Working the "pull stitches" in the Julia sock pattern involves "slipping" the third stitch on the left needle over the adjacent two stitches - no easy feat on 2mm needles. And sadly, the Lantern Moon needles just weren't up to the task. I broke three. Gavin repaired one but warned that it wouldn't be strong enough. He was right. Not only did the stitches not slide smoothly over the glued join, but I rebroke that needle at the original break twice.
When I met the Yarn Harlot in the summer she was knitting socks on Blackthorn needles. I hadn't heard of them but a few weeks ago an ad for them on Ravelry caught my eye. Blackthorn needles look and feel like wood, but they're made of carbon fiber composite. Gavin's windsurfing masts, booms and some parts of the windsurfer itself are made of carbon fiber - strong and lightweight. Sounds perfect for knitting needles, doesn't it? And virtually unbreakable!
For a few days I considered putting them on my Christmas list. Trying to explain sizes, needle lengths and the advantages of five needles over four in a set to a non-knitter proved too daunting. Never mind; I'll just treat myself. Got them yesterday, and so far, I love them. Did I mention that carbon fiber is also used to make Blackbird stealth jets for the American military?
4 comments:
I have a set of Blackthorns and they definitely are strong - but my favourites are still my Knit Picks Harmonies
Whoa! They sound lethal.
That is some *high-tech* knitting! I'll have to check them out.
I've only ever broken one needle (a Brittany), but I'm all about fancy-pants equipment to knit with. LOL
I've never seen them before but they sound pretty cool ! I have a set of Susan Bates silveralume dpns that I really like for my sock knitting . They are pretty nice and not too expensive but the finish does seem to wear off eventually and the glide factor is not there when knitting . I'll be curious to hear some feedback when you've used the Blackthorns for a while ...
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