Security detail for double-pointed needles

Generally speaking, and given the choice, I would knit with double-pointed needles over magic looping a circular needle any day. With double points, you can at least turn and keep going - with magic loop, there's all that nonsense with tugging the cord between stitches and shifting stitches over vast distances of cord.

(Okay, I admit it, magic loop is my best friend when I have long circular needles and no double points in the size I need at the moment I decide to cast on with some new project. I'm so two-faced.)

However, double points do have their downside, as when all you can find are the 8" length and you want to do a whole hat on them. Then you have to worry about lost stitches, especially if you're traveling. In the run up to Christmas I must have gone out three times looking for point protectors only to laugh hysterically at the price of them and return home to think, Dang, I really needed those.

Then I remembered a tip from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac and, after folding my work into four so that all the needles were snugged up side by side, slipped a ponytail holder over the lot thusly:

Ready for travel! And when you get to your destination and pull out your knitting, you can protect yourself against leaving this precious knitting aid behind by slipping it along the length of the yarn you're feeding in, rather than over the needles and away onto the table:


You may notice two things from these photographs. One is that my needle organization project yielded 3.75mm needles I didn't know I had, even if Aunt Paula did only leave me four so that I had to cobble in a fifth gleaned from an eBay excursion. (and I would like to note that this is not the first time I have blessed Aunt Paula for having been a knitter as well as a crochet queen, and for having such a wide selection of needle and hook sizes.)

The other thing is the sneak preview you're getting of the next freebie hat pattern. Mwa ha ha ha is what I would say if I didn't come down with a cold yesterday; you'll have to live with coff coff hack.