I have a few…
What are your favorite knitting accessories?
Well I don’t have any pictures at the moment, but I like my starter set from Boye. It’s really all I have. That and some other Boye DPNs. I REALLY want a set like yours but they are expensive. I know they are worth it. but without a job, it’s near impossible to get one!
I just saw someone selling a new set of Boye’s on eBay, for $45- (“Buy it Now” price). Search for “Boye interchangeable”.
Since you get 9 pairs of circular needles, of any cable length, it really saves you big from buying individual needles, if you knit a lot. It’s an investment, but you’ll never have to buy needles again! I think the new set has even more needle sizes than my old set.
PS
You don’t have to post pictures, it’s okay! I’m just a web geek, what can I say…
The counter is my favorite accessory too! Although, I haven’t seen ones with a “loop thingy” until today. 
I have three counters and I intend to buy more. Actually, I need to buy at least one more because I’ve found an alternative use for one of my counters. One mile has a lot of laps and I don’t have a lot of memory, so one of my counters has been adopted as my lap swimming counter too. :oops: tee-hee …
Other than the counter, I have to mention my multi functional ruler that was in the Boye Starter kit I purchased. It’s a six inch ruler with a guage ruler built in and needle sizer. I always mis-measure with a regular ruler; but with this Boye ruler, all you have to do is put the stitches (or rows) in the open space and TADA!!
Here’s a picture the ruler:
http://www.wrights.com/products/catalog/boyeline/7525_lg.htm
Happy Knitting
Very cool set! My sister was describing it to me yesterday so I had to come and check it out!
The bead row counter bracelet seems very cool as well. It would double as a Weight Watchers point counter bracelet for me!
I also use that bead counter to count sets of things like decreases. For instance, if a pattern says: decrease like so, every 6 rounds, 5 times. I will use the small beads to count each of those six rows, and when I’ve done it once, I count a big bead. Then, start over with the small beads counting 6 rows, and place a second big bead. When there are 5 big beads, I know I’m done with that set of instructions.
I love my old Boye set, but I’m starting to hanker for the newer set. I just learned about “Magic Loop” knitting (a method of knitting socks and other small things, with one circular needle). I think the new Boye set might have a small enough cable for this. Does anyone have any recommendations? The cable needs to be able to fold virtually in half, and the folded end pulled out from between two stitches, without stretching them horribly. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, there’s more info on Magic Loop knitting here.)
I suppose I should see if I like this technique first, before buying a whole new set of interchangeables! …But the new Boye set also has a much smaller range of needles (more needles total?) than the old set I have. Good for those small items like socks. I wish I knew a store that stocked all the new kinds of interchangeables, so I could compare them all in person!
~Amy
I just discovered this cool yarn holder. It’s a sterling silver bracelet that allows the yarn to dangle from your wrist. You’re supposed to put the holder through the center of the ball of yarn, and then pull the yarn from the outside of the ball. This works pretty well, but the yarn sometimes gets tangled. I prefer, on the larger balls of yarn, to scewer the outer edge of the ball. Then I can pull the yarn from the center.
In any case, it’s a great toy for holding the yarn while standing or walking.
Another method I use is to just tuck the yarn under my arm, and pull from the center of the ball. Or, if I’m carrying my knitting bag anyway, to just keep the yarn in the bag. So, this toy isn’t really necessary, but it’s fun.
This one I got is called the “Knitty Walker.” I bought it for $18 at Northampton Wools, in Northampton, MA. They do mail order. Their number is (413) 586-4331. Shipping is $4.95.
I feel like the earth is spinning out of control if I do not have my gauge stich counter thingy. Ya know that rectangular metal thing with a little corner cut out and had holes diagonally cut out to measure your needle size. Love that thing.
I got these woven labels from NameMaker.com. This is their actual size. The first one was a label that I could put four lines of any text I wanted, so I included washing instructions for the wool items I make. I love these labels! This company had lots of good ones to choose from!
i guess along the same lines as that very cool yarn holder bracelet i love to use old fishing baskets for portable knitting. the lid keeps the yarn nice and contained and when i’m using a couple of colors i put each yarn coming out of the corners of the basket and it keeps them the perfect distance from me and from each other -no tangles!
Being a new knitter, I had a couple of aluminum needles to get me started, but I read someplace that wood needles are easier on your hands, so when I got to the point where I’m knitting every spare second including every public place I go, I started wanting some!
I ordered some bamboo, but they weren’t Clover (which I discovered are better) but I don’t like the way the yarn slides (or doesn’t) over them. They are also very round on the end, so they don’t slide into the stitch well.
Unfortunately, I discovered Lantern Moon Rosewood. They’re expensive, but so fabulous! I have one pair and am thinking about buying a new pair everytime I start something that needs a different needle size. Or maybe I’ll talk hubby into a good set of them (doesn’t anyone sell them in sets) for Christmas!
Those Rosewood needles are beautiful. I’m curious to try them now that you say the knitting slides better on them than Bamboo. I know what you mean about Bamboo not sliding as well as metal needles. I like using wood and Bamboo as DPN’s, because there aren’t so many stitches on the needle, so they slide well enough. And the needles rarely fall out of the work, unlike aluminum needles, which are such a pain when you get to just a few stitches on the needle-- they just love to fall out!
I’m curious about wood being easier on the hands. In what way exactly? The only thing I can think of is that metal needles get cold if you’re knitting outside (or in a cold house!). Otherwise, it seems that aluminum needles would be less stressfull on the hands, being so much smoother to knit with. ?
~Amy
Maybe it is just that the aluminum gets colder, but they feel harder on my hands, too. The wood, either bamboo or rosewood, doesn’t make my fingers feel like they are gripping such a hard surface.
It really could be the cold, now that you mention it. We live in an old house and it tends to be just a little cooler than you want it, most of the time!
Bamboos are supposed to be much better for people with atheritis (sorry if the spelling’s out) as they’re so much warmer to hold.
I’ve personally found that using aluminium needles of ‘rough’ yarn (boucle, untreated wool, etc) and bamboo for ‘slippery’ yarns (mercinisert cotton, silk etc) works well. As most craftsman will agree - the right tool for the right job is half the work done 
~Sharon
Hi All
If anyone is interested in the Boye set, I found a site that has a pretty reasonable price, and as far as I can tell, its the cheapest on the web, $47.25. It’s at www.knitting-warehouse.com - I’ve had one experience with their shipping and it was pretty fast.
Rick
Welcome, Rick!
Great price! Thanks!
Amy
I have a size 3 ring size and I’m in my mid 30’s so if you can imagine how small my hands are… :shock: … I also had two fingers broken back in high school on one hand and the other hand got shut in a car door in college (can you tell I don’t have a lot of luck? :evil: ) — so any manual activity can create a challenge, especially when the weather changes. I started with size 11 aluminum needles when I was nine, knitted a potholder, then did not pick up needles again til about 6 months ago, when I went to knit an eyelash yarn scarf in garter stitch on size 13 needles. HAD A BLAST - but my hands were so achy after about 30 minutes… I knitted this furry thing for 3 days on a trip to Canada and back (about 9 hours each way, plus 2 days actually in country) and had to keep flexing my fingers or take Tylenol. I was in love with knitting again, but since I didn’t know any other needle, I just kept up with my 13’s and then purchased a few size 7, 8 & 9 Boye SPN and 2 Boye circular needle sets about 3 months ago, plus a gigunda set of plastic sz 17 and 19 forextra chunky knitting. Still had hand fatigue, but kept on. Then my husband bought me the Klutz Knitting Kit (go to http://klutz.com/catalog/product.php?itemNo=2420&cat=5 — you will love this set!) which had a small set of size 8 bamboo needles. I knitted a small coin purse and was HOOKED!! Oh boy, these needles ROCKED — so light and comfortable… I was addicted. I purchased 6 sets of CLover needles (SPN & circular) and gave most of my aluminum ones to other newbie knitters. I think I have 2 sets left, but they are holding unfinished products for now - and will always go with the CLover bamboo. A very nice lady @ a rural yarn shop in WV tried to sell me on Addi Turbos (which are very nice too) but I am so used to the Clover without the hand fatigue & aches, and that annoying metal click & scrape noise is gone now too.
Funny story b4 the Clover needles: Recently I had to go to court as a witness for a friend’s MVA case and brought a project with me on the Boye metal circular needles. But when I went thru the metal detector, the officers x-rayed my briefcase and saw coiled somethings that set the alarm off and they automatically thought it was a bomb or something! Needless to say I was 2 steps from getting cuffed & beat down b4 they dumped my case and saw a pile of orange fuzzy yarn and my needles. So that’s another reason for non-metal needles! 
My next project is to make a few sets of SPN out dowels, but I’m verrrrrry happy with my CLover sets.
Welcome, Roxy!
Wow, your story sounds like a true testament to wood needles!
This may sound off topic, but it’s not… My dog broke her left femur when she was a puppy, and it’s always bothered her. She’ll start limping now and then. When she does, I give her cod liver oil. She stops limping within a week or two of starting on the cod liver. It works like clockwork. I don’t know all of the ways it works, but I know it is anti-inflamitory. Any “fish oil” supplement works well. Trader Joes makes a very high quality one.
Just thought I’d mention it, since you might try it for your hands!
Wow, size 3 ring. You must have tiny hands indeed!
Happy Knitting!
Amy
A little note about joint pain…glucousamine works wonders for both people and dogs!
We had a 100 lbs dog who was having problems with arthritis. He would whine and cry when we went downstairs because he couldn’t manage the steep stairs in the house, so I had to take him outside and around to the back entrance, then back around to the front entrance when we were going back upstairs. We started feeding him a dog food that included glucousamine and within DAYS he was leaping around and jumping and running up and down the stairs. It was amazing!