Addi 30 cm Sock circulars

For today's update I wanted to talk about these "sock circulars" I ordered the other day.

First of all, I love my Addi lace click set. I bring it with me on travels and I practically use them everyday. They have a good range of needles and are pointy as I like to have needles when I knit lace, cable and just about anything that that's not garter stitch or stockinette stitch. So don't think all Addi needles are crap just because of this review.

First of all, the needles are bent at the end to help the (too) short cord so the needles becomes very short to hold and I would definitely not recommend people with hand or wrist problems to use these since the shorter needles keeps you from having relaxed hands. I cramped up after just 2 rows with these and the cramp was still there after 5 minutes. I'm a young person with small hands so you would think I would be able to use these without problems but that was not the fact. The needles are light and smooth but not very pointy and I do think that it is a problem when knitting sock on a small gauge. Below are some pictures of the needles.


Note: This rewiev is of a personal nature and I have heard of people that enjoy them so if you want to try them don't feel discouraged. They are a little more expensive then ordinary run of the mill needles but not by much.


Tomorrow I will talk about the Knit pro symphony wood so please check back then. I'm also writing up a pattern/recipe for the bolero in a previous post. This will be my first pattern and I hope to be able to post it soon.  

Have a great day and if you do have other opinion/stories to tell about the Addi sock circulars please don't be shy to voice that.

Yarn giveaway at Lanitium ex machina!

So I had a little spike in viewers yesterday and even if I don't know if any of you will come back I stumbled upon a giveaway from one of my favorite Etsy seller. I've have yet to write about her but she does have fabulous yarn and fibers. I think any spinner would be delighted about the fibers she makes and any knitter about the yarn. I have gotten both fiber and yarn sample from her and I have also bought yarn. She resides in Finland so any European will be pleased to enter without the risk of getting the package stuck in customs.

So here is a links to both her blog and her etsy shop. I have nothing but good to say about this seller and I frequently visit her shop just to look at the nice things she got. She is a regular (I think) supplier to Phat fiber box and her shop updates usually updates with new colors each month according to the theme at Phat fiber. She does have a great sense of style and color and I love her taste.

Knitting toe-up socks review

In an earlier post I talked about buying the Craftsy course "Knit original toe-up socks". I haven't really had a chance to sink my teeth into it since I'm working hard on a so called dissertation project in Nerd Wars. It's the lace shawl Aeolian in the biggest size with nupps and pearls. It's been a hard project especially since I'm only used to making sock yarn shawls and this is done in a lace weight yarn and it has to be done April 30th.

This weekend I was really sick of the Aeolian, I think that the prospect of putting on about 2200 beads is wearing me down, I think I have put on maybe half of that by now. So I got to work on my sock class instead. I love buying yarn from an Etsy seller called Sunrise Fiber Co and therefore I have a few skeins from said seller lying around the house because my time consuming project Aeolian. I've been itching for a project to use her lovely yarns on so I kind of felt this was my chance.

For my first toe-up socks I decided to use SunriseFiberCo's UFO colorway in Fingering 80% BFL and 20% Bamboo. The yarn is really soft and smooth and I enjoy knitting with it. The socks will feel amazing in this yarn. I've finished the toe and of course I chose to make the hardest one in the course, the wedge toe, since I thought it would fit the most with the stripes the colorway makes. And this is the result.

The course is made to help you design your own socks, choosing from different patterns and toes. It helps if you have some experience making toe-up socks when taking the course but I don't think it's a must. I have only made 1 sock toe-up before and knitted one pair of cuff down so I'm not that versed in sock knitting but I do have experience with different cast on's, stitches, lace patterns and both circular and DPN knitting so I don't think it's suitable for an absolute beginner. For the beginner there is another course to take on Craftsy called "Knit sock workshop". I've decided to make a ribbing on top of the foot, because the bamboo in the yarn makes it a little less stretchy then pure wool and socks have to be made to fit snugly around the foot. I think the colorway will be excellent in only ribbed stitch and that a complicated lace pattern would become somewhat lost in the colorway.

The course will show you 3 different toes with both 2 circulars and DPN's, there is also a section of how to do 2 at the same time but I have not yet had the time to look at those videos. All and all I enjoy the course and I do not regret buying it, I would even recommend it.

The art of spinning

This fall I was introduced to the art of spinning. When I put it like that most of you probably think I've meet someone IRL that showed me the ropes. That however, was not how it went down. I don't remember exactly how it went down but I think it was thanks to the Phat fiber group I've talked about in a previous post, Etsy sellers and their buyers. I wasen't about to plunge into it by buying a spinning wheel without even trying some spinning so I bought a nice affordable spindle kit from hilltopcloud at Etsy.

The kit included a spindle made out of a toy wheel and there was a good amount of fiber in it to keep me going for a while. I got kind of hooked, I enyojed the process but it took a while to get any result and so it got a little lost  in the WIP pile. But my dream of making yarn was not forgotten. About 2 months ago I bought a lace spindle from Spinatude and was again hooked. I got the kind of yarn I wanted and even if the result was not even I thought that it was really nice for a new spinner.

My dream of owning a spinning wheel was yet again resurrected and I began searching forums on Ravelry to get an idea of what kind of spinning wheel I wanted. I was lucky enough to get in contact with a group of spinners in my area that sometimes have spinning meetings. One of the actives in the group actually came and got me last Saturday so I could try some spinning on their wheels. So after some planning I have now decided to get my self a Kromski Minstrel. Nobody in the group had a Minstrel but I got to try a Sonata and really liked the feeling of it compared to the Ashford I got to try.

Nerd fiber at it's best

Last month the Phat fiber box theme was Blinded by science. (I got a Big Bang Theory sample!) During the preview of the box I really fell in love with HeavenlyFibers Nebula batts, I just knew I had to have one. I'm a new spinner, I don't even have a spinning wheel yet but a knitter/spinner know that sometimes you got to act fast if you want something. Especially if you like hanging out on Etsy with the indie dyers, things run out quickly. Like Bohoknitterchics Big Bang Theory Sheldon batts. Whoosh! (She still has some of the Big Bang batts left. The Walowitz batt looks amazing)

Anyway, LeiLani at Heavenly fiber is awesome. She did not know I was a phattie fan and still gave me a coupon code for being into Star Trek and was really nice and accommodating. Without her help I would probably not have the thought about the coupon. I got the fiber after about 4 days with international shipping so it was more like an early surprise gift. The batts are really soft and smooth, there will be some time before I spin with them but they seem really fluffy and will probably be dreamy to spin with. I will save them for when I have been practicing on my upcoming wheel. You can really see that LeiLani have captured a nebula to the letter. I'll definitely will be shopping there again.

Craftsy spring sale!!!

Craftsy is having a spring sale and that means that they offer some classes up to 66% off! An amazing offer. March is National Craft month in the U.S and this is a good reason to celebrate in my book. All the other classes are 50 % off so it's time to buy those classes you been eyeing. Myself? I bought the Knit Original Toe Up Socks with Donna Druchunas, been eyeing it for a while acually.

Other then that I have taken the Mastering Lace Shawls with Laura Nelkin and it was amazing, after the course I'm knitting lace almost effortless. I'm currently making the Aeolian shawl, biggest version with beading and it's going really well so definitely something I can recommend.

New yarn shop opening in my block!

This week was the grand opening of a new yarn shop. It's located right next to the supermarket where I do all my daily shopping, and is at walking distance from my home. Yesterday I went to show my support and since it's a combined home decoration and yarn shop I looked a little at the decoration style. Sadly it's not all of my style, kind of shabby chic, country house but I did manage to find one bowl.

Along with my yarn addiction I also love breakfast bowls so here is a picture of the nice tings I found.The yarns are: Debbie Bliss Andes and Manos lace.

All and all it's a nice shop, it's a little confusing because they mixed up some of the yarns with the decoration and the bulk of the yarn is in two different places at the store. But it's a little homey and the owners are nice and friendly. Both of them are rather young too which is refreshing because they probably don't think you only know how to knit a scarf because you look a little young. I often have to prove myself at a new yarn store before they believe I can do more then a knit stitch.