Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Knitting Needles


One of my summer projects was to sew a fabric case for my double pointed needles. Since becoming a dedicated knitter, I have stored DPN's (in the original packaging) at the bottom of the basket that also holds circular needles. Other than the time spent looking for DPN's and buying a few unneeded duplicate sets, the system worked well. Lately some of the packaging has worn out, letting needles slip through the wrappers. On our last road trip, we pulled off the highway and stopped so I could retrieve a needle that fell down beside the seat. 

During the past few days I made a case from supplies on hand. I did purchase some twill tape printed with a tape measure that I used to label needle sizes on specific pockets. Every time I pull out supplies from storage, I think whoever finds this mess after I am gone will say, "Well, she had a lot of good ideas." "Egad and little fishhooks," as my Grandmother used to exclaim. Gram was a sewer of all kinds of projects and had a sewing room full of interesting supplies and tools so she would understand my collection. I inherited her buttons, a few pieces of fabric, and many knitting needles. 


Anyway, my sister has a fabric DPN case, so I asked her to measure and photograph it for me. This project would have been much more difficult without that information. First I inventoried sizes, lengths, and duplicate sets of needles. Then I spent three afternoons measuring, cutting, trimming, pressing, and sewing to create the case. 


I finished it by hand stitching down the binding and attaching size labels. Hand stitching the size labels seemed like the best way not to inadvertently sew the pockets shut. Oh dear. I enjoyed the puzzle of creating and sewing the case but will say that whatever Etsy makers charge for a DPN case is a fair price. 


While sorting needles, I came upon these Susan Bates needles. Look at the prices. I remember buying one pair of these but the others probably came from my Grandmother's collection. She didn't knit much on DPN's but used them to cable.


I also have some of her straight needles in the pastel aluminum colors. I don't use them often but keep them in a small pitcher that also belonged to her. She had a set of "Tickled Pink" dishes she used everyday. Pink was her favorite color but that is a story for another day. 

I am reading the last chapter of Craeft. The author, an archeologist, traces the history of craeft and tools that enabled agricultural life in England and Wales before petroleum products came into widespread use. His ideas are intriguing and mostly readable. Some technical sections about tools were a little tedious for me. I enjoyed the section about sheep farming, spinning, and weaving as well as the story about baskets. 

Linking with Kat and the Unravelers today. May your books and knitting needles stay neatly in their assigned places and projects.  


10 comments:

  1. Commenting to receive comments.

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  2. I love the needle case! A brilliant idea!! I too have a pitcher filled with straights!

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  3. That is a really beautiful dpn case! I sorted my needles into plastic bags for some sense of organization, but Ziploc bags don't come even remotely close to your lovely project. :-) I also have my grandmother's aluminum Susan Bates dpns and they always feel special to knit with.

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  4. Lovely needle case; perhaps you’ll open your own Etsy shop🙃! Fun that you have some of your grandmother’s needles!
    Cheers ~

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  5. What a perfect needle case! I'll bet it's particularly satisfying to use -- after all the careful work and attention to detail you "stitched" in. I have many of my Grandmother and Great Grandmother's knitting and sewing supplies, including some hand-made crochet hooks of undeterminable size! What a treat.

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  6. Great sewing for the needles. I also like them in the pitcher!! I need to find something prettier to put mine in! I just got a big set of wooden needles cause they are easiest on my hands/joints/wrists

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  7. you did a beautiful job making a case for your needles! my mom made one for hers and I have it, but I do not use it like she did. I knit mainly on circs and rarely need a multitude of dpns at the ready. My sister made me a flap case as well.

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  8. I love your case! I've been considering making one for all my circular needles and the two sets of interchangeable needles and coils. But it seems so daunting to figure out how to make one. I love yours -- well done!

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  9. I hate (hate hate hate!!!) when those pesky dps take a dive to the netherlands of the car. Also hate when I 'misplace' one....search high and low, sure it's in with all the fuzz and cookie crumbs in netherland, only to find it stuck behind my ear.

    Good solution with your case!!! I bought two cases years ago....one for my long dps and one for my short dps. Obviously, yours is MUCH better by handling both!

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  10. Lovely! I especially love your grandmother's needles. Not long before I moved back to Kansas from DC/Baltimore in spring 2011, a dear and wonderful colleague gave me her late mother's needles. No one in their family knit, and I was just getting into knitting and obviously *loving* it. They're in a place of honor in a display box my father built me, atop the dining room table he also built, which I use as my atelier.

    This is my first time commenting--I adore your blog--thank you for your writing and sharing!

    ~Jill M.

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