Girls' Night Out

I rarely go out. In fact, since moving to Detroit last year I haven't really made any new friends. But last week I finally went on a girl's night out with someone I met at wedding last March. I had such a good time. We're both moms trying to build our careers and it was just fun to talk to someone. I'm committed to getting out more.

And in the spirit of getting out more, I signed up for a class at Stitches Midwest. I am very excited. A very close friend of mine lives in Chicago and this is the first chance I've had to visit her since moving back to the Midwest last year. Of course this is the first time since my little man was born 2 years ago that I've been away from him overnight. I'm already a little freaked out but I'll only be gone for 3 nights so. . . .

On the Needles:
I've moved on to the 2nd Lacey Rib Sock. It's a really easy pattern, I don't know why I've dragged this project on. Of course I wasn't paying attention and had to rip back quite a bit. But I'm back on track now. Also on the needles is my dh's Biker Boy. I've finished the body and am nearly done with sleeve #1. It looks like I'll be done for the onset of Detroit's bitter cold.

Off the Needles:
I've finished a bunch of bibs for my friend's soon to arrive baby. I also finished 2 pairs of Fetching using my Araucania Aysen. I was surprised I was able to knit up 2 pairs from just one skein (191 yds). One of these pairs will go to my niece who started 8th grade this week

The Needles:
I recently purchased a set of Knit Picks Zephyr interchangeable needles. I had been planning to buy a KP set because my Denise interchangeables are constantly "overbooked". The Zephyrs are sleek, lightweight, slightly flexible, and super pointy. The sharp points are definitely a plus, I've been able to knit up lace which I could not do with the Denise needles. The points range from size 4 to 11 and the set comes with 4 cables (2- 24" and 2- 32"), 8 cable caps, 2 cable keys that I'm not quite sure how to use.

Although the needles are sleek they have enough "drag" to control slippery yarn. The cables are flexible enough to use for magic loop although I'll likely purchase a 40" cable since the 32" is a bit tough for knitting up sleeves using this method. I like the thin, flexible cables on this set for my more delicate knitting but I was a bit worried about their sturdiness for heavier yarns. One of my current projects is a sweater knit up in bulky yarn and it's heavy. The cable seems a bit vulnerable under that weight but it has held up so far.

On the down side, the tips on the KP inerchangeables are screwed on and unfortunately while knitting they tend to unscrew. I've gotten into the habit of tightening up the tips before I begin a knitting session and that seems to do the trick.

Another down side to the KP Zephyrs is that they are not labeled. In other words I have to use my needle/gauge tool to check the size of the tips. It seems like it wouldn't be too hard to chisel in the needle size at the base of the tips. Oh and by the way if you order a set, check all the tip sizes immediately. I discovered that my set was missing one size 6 tip. I called KP and they're sending replacement sz6 tips. They have great customer service by the way.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. The acrylic has just the right amount of slick for my knitting pace and the clear material helps me see the stitches when I'm working with darker yarns. And then of course there is the price: $44.99 is a pretty good value.

If anyone has more specific questions they'd like me to answer feel free to contact me.

That's all for now. Happy Knitting!