My Circular Needle Debacle

   I decided to randomly throw a photo of my cat, Ozzy, in tonight. And now back to our regularly scheduled program:


   When I started knitting again, I began using circular needles. I was hooked! It was so much easier to knit with them, and there was no way you could lose one needle. Since then, every once in a while, I will knit something small on regular straight needles, and again I am reminded how much better the circulars are. The straights seem so unwieldy, and awkward. The yarn gets caught on them, and wraps around the right one. Even with the shorter ones,  I would keep hitting my right arm, it was very uncomfortable.


   I started using Addi's, which I love even though they are a little expensive. When we lived in Fishkill for 7 months, I started buying HiyaHiya needles, which I really like, and they are less expensive. I almost always use metal needles, I do have a small 16 inch bamboo, size 11, I believe. I have used it, but am not all that fond of them.


   Now we fast forward to Winter of 2010/2011. I was making my first one-piece bottom up cardigan. I was so in love with this pattern. I had bought all the needles I needed, all size 9. I needed 2 16 inch, a 40 inch, and I ended up needing/wanting a 60 inch too. That was when I purchased a 40 inch square circular needle from Kollage. At first I really liked them, I liked the way they knit. The square shape is easier to manipulate.

   HOWEVER I had a very large problem with the cord on them. One of the facts of knitting with circulars is that your project slides easily from one side to the other. I found out very quickly that the cord on the Kollage needle did not allow this to happen.  It was like glue was applied to the cord! I literally held one end of the needle up in the air, and dropped the other end, with my sweater hanging on it, and my sweater did not slide at all  towards the floor!! I even shook it, just to make sure.


   I gave the needles a good try, I really wanted them to work well. I liked how pliable the cord was, but the not-slippery thing was unacceptable. In the end, rather than put the project down so I could manually force my knitting further along the needle, I ended up using my teeth. I only used them until I could get a pair of HiyaHiyas, which had to be ordered for me from my LYS in Fishkill. They have been in my collection ever since, unused since that time.


   Has anyone else used these needles? Do you love them, or hate them? I'd like to hear what you have to say about them. If there is something I could do to make them slippery, I want to know. I'd do it in a heartbeat, I'd like to give them a second chance.