A Knitting Interlude

My knitting bag, or more accurately, the contents.

One pair of socks in Louet Gems - I love this yarn. This time, I'm doing mirror images: finishing the ribbed leg on one sock, then the ribbed leg of the other; then the heel flap on one sock, then the heel flap on the other. This keeps it a bit more interesting and I don't have to dig too far back into my memory to recall whether I have a 48-stitch sock or a 54-stitch sock, and did I start the toe decrease now, or later?

One mitered square finished, one in process, and the yarn for that square: red, beige/taupe, orange, and tobacco brown. And some rogue balls of Tahki Cotton Classic (beyond the frame of the photo) that haven't traveled back to the bowl of yarn upstairs.

Three-quarters of a to-be-felted potholder, out of a skein of Noro something. Waiting to be finished with some acid green Donegal tweed from Tahki which is upstairs and needs to come down.

My clear bag of knitting notions: tape measure, needle sizer/ruler, stitch markers, Post-it notes for keeping track of where I am in a lace chart, some highlighters.

Here's a pretty picture of the sock so far:
See what I mean about the yarn? Unlike other sock yarns that I've seen, this one has a great, tight twist and knits up with authority. One might even call it a manly sock yarn.

Also to be recommended: KnitPicks Classic Circular Knitting Needles. Here's a picture of the join, which is one test of a great knitting needle:

For $9.98, including shipping, I purchased two 40" circular needles with nickel-plated tips, one in the smaller version of size 1 and one in the smaller version of size 2. (They offer two sizes within each number, so that you can really finesse your gauge.) I'm doing a version of the Magic Loop, one sock at a time. The needle points are sharp, the joins between needle and cable are very smooth, and the cable is flexible enough to snake between the two halves of the sock but sturdy enough to have some weight.

You are not going to want to add up the amount of money that you've spent on the gold standard of knitting needles. Just consider it a wise investment; then try a KnitPicks needle. You will then have enough money to plow into yarn, and you can pat yourself on the back for spending less on your knitting than you do on filling up the tank in your car.