How do I love thee, my interchangeable needle kit? Let me count the ways...
When I started knitting a few years ago I quickly accumulated an unmanageable collection of different needles: bamboo, old aluminum hand-me-downs, Addi turbos, cheap cables, double-points in different lengths and materials. Every time I started a project I had to run to the store to buy the right sizes, and I could never remember what I already had or what brand I had bought and liked.
After a particularly expensive trip to the store to buy some Addi cables, only to find out after swatching that I needed to go up a size and buy yet another pricey needle, I decided to invest in the Knit Picks Options interchangeable needle set. I instantly fell in love - the needles are sharp and pointy, the joins with the cables are smooth, the cables aren't too tense or curly, the set is easy to use, and it is SUPER CHEAP to add to it with new needle tips or cable sizes.
I ordered a starter kit that came with a black Daytimer-type zipper notebook to fit everything into. I think this kit configuration has now been discontinued and you will instead receive a clear zipper pouch, so you'd have to order the zipper notebook separately. I have managed to pack all my tools and needles (except for the 8" double-points) into this one notebook, and wanted to share some pictures of how I organized it all - in case anyone else out there wants some ideas!
Here is the organizer zipped up. It's bulging a bit with all the goodies inside, but the zipper seems strong and hasn't popped on me yet!
In the inside front cover there is an open pocket and a pouch. I keep a needle-sizer in the pocket and some random tools (scissors, needle-tip-changing pins, a stitch counter, small stitch holders) in the zip pouch.
The first "page" in the notebook is a three-part divider that contains some tags (useful to mark what size needle you were using if you move the needle tips off a cable mid-project to use them on another project), my bamboo cable needles, and a little Clover Chibi container of yarn needles.
The second and third pages are two-part dividers that contain a measuring tape and the little stoppers that you can screw onto the cables when you remove the needle tips (so the cables can be used as stitch holders) , and then two packets of different stitch markers.
The next few pages are three-part dividers that contain my needle tips. I used a Sharpie marker to write down the US needle size and the measurement in millimeters on each pocket, so I know where to return the needles when I'm done with them (three pages like this, needle sizes US4 to US11).
The next pages are single large pockets that contain spare cables in different sizes, again written in permanent marker on each pocket (ranging in size from 24" to 60".
Two three-pocket pages hold the non-interchangeable smaller-sized cable needles (all in 24" size), ranging in size from 0 to 3. These are long enough that I can't zip up the pocket, but they still fit into the organizer just fine.
The last page is a big pocket that holds all my crochet needles. I have one set of small Boye steel needles for lace crochet, plus a lightweight set of Susan Bates Crystalite hooks in sizes G-P.
Last thing packed in the back cover is a pouch of Knit Picks 6" double-pointed sock needles (sizes 0 - 3).
Amazing that all this stuff fits into one little packet. I love it - I have taken it camping, on long car rides, on airplanes. It's great to have a portable kit and to know that everything I could possibly need is right in one place.
S
