I always have several knitting projects on the go. Usually at least four, sometimes more. In addition, I always knit in different places...in the car, near the TV, on the deck, at the coffee shop...you get the picture, EVERYWHERE. 

I got tired of not having paper/pencil when I needed it or being ready to close the toe and not having a tapestry needle in my bag. So I decided to get organized. Thanks to Amazon and things I had around the house, I was able to put together a little pile of what I needed in each bag! So, without further ado, here is the list of important knitting notions that I now keep in each of my project bags!

1. yarn/needles of course
2. pattern (or parts of a pattern)
3. extra needles (I switch between small cirulars and dpns so ALL those needles need to be in there)
4. tapesty needle
5. small ruler (gotta know when to start the next section)
6. tiny crochet hook (to pick up the occasional dropped stitch)
7. pencil/paper (random notes)
8. stitch markers (I like to keep a variety of sizes on hand)
9. ball band with project notes on the back.

I think that's it!! Will update as I come across other things that need to be in there.

If you like the silver stitch markers, click the button below to get a closer look & shop! 

I am so excited to finally have the sterling silver fish earrings in 3 sizes - small, medium and large.

​The small are super cute - different enough to be fun but nothing wild or crazy, the medium ones are middle of the road, just a nice, well, medium size and the large ones are big but not crazy big! They are about 2 1/2" inches in overall length - fun size! 

These cute "baby fish" earrings now come in 3 sizes - these are the smallest. I love that they are simple and elegant - not dramatic but a little bit unusual. A nice alternative to the traditional hoop earrings. 

Two of my all time favorite sock yarns! Knitting them both at the same time has given me a really good idea of the differences and similarities between these two yarns. First the similarities: both of these yarns could be called "heavy" fingering or maybe "very light" DK yarn. The thickness of both the Wildfoote (by Brown Sheep Yarn Co.) and Paton's Kroy are very close to the same. 

The Wildfoote is "rougher" in the hand - it feels more "scratchy" than the Paton's Kroy, which is quite soft. Once they are washed, however, the Wildfoote is very soft, too. I also find the Wildfoote to be ever so slightly more "splitty" than the Kroy. Not enough to cause trouble and certainly not a deal breaker but it is something I noticed. 

Wildfoote is one of the first sock yarns I used and I still love those socks - very soft and cozy. Once the socks with Kroy are complete I think they will feel much the same. Two very good sock yarns! 

Wildfoote is mostly available online although there are LYS around that carry them. I just bought some at my local shop in New Orleans (which has since gone out of business, sadly) and I also bought some at a small yarn shop in Portland, Oregon last summer. (Starlight Yarn Shop) The price for Wildfoote is around $8.00 - $9.00 per skein (you'll need 2 to make a pair of socks) and comes in lots of nice colors, solids and variegated. Kroy is sold at Michael's as well as Hobby Lobby here in the States and the cost is about $7.00 per 50 gram skein - you'll need 2 skeins to make a pair of socks. Nice variety of colors.

The most popular sterling silver stitch markers is now a set called, you guessed it, the Most Popular Set of Stitch Markers for Knitting and Crochet! 

This set includes three of the most popular stitch marker sizes - the first fits easily over knitting needles US size 4 (3.5mm) and the second fits over knitting needles size US 10 (6mm).

Perfect for those who knit socks (like me) or any project at all that calls for smaller knitting needles. Since these markers are open, they are also perfect for almost all crochet projects! 

Another little set of sterling silver stitch markers for knitting and crochet!

This is the "mini". This set of stitch markers includes one marker for each of the four original stitch marker sets: one extra small (for holding stitches), one small (perfect for socks and other small projects - fits knitting needles up to size US 4), one medium (fits knitting needles up to US size 10) and one large (fits knitting needles up to US size 15). 

A mini set of stitch markers to get your collection of handmade silver stitch markers started!

People have been requesting mixed set of stitch markers for knitting and crochet so I put 4 of those stitch marker sets in the shop this week! 

The first set is called the "Little Set". It is a set of 6 markers, two each of three different sized stitch markers. The tiniest marker is not meant to fit over a needle but it used instead to simply mark stitches. The other two sizes are great for any small/medium project - the smaller stitch marker will fit easily on knitting needles up to US size 4 and the larger markers will fit up to US size 10. Perfect stitch markers for sock knitters, hat knitters or anything else you knit with relatively small knitting needles! The stitch markers are shown below on US size 2 knitting needles.

I don't think so! Anyway, this is another series we discovered during the (ongoing) pandemic. This show follows a man who recently lost his wife to cancer and how he manages (barely) to hold onto life. 

Ricky Gervais is brilliant as Tony and there are lots of other really good and interesting characters, too. His brother in law is just trying to help, the older woman he meets at the cemetary and the prostitute who befriends him. Not to mention the mailman, Pat. 

Warning - language may be objectionable to some (almost contant use of "f**k") plus lots of sexually explicit references. So, yeah, this little 3 season show is not for everyone! 

What did I do while we watched? I knitted socks, of course - what else?? Click below to shop the new sterling silver stitch markers!

Last week I wrote a comparison of double pointed needles, which I use for sock knitting. Click here to read a comparison of the needles. Anyway, since I wrote that post, I ordered another set of needles - the Nova Platinas. I ended up with a whole set because the price was right and I also wanted to try the 5" needles. 

Anyway, I think these might be my new favorites! Super smooth (like HiyaHiay) with a very nice sharp point (but not so sharp that they are as dangerous as the HiyaHiya Sharps!). 

So today in the Good News Journal was easy - in fact, I easily found TWO good news stories! Whaaattt?? Woot! 

I am not going to lie - today, only Day 2 of my little good news journal, I had a tough time finding even one news story that could be considered "good news".

I finally settled on this, kind of the best of the worst plus a funny thing about Covid + the lovely silver stitch markers. I love them, so it's happy for me. 

While it is good news that Grand Isle finally had power restored, it is not so good that it took 138 days. That's a lot of no power days. Such is life on an island in south Louisiana, where hurricanes routinely disrupt everyday life ("disrupt" is putting it mildly; I am, afterall, trying to be upbeat here).

SO.MUCH.BAD.NEWS.

I decided to start a "good news only" journal for my own mental health.

Today is Day 1: Omicron cases are way down in South Africa. Hopefully the UK, the US and the rest of the world will not be far behind! #goodnews

Which double pointed knitting needles (aka, DPNS) to choose?? That was a question I asked all the time when I first started using them until, finally, enough time passed that I ended up ordering several different types (ok, pandemic shopping but, still.....). 

This is my review of the needles I have used. Bear in mind, this is just my opinion....your mileage may vary! 

Disclaimer #1: I am a sock knitter, almost exclusively. I knit a lot of socks on 9" circular needles but also use dpns regularly. 

Disclaimer #2: I have only been knitting seriously for about 2 years....opinions could possibly change with more years of knitting.

Disclaimer #3: I am a fairly tight knitter which means I hardly ever have problems with my stitches falling off the needles (or the needles falling out of the stitches). 

I knit mostly English style but sometimes flicking or Norwegian.

HIYAHIYA dpns:
​Price on Amazon about $13.00

Pros:
* smooth (but, strangely, not as smooth as the Addis
* nice pointy needles (side note, you can also order HiyaHiya "sharps" which i did but returned;    you could open a vein with those needes....+ have you ever sat on a super sharp steel             needle? Ouch. No thanks, but you might love them if you are more careful than I am and don't   use your finger to push the needle one way or the other)

Cons:
​* made of steel so, naturally, not as lightweight as Prym or Addi...which, by the way, you don't      really notice until you knit with one of the others

These are wonderful needles and I use them a lot but, still, I prefer the Addis.

​Cons:
​* not super smooth but smooth enough and, if I didn't knit so tightly, the stitches would glide but still, if super smooth is what you want, these might not be for you. 

Pro or con?? the shape is triangle which is supposed to be better for your hands but I don't really think it matters much in this tiny size. (2.5 mm)

In conclusion....

For me and the way I knit, the best double pointed needles are tied for first place with Prym and Addi double pointed needles in the lead and the HiyaHiyas in second place. The Addis for the weight and the smoothness, the Pryms for the weight and the super sharp (but not dangerous) little "teardrop" shaped tip. The Hiyas are extremely smooth which I love. 

My least favorite needles are the Clover bamboo needles but I do use them in a pinch. Although lightweight, they are not smooth enough for my tight knitting nor are the points consistently sharp enough for me. 

Click here to see my newest review - Nova Platina double pointed needles for knitting.

When we finished watching Schitt's Creek, we were so disappointed. What now?? What else could we watch that would even come close to this wonderful show? So, I did the normal thing & googled "if you like Schitt's Creek, you might like....." and one of the things that popped up was "Kim's Convenience". 

AND, what did I do while watching? I knit of course! If not knitting, was make my sterling silver stitch markers...awkward seque! Click below to shop the handmade stitch markers!

So many stitch markers!! Customers are calling them wonderful, elegant, useful, no snag, beautiful and other excellent adjectives - so happy my fellow fiber folks are loving these new silver stitch markers!

Did I mention that stitch markers ship for free? YES, all stitch markers (buy one set or 5) are now shipping at no charge to you...NICE!! 

Knitting, like most hobbies and businesses, requires tools that you need to have at hand, ready to use all the time. I came up with this idea which keeps everything where I can find it (well, most of the time) and then later realized it is actually kind of a take off on the Victorian chatelaines that ladies used to carry! 

Larger sterling silver stitch markers or stitch holders for bigger, bulkier knitting or crochet projects! These will fit on knitting needles up to US size 15!! BIG NEEDLES!

These medium sized silver stitch markers are perfect for all sorts of knitting and crochet projects! They easily fit over US size 10 and work on all sorts of crochet projects. You could also use them to hold stitches, if you don't need them to fit over your needles - win win!

Need a different size stitch marker? Click below!

New sterling silver stitch markers for knitting and crochet. I haven't been knitting long but I love knitting socks. Since I also love sterling silver, I thought I would create some stitch markers to use in my knitting. I love how these turned out. These are the smallest size I currently make and quess what? They are also perfect for crochet because they are open! No need to put them over a needle, although you can if that's your jam! 

These sterling silver stitch markers were designed as a result of a special request. The extra small markers were too small, the medium markers were too large. So - the perfect size markers were designed - perfect for sock knitters or others who use small knitting needles (an crocheters who use smaller yarn)! These work with knittings needles up to US size 4! Perfection in silver stitch markers!

Oh, Hawthorne how I love you! Thick and rich, squishy and soft. I LOVE this yarn, available only (as far as I can tell) from Knickpicks online. The purple yarn in the photo is Hawthorne!

Oh how I love sock yarn from Fiber Seed! This was one of the first yarns I used to knit socks and, at the time, I didn't even realize how wonderful is was. Bouncy? YES! Slightly thicker than some more typical sock yarns? Oh, YES! Colors are great and always changing - this yarn is hand dyed. Expensive? Yes. SO worth it.

Having said that, I will say that I use a combination of hand dyed, more expensive yarn and some excellent so-call "commercial" yarns to knit socks. (I am looking at you, Opal, Regia and Hawthorne!)  

Check out Fiber Seed...you can thank me later! ;)

           New new silver stitch markers that will last forever? Click HERE to see!

I love Opal yarn to knit socks. For one thing, it is bouncy! It just feels puffy and wonderful to knit with. No problem with splitting the yarns as I knit. It is also a yarn that has been around a LONG time and knitters who use it will tell you that socks knit with this yarn will last awhile! 

Also, the colors are wonderful. Any and all colors!

And price - very reasonably priced. I think I paid around $15.00 USD the last time I bought it but I think it's even cheaper on Etsy (if you are willing to wait for your yarn as it travels from Lithuanian, which I am sometimes will to do).  AND that is for a ball that is easily big enough to knit a pair of socks in most any size with some leftover. Opal for the WIN!

My favorite yarns for knitting socks - turns out there are a LOT of great sock yarns out there and at lots of different prices. The prices matter to me because I tend to "collect" sock yarn and, at some point, I have to watch my yarn budget. 

Here are a few general bits of info: 

1.  yarn for socks needs to be made for socks - so it will generally be thin yarn (small stitches make for sturdier socks)

2. sock yarn needs to have wool plus a little nylon for strength

3. very soft yarn (I'm looking at you, beautiful and cozy merino) tend not to last as long 

4. mostly your feet don't care if yarn is slightly on the rough side or more soft. These days, I am all about the sturdier yarns. It takes a minute to knit a pair of socks so I want them to last awhile, yeah?

Hack? Be sure to knit yourself several pairs of socks so you can swith them up - that way, they all last longer!

                                         Need stitch markers for all those lovely socks?
                     Go HERE to see my collection of handmade sterling silver markers!