Soysilk and the needles

I couldn't resist it. The violent shocking horrible purple, it called to me even in my sleep. I dislike purple in most cases. I find it too whimsical for the kind of person I like to think I am. But this purple, the most horrible amazing purple, I NEEEEDED it.

So I got some and cast on for the Swallowtail Shawl from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits.

Looks good, no? I love it. It's wonderful and I don't even have to concentrate because someone else has already figured out the pattern. How wonderful. I sometimes have this thing where I think if I am going to spend the time to knit something I may as well design it myself but I needed a well deserved break--and Wendy egged me on Saturday. You may have noticed from the picture that I am in fact using mismatched old ratty straight needles. It's true. I was having a throwback moment to those days before I have all the lovely needles at my fingertips, when the only needles I had were my grandmother and great grandmother's hand-me-downs in an old Folger's can. All mismatched and warped and bent. Ah, the old days. Now there are so many different needles on the market the mind reels. I don't even know what I like anymore. How can I? As soon as I think I have found the greatest needle ever and started collecting something even better comes along. My poor Crystal Palace circulars, once they were my treasured needles and now they are dusty and neglected in the bottom of the needle box of doom (that tangled box I rummage through to find the right size). Then I moved onto the Inox coated aluminum, then onto the addi turbos and now I am having a quiet love affair with the Lantern Moon needles, not the straight ones, just the circulars and particularly the double points. They are the perfect double point, except for the awful packaging, but it has everything to do with displaying them and nothing to do with knitting. I did manage to knit up to the point you see in the photo on those mismatched and bent straight needles and then I gave in. I switched to the lantern moon rosewood. So much better.