So, how many kneedles do you have, and which is your favorite? Straight, double-point, circular, cable--each has its best purpose.
Circular is my default position: nothing to get lost except the kneedle itself, and the supple nylon cord allows an accurate gauge check when beginning, a sense of shape and drape as the piece comes along. Over the years I've acquired a host of sizes and lengths, but I have yet to suffer a surfeit, a plethora. Always there's another kneedle needed: super-long, for moebius, perhaps.
I've never seen the purpose in introducing children to knitting with big, thick, long kneedles that hang up at the elbow and defy all natural balance. I switched Maria, the elder stepgranddaughter, to a nice doodly #5 circular, and that worked out well, even for a lefty, even for a recalcitrant pull-the-yarn-around beginner. (I never could turn her into a flicker, but she's doing well as a picker--more about that anon.)
Beyond form, there's substance: Wood, aluminum, bamboo, plastic, for sure...but did you know there are stone kneedles? I met them at my hairdresser's, and so ingratiating were they, I rushed to the fabric store only to find they had sold out. Handmade, from Tibet, cool and smooth and lovely to the touch. Circular, of course. I now know kneedle envy.
Hubbest says I could make my bamboo kneedles slide more easily if I were to wax them, and I may do just that, because certain clingy fibers, the kind with teeny tiny claws, clutch and grab at the bamboo. With a really slippery fiber, a little cling is an advantage. The Addi Turbo is just too slick for silk or soy.
Choices, choices, choices; thank goodness we have them. Which kneedle do you find yourself favoring?
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