I just wanted to be the first one to comment. I really don't have anything to say.

Love your blog.

Yikes those are tiny circs! I think I might have to track me down some. I've had too many near-miss palm punctures with my birch dpns. Domo arigato. :)

Where has the great KIP known as the mystery cat thing-a-majig doo hickey deal gone? I was really hoping for a picture of that....

You know KIP is usually knitting-in-public? And kippers would be those who knit in public. So now you need to come up with a new name for knitting in public :)

The Ugly Mystery Cat Thingamajig is fully knitted, but needs some, um, construction. I am waiting for Drew to get here to help. heh! Little does he know!!! He's coming here to help build the world's ugliest cat thing!!

PDYs? Public displays of yarn? I have to think on that one Lauren.

The knitting looks great, but I covet your dinette set. Are those Saarinen chairs or Burke?

Can't wait to see the Ugly Mystery Cat Thingamajig, you've built it up so much I expect it to be huge!

i am doing my first cabling project and was getting really cranky, until i discovered grumperina's blog. she has the most wonderful instructions on how to cable without the cable needle. if you are using cable needles, lose 'em, and check out grumperina.com and go to her knitting webpage - the instructions are there!

Your blog ROCKS. It had become my little soap opera. You are very witty and funny. I have lots of firemen friends...they are all here in Arkansas though. I could always send pictures. HA.

Happy Knitting.
Steph

Hey, Laurie. Can you fix a little boo-boo in the link for the Village Knitter? Right now it's "http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/www.thevillageknitter.com/".

Loved your yarn porn! Holler if you need help when you get back to the Fuzzy Feet.
--K.

AMY!! Oooooh, they are original Burke star-based chairs and that's a Burke tulip-base table with a wood-grain formica top. mmmmmm. Burke chairs.

Thanks Kathy!! I fixed it. these internets are hard sometimes. remember the time I spelled "idiosyncrasy" wrong 23 times in a column? All consistent. Consistently WRONG. heh.

I'm so jealous. I haunt the antique stores looking for one of those Burke sets. They are so cute.

Amy: one word. EBAY.

Wow, you've got lots of great projects going.

Better get out the magic eraser for Drew!

Apropos of nothing, I saw a news report on a study linking cats and schizophrenia. I'm just sayin'. . .

Laurie, did you get an email from me over the weekend? I always wonder if those make it through the spam filter. :)

Laurie, I wish I knew how to knit like you. My knitting skills are so, so rusty!

How 'bout sending that lovely piece of green ribbing to Anne for her cause? Is it cold enough there? Or if you just can't bear to pick it up again, I'll finish it for you and fwd on your behalf. Which is not to say that I don't already have too many 'things-that-I-started-that-I-abandoned-coz-I-started-something-else' (hey, why use a TLA when you can use lots of words?), just that I think someone would love that scarf, I'm knitting a ribbed scarf myself at the moment, and I have nothing against joining yarn mid row. I've done it and lived. (I don't make it a habit, but you know...)

let me know how those tiny circs work -- where did you get them?

I see that you also play the "Proffer Stuff for the Cats to Sniff" game. Yay!

Thanks for the pics of your...um...kippers. I love looking at other peoples kippers. Gives me ideas. I also join yarn mid-row...I didn't know you weren't supposed to. Of course every time I read something about knitting I find out I do something wrong or backwards. That's what I get for not having the patience to look something up and instead just make it up on the fly.

FYI...I was just perusing Hollywood Knits by Suss Cousins. Beautiful projects, easy directions. I highly recommend it. Now if only the Matrix sweater came with Keanu in it...

Hehehe...love the kippers and the kitties. All four of my cats routinely sniff the mail, especially if it involves packages of yarn and other good supplies. Of course, they like to hang out in the box once I've emptied it. Maybe they think I'm ordering boxes for them on e-bay!

"Roy Cluesoe" and "Bob Columbo"!!! HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA.

Ah, ya slay me, girl!

I love, love, love the tiny circs. I must hunt those down. I will be eagerly awaiting your report, comparing them to the dpns. I've developed a certain (twisted) fondness for my dpns through the Fuzzy Feet but I would be thrilled if I could get my hands on some super small circulars.

I was told by the lady at the store, you should bend the heck out of them before you use them.

You'll definitely need your chunky scarf for your vacation :-) Last March it snowed here in Canterbury, UK and I'm guessing that your destination isn't that far away ... !

I love love love that cable knitted scarf! It’s beautiful. I know so many people in very cold WI that would love it if I could manage to make such a fancy shmancy knitted thing for them. Maybe by Christmas next year…

omg, I thought my 12" circs were tiny! I must have even smaller circs now.

Those circs...are the cutest things...I have ever seen. Must go to Halcyon Yarn. I am a sucker for anything in miniature. :)

Thanks for the heads-up about Village Knitter - I think I'll get in touch with them - my area came [thisclose] to getting whacked by the same storm system that hit Evansville and vicinity weekend before last, and I have been giving thanks that it missed us ever since. Now I feel like I can do something meaningful for people who weren't as lucky.

Cluesoe and Colombo! Ha! Love you and your kitties, darlin.

Girl, that's not a lot of current projects going on. You don't have many until you hit double digits. ;-) Trust me.

KIP could be confusing. some people use it as an acronym for Knitting in Public.

How I love to read your blog...and your explanations. It makes my day!

Well, luckily i won't be confusing anyone with KIP as an acronymn (since KIP apparently means Knit In Public) because the acronymn? Totally never use it. I call everything a kipper now, not a KIP. That was just my train of thinking that got me to kipper. Of course, for some projects, I use the trusty standby ... pita!

[ PITA = Pain In The Ass ]

i need tiny circulars SO BAD!

i fear the dpns and my hat will soon need some...

i am so sad i missed your yard sale, but seriously? some one had to make out with my boyfriend and i figured it should be me.

also, we played dressup in a vintage store! it was fun!

your green scarf is lovely AND my favorite color.
I adore the look on the cats faces --kinda like "what do you mean this isn't something to eat??!!"
Three days til DREW...what are ya'll gonna do...anything fun???

So these tiny circs REPLACE the scary dpns? I am about to start a hat/scarf combo in Adrienne Vittadini Paloma yarn in deep ocean (ahhh...ohhh...so soft) and I'm going to do it in the round (first time! be gentle!) and I'm scared of dpns. So, tell me, dear knitting guru, Should I get these instead???

I LOVE Halcyon yarn. Have you been there? I went this past summer, in Bath, Maine, and loved it so much. I get all of their catalogues mailed to me now.
I just bought my first set of circular needles yesterday, and I really really suck with them. I must be doing something wrong. I'll keep trying though, cuz Crazy Aunt Purl does.

Uh...so you aren't supposed to join yarn in the middle of a row? Seriously?? Oops. I didn't even know there were rules about these things. Go figure! I wonder what else I'm doing that's totally wrong? Then again, maybe it's better not to know and just go merrily on my way, happy in my ignorance.

(Sorry if I'm making all you Real Knitters cringe! I freely admit to being a clueless KnittingIdiot who only knits Bad Fuzzy Scarves.)

I like the ribbed scarg! What is the pattern for that?

Uh, scarf that is.

Michele - I just cast on 26 stitches, then knit two stitches, purl two stitches the whole way across. On the next row, you purl two, knit two the whole way across. Wash, rinse, repeat! I know 26 seems like a LOT of stitches to cast on, but ribbing shrinks in so much that it gets way skinnier than you think.

Marissa-- I think they're meant to replace dpns in small projects like socks and armwarmers. I wouldn't use them on a hat because you'd probably have too many stitches going from a 16-inch circh down to these. Also -- the biggest size you can get these in is needle size 10, so if your hat is using size 10 1/2 or 11 circs, you'd be out of luck.

Maybe I'll try making a hat with size 10s, then try switching to my mini circs when I'd normally switch to dpns. That may be the only way to really know...

for your cable scarf..you don't need a row counter...write out each (or cut and paste)row of directions...paste on separate index cards...tie together in one corner, and then flip each card as you finish each row, i clip either a bobbie pin or a paper clip over all the cards together to keep them held in one spot between knittings...thus, when you pick it up again..you'll know the next row to start with! see..i have 23 wip's going...i'm not spending money on 23 row counters..that would be wrong..too much yarn money for that! priorities my dear!

My favorite method of knitting small diameters without DPNs is using two sets of circulars, like this:
http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/twocirculars.html

Not quite as cute as teeny little circs, but a lot less cumbersome than DPNs. Plus, you don't have to worry about dropping stitches if a needle falls out.

I've never done socks. I may try fuzzy feet if I get yarn money for Christmas. :)

Love the kippers!

thank god. husband nearly had me convinced that my friend vern and i were the only people in the universe who knew the term "po-po"...

Cables--my G*d, woman, look at you go!

It's like, I know how to do cables, but I'm soooo lazy...

Socks are my fave portable project--someone like you who knits on the go should do lots of socks.

Only, not with cables, cuz, you know...

Thanks so much for posting about those mini circs! I just KNEW there was someone who had to have thought of such a thing, but I couldn't find anything about them. Am getting out Evil Credit Card now. Thank you!

Are Kippers some sort of fish in the UK....not sure...who cares I don't like fish anyway! I checked out Halcyon Yarns and they post to Australia, so I might have to try them out. Have to try the mini circs - dpns drive me crazy. Take care Laurie.

I SAW those teeny circs at Hobby Lobby! But I had no idea how they would be used. Teaching cats to knit, maybe? Barbie fuzzyfeet? So I just left them alone.

Joining you in the cable love...um...that's not the word...howsabout just joining you in the cablefest? The CatMan's Aran is going to drive me "guano loco".

At the vet clinic I used to work for, we'd note "Pia" (our version of PITA) in the upper corner of a patient's card; right hand corner, it meant the pet, left hand corner it meant the owner.

And believe it or not, I actually broke a point off one of my Brittany DPNs in the midst of Bubby knitting. WTF? Rassin' frassin' needles.

Just because I'm nosy...what yarn is that in the bowl on the table? And is that a voodoo candle I see?

When you said Kipper, I thought you were referring to Knitters in Public...which I kinda like as a slang for people who knit in public.

I'm a Kipper, she's a Kipper, he's a Kipper, wouldn't you like to be a Kipper too?

BTW - nice cables on that white scarf...

I've used the tiny circs, and they are nicer than dpns... but you still have to use dpns, because the project will still eventually get so small that you'll have no choice... BUT you have to use the dpns a lot less...

Hi Laurie,

Just started reading a few weeks ago and I wanted to let you know I enjoy your blog.

I live in Minnesota in the frozen tundra. Our high for the week was today--a wet and rainy 45 degrees. Cold enough for you? :)

Well I'll be staying tuned on how those shorty little knitting needles work out. Looks like a Godsend invention to me!!

well, it's 30 degrees here now, and the wind is blowing with gusts up to 50 mph. wore my alpaca hat and cashmere scarf and still froze on my walk to the car!!!
this gal could use a thick heavy scarf.

Thank you SO MUCH for giving info about the tiny circs and showing me exactly where to buy them (sometimes people just say The Internet, and that does not help at all). I can't wait to get them and maybe not spend a million years trying to knit a sock any more. Thank you! Gracias! Merci!

I don't know about preferring firemen...

My little coastal town has the best looking policemen I've ever seen. Warms the soul, it does.

I have a bunch fo those little circulars that belonged to my grandmother (and perhaps my great-grandmother before her). We call 'em sleeve needles.

Kippers are also a type of smoked fish (herring or salmon) from the UK (Australia too). Very yummy. You could enjoy eating some kippers while working on your kippers. Or something. :)

Thank you for explaining the microscopic circulars. I was beginning to think that you creating new fashions for Barbie.

Also, you must never miss the opportunity to spot a man in a uniform.

Do you remember that comedy show, "Kids in the Hall?" That last picture of Bob with the circulars reminds me of that skit, "I'm crushing your head...I'm crushing your head.." Too funny!!!

Clearly, madam, you are bonkers. But you knew that.

You could always send your ribbed scarf off to the Dulaan project -- that's perfect for them!

I recently had the good fortune of visiting Halcyon Yarns in person. Can you say Y-I-K-E-S?!? It is yarn heaven, really. Your blog is a bright spot!

Like you, I have an extreme weakness for a man in a uniform - any kind of uniform.

Funny you should write about this, when just this morning I was telling God how mean he is for putting two of the most gorgeous men I've ever met in the upper half of my house. One is a cop (and so SO hot) and the other works in a hospital and wears those hot hot hot blue scrubs every day. And I can't have either one of them.

Life is cruel.

Yay - thanks for the kitty pics - I was going through Roy withdrawal. I don't stalk you, just your sweet Roy.

Changing yarn in the middle of a row -- a no-no?
Maybe on a stockinette sweater where you'd rather hide the ends in a seam than leave a pucker in the middle of your chest. But on a scarf with deep ribbing like yours -- THE MIDDLE IS EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACE to change yarns. Easier to hide the woven ends in the middle than on a nice neat exposed edge.

RE: Tiny circs. They are sold to people who fear the dps. The downsides: the mini-circs are very hard to handle. There's not much needle to grasp and knitting requires leverage. If you have teeny-tiny hands, then maybe you'll enjoy knitting with these little things. Also, when making socks you'll need to use markers to keep track of where you are in the pattern -- esp. heel turning. With DPs, you generally know where you are without markers and the patterns usually assume DPs and refer to the "first" or "second" needle, etc... If DPs scare you, you probably won't be brave enough to rewrite the pattern to work with a circ.

I use my mini-circs as cable needles and stitch holders more then anything else.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for the kitty fix!!

Soooo very appreciate it.

Meow! Meow!

Laurie, your cables are divine!!! Really, museum quality!

FYI Re mini circs. My Japanese source informs me that they have been discontinued there for 1+ year. You'll notice that one needle is longer than the other, making it easier to hold. The sizes are Japanese needle sizes (#4-3.3mm; #6-3.9mm; #8-4.5mm; and #10-5.1mm). See back of package, top corner. I love my mini circs, they are handy to have in the bag without the risk of being impaled. Happy knitting!

I've used those mini's. they're called for in "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" for the wrist warmers. True, a bit odd feeling at first, but then no problem. I do like them. Found mine at Purl in NYC (but, that's the author's shop--so no surprise there).

I like men in uniforms too.