Today was a hell of a rainy day in Boston, and to celebrate I decided to take the children out to visit a yarn store in downtown Boston, called Windsor Button. Before I continue with my very philosophical debate on the merits of either types of needles, I want to say a few words about this store. The store is huge, and has a great selection of yarns, from the simplest cottons, to the most luxurious silks, like sea silk, from the thinnest lace yarn to the thickest yarns, etc... They have enough of the yarns in each colorway to knit a big project, and I have to say they have a wonderful color selection. They also carry zillions of buttons. The part that delighted my children the most was playing in the huge button box, shuffling the millions of buttons. It turned out to be a little less fun, when they dropped many of them on the ground! The staff was great, even at that moment! I did not buy yarn, because I was afraid the house might sink into the ground if I added just a single ball of yarn to my collection! Rather, as I was browsing the needles, I decided to purchase short bamboo dpts in size 1. Me buying dpts? Not only did I buy them while sober, I actually thought that it would be cool to try them out. So I rushed the kids to the nearest fast food restaurant, and transfered my sock to the dpts. By the time I was done with my bigmac, the sock was back on the circulars, and the dpts were returned to their package. It is always a good idea to carry toothpicks in your bag, isn't it?
I know the great Yarn Harlot hates knitting socks on circulars but there are many advantages to them. Nothing pokes you while you knit. I hate being poked. It reminds me way too much of when my violin teacher used to poke me with a knitting needle to punish me for wrong movements! With the circulars you only have two potential ladder spots. Not being a firefighter, I have no need for ladders. With the circulars, you do not drop 10 stitches at once when your lovely children decide to suddenly hug you before you even have time to yell wait, and put your knitting down. If I were Kung Fu I might love the thought of being able to break wood sticks at the touch of my fingers, but since I am not, I have no particular fancy for that hobby! Can you tell I am slightly partial to circulars?
As it was still raining, and the sock, the circulars and I needed some quality time after the dpt fiasco, we decided to make a stop at Borders. The children grabbed their favorite books, while I apologized profusely to the circulars, promised eternal allegiance to them, and begged them to treat me and the sock nicely!