BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Knitting Knitting Gadgets

I received this in my email box today:



It is referring to this article.

What other gadgets do you like that I missed?

This isn't a knitting gadget per se but I found that the shopping bags you get at any store for $1 to re-use are perfect for knitting project. You can store yarn in them, put different projects into different bags or whatever. They are light, easy to carry around, cheap, they hold a lot and stand up on the flat bottom of the bag. I have many around that I never seemed to take to the store with me but they are perfect for all my yarn.

Here's a tip from my MIL. To take a pattern while traveling, she list each row on an index card. When she finishes the row, she places the card on the bottom. She both knits and crochets and uses this technique for both. I haven't tried it yet, but she's been doing it for years.

As for row counters, I've used note pad with tic marks, and the little ones you slide onto the needles. My favorite is the necklace one I found in Daytona at JoAnn's. It's faster for me than the one on my needles.

The index card idea sounds great! I tried a baby blanket with 11 repetitious rows and got lost. Maybe if I'd put them on the cards, it would have been easier.

I was thinking of taking the index card idea a little further. I have one of those comb binding machines to bind the cards. They will flip easily, but stay in order. I'm a huge clutz and this would prevent misplacing a card, or inadvertently getting them out of order.

They do work well, don't they. I also use the large and small zip lock bags.

Not to mention, dropping them!

To those who have knitting machines and find yourself loosing your tools on the table or lid behind the machine here's a tip. Get some wide mouth heavy soup/coffee cups. Place a piece of Styrofoam in the bottom of the cup and make holes in that. Then you simply stick the tools in the holes.

The heavy types of those soup/coffee cups not only keep them steady they keep your tools from falling off the back of the table, and the Styrofoam holds the tools for easy grabbing.

I use separate cups for my weights, tools, crochet hooks, and clothes pins. Then I am not having to dig through to find what I need.

You can normally find these at second hand stores for very little out of pocket money if you don't already have them to hand. I paid $0.35 or less for many of these.

I like using the circular loom and just added a pom pom maker to my knitting gadgets. The pom poms are really cute on baby or children's hats.

I feel like I am back from a long sleep! I've been traveling and working out of town, but I'm back.

I remember making a pom-pom maker from two margarine tub covers...I wonder where that went...