Knit Picks Options review

In anticipation of finally knitting Rogue, I ordered some KP Options needles in a few sizes. I love my Addis, but because of my tendonitis, I have a hard time knitting with needles where the tips are longer than 3.5" or whatever length the Addi 16" and 20" tips are. The 5"+ tips on the 24" and 32" needles, which I need for sweater knitting, force my wrists into uncomfortable positions.

I saw that the KP Options are 4.5", so I thought they'd be worth a shot. When I got them last week, I cast on for the Amethyst wrap. The tip length is not an issue, which is great.

But the tips keep coming unscrewed. This causes stitches to get caught in the gap between the tips and the cable, and once the cable came off altogether, dropping a bunch of stitches. I've used the little pin to try to crank the tips on as tightly as possible, but they still loosen up. Happens with all three sizes of tips that I bought. If I end up using a size 8 for Rogue, I'll probably use beeswax to keep the tips screwed on. A handy little tip unearthed from my dusty bicycle mechanic lore, but really, I shouldn't have to do anything like this.

Also--and I know this is a feature, not a bug, for most knitters--the tips are super pointy. In the winter, my hands get super dry, and a couple of years ago I actually poked a hole in my fingertip from too much knitting. Like, with blood and everything. So I'm wary of sharp tips. Plus, they hurt.

If I used needle lengths greater than 20" on a regular basis, I would be very tempted by the new Addi Click interchangeables. I know the tips are about the same length as the KP Options, but I don't want to drop $150 in order to basically buy one needle.

In other Rogue news, I've finished the hem facing, which I did with some silk/camel/wool handspun yarn that my lovely friend Denise made for me. I wanted to use something that was a slightly lighter weight than the main yarn, and I also wanted to use a yarn that had some meaning for me, not just a random skein that I pulled out of my stash. This yarn works well on both counts.

I had a frustrating start. Even though 95% of my knitting is in the round, I somehow managed to twist my stitches when I joined them after cast-on, and despite much scrutiny, didn't figure out that I'd done out for four or five rounds. Not just once, but twice. I finally got it right on my third try. Sheesh.