Knitting Needle Roll

I thought I'd show you all my needle storage roll.  I was going crazy with needles everywhere and trying to keep little people from breaking them or loosing them.  I decided to make up a needle roll. 

Never mind the wrinkles...it's well loved.

It turned out really great.  I think the only thing I would do next time is make it slightly shorter or sew the flap farther down.  I end up folding past the sewn flap line.  No big deal but it's what I'd do differently.

Right now it holds all my needles with plenty of space for new ones I make.  It holds circulars, double points, and regular ol' straight ones.  I will add that my homemade needles are a good bit longer than the ones I had purchased at the store so I had to make it taller to work with those.

Sewing this up really didn't take that long.  Just a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon.  All the materials were from my stash so that made it free too.  I'm thinking of making a tutorial... what do you think?

Anyone else craving cinnamon rolls?

A Hat for the Hubs

My sweet husband requested a hat.  I happily agreed to knit him one if he chose the pattern.  He settled on the Jacques Cousteau hat and I hit my new favorite yarn store for the perfect yarn.  It's taking for. ev. er.  I think it's the tiny needles.  Apparently I have "knitter's block" with this one.  I'm just going to have to get it done though. 

Also, last weekend I spent two days on youtube trying to decide if I think I'm a "magic loop" kind of gal. (exciting weekend huh?)  I've figured out the double pointed needles pretty well but it does get a little crazy with all those points.  So....any input about magic loop v/s dpn's? 

I'm yarning along with Ginny at Small Things.  My husband has been encouraging me (or driving me crazy about) reading Game of Thrones so that's the book I'm getting ready to start.  We'll see if it's as good as he says it is.  I figure if he can ready Harry Potter for me, I can read Game of Thrones for him.

In case you missed it, you should check out Part 2 of my knitting needle tutorial.  (here's Part 1)  They turned out great if I do say so myself.  Oh and come back Friday to check out the knitting needle roll I made to keep them all in.  Three posts in one week...whaaaaat?

Kristin

Knitting Needles Part 2: The Finishing

Remember waaaaaaay back when I showed you my homemade knitting needles?  Well, it's time to finally finish them. 

We made it to Step Four where you pretty much sand them within an inch of their lives.  I used 150, 220, and 320 grit sandpaper.

To finish you need:

-old rags (a cut up t-shirt will do nicely)
-0000 steel wool
-an extra piece of the 320 grit sandpaper
-boiled linseed oil (or your finish of choice)

Step Five:

Take a clean rag and apply the boiled linseed oil to the raw needles.  (Take care not to spill it or just do this part outside.)  Let it sit for 10-20 minutes then with another clean rag wipe off any extra that didn't soak in. 

Let the needles dry for 24 hours.  Now, here's where the magic happens.  Take your 0000 steel wool and buff the needle.  This is what gives it a glassy smooth finish.  At this point I usually feel/look very closely for any little spot I missed when sanding that could catch my yarn then I take my 320 grit sandpaper and sand it smooth. 

Repeat this 4 or 5 times.  You'll know when it needs it again.  You will be able to feel how "not smooth" it is.  I've even used them for a while then gone back and put on a few more layers of finish. 

All in all, I've made about 10 needle sets (dpn's included) and I still have plenty of raw material to make more. 

They really are quite fun to make.


Next up!  I'm showing you my knitting needle storage/travel solution.