Ooo, shiny

My new KnitPicks needles have arrived! I ordered one set of #5 Options needle tips and a pair of 24" cables. As I mentioned before, I'd been having a hard time with the North Sea shawl; it's a lace pattern, so I need pointy needles, but unlike a lot of lace patterns, the yarn is a stiff, sticky Shetland wool. (No slippery Kidsilk Haze here!) The verdict: they're AWESOME. The tips are exactly sharp enough, without being excessively dangerous. The plating is nice and smooth for fast knitting. The join is smooth and feels sturdy. I've never used interchangeable needles before, so I also appreciate that once I finish the first half of the shawl I'll be able to just put end-caps on the cable and use it as a stitch holder while I knit the other half. I didn't need to use the tightening key on the joins, but I can see how it would be handy if you can't get a grip on the needle. I'm not rushing out to buy a full set quite yet (okay, mostly because I've been in a frugal mood lately), but I'm sure I'll accumulate more pairs as I find other projects that require them.

Meanwhile, I'm getting plenty of use out of the #1 bamboo needles... I finished the first pink sock! That's less than two weeks toe-to-cuff. Of course it helps that it's plain stockinette stitch with a garter-stitch cuff, and it would have been done last night if I hadn't had to contemplate how I wanted to do the cuff. But now it's done, except for weaving in the ends, and I can start the second sock. Which I had better do soon or else my attention will be taken up by the newly-back-in-favor North Sea shawl and the shiny new needles.

I would be taking pictures of all this wooly goodness, but it's been dark and rainy by the time I get home every single evening this week, so there's no good light for photos. Don't blame me, blame the Rain Gods.