New Needles

I was swatching for socks this afternoon with some lovely rose handpainted Merino. I've got the perfect set of bamboo DPNs but of course they're already in another sock-in-progress. It was time - time to break out the new Susan Bates sock needles.


I know what you're wondering. Yes, they are aluminum. Colored aluminum. Yes, cold metal knitting needles just like the long straight size 8s I learned to knit garter stitch slippers on way back in the sixties with rainbow Red Heart. But I digress.

You know how it is when you have one of those 40% off coupons and a few spare bucks, right? You feel sort of flush. Like maybe it'd be a good idea to head on over to Jo-Ann's and take a look around, because you never know... And this time I lucked out. The needles were waiting there, in all their tiny glory, US sizes 000, 00, 0, and 1. What sock knitter could resist?

So I picked out what appeared to be the thickest (thick being a relative term here) of the four sizes and cast on. And I'm thinking, not bad. I could actually knit a pair of socks on these babies. They're so smooth and not as slippery as I'd imagined they would be, although that may be due in part to my super-tight gauge. But not bad at all. Who knew?

I may have to go back and pick up another set. Because you know, there just may be another coupon around here somewhere...