I am an old fashioned kind of of girl, I guess you could say a Luddite, when it comes to knitting. I like double pointed needles. It's not that I don't knit regularly with circulars — I do — but there is nothing to compare with the feeling of competence that comes from hanging out with five needles and a piece of knitted fabric, watching it grow. I always succumb to the allure of doing something that looks so mysterious and difficult (even though it is really quite simple). So, I'm a hold out. I knit my socks on dpns. And, up until now, I've been knitting my Barn Raising Quilt on them, shifting from shorter needles to longer ones, as the stitch count increased.
Until today, that is. The last ten or so rounds on each square were getting pretty scary, with stitches dropping off between the needles as they got fuller and fuller. I broke down and bought a circular, as I have about twenty of these little squares to go. And it's a lovely circular — Addi Turbos, my favorite needles of all time. The stitches just slide right on as you knit. Mmmmm, sweet innovation.
The yarn is Koigu's KPPPM. I've been alternating between my own sock yarn and the Koigu for this project. They are a perfect gauge match up. One of the earlier squares I knit, using a different sock yarn, gave me a significantly bigger square, so I decided to try and stick with these two.
This pattern is simple, but beautiful. I'm thinking about doing a much bigger square, perhaps a scrappy one from the leftover ends of sock yarn skeins, as a doll blanket for my niece.
I use circular Addy Turbos when I do socks and am totally afraid to consider using double pointed needles.