Circular Needle Holder

Circular Needle Holder

So I have been on the lookout for a circular needle holder for quite some time now. I’ve seen the kind where you can hang them, but I don’t have the space for that. Then I noticed at Loopy, in one of their newsletters, that they’d just gotten a shipment in of Namaste Circular Needle Holders, so I headed down with a gift certificate in hand (that I got for my birthday from Sarah and Bryan) and nabbed one up! And, I couldn’t be more excited.

I’d like to back-track for just a minute and apologize for the lack of posts lately. We’ve been soooo busy I don’t even know where the time has gone. School is out, we’re playing hard and we’ve had a LOT of company and we are about to have some more and then head West on vacation to the Washington and Oregon coast on Monday. I’ve got my knitting packed and I plan to knit right on the beach! Here is a little snip of what we’ve been up to these days.

Moth Hatch Gardening

Exploring Rock Picking

Okay now back to the Namaste Needle Holder.

Closed Needle Holder

Here it is closed, at first I thought it looked too much like a briefcase and that didn’t seem very fun to me, but then I realized it was just a tool and every tool doesn’t have to be cute – but it is a perk!

Open Needle Holder

I can put a whole lot of needles in here and there are little tabs so you can label them yourself. They came in a couple of different shades – I chose indigo. I have some 29″ circulars in here but mostly 16″ since I’m a little bit ‘hat obsessed’.

Close Up Needle Holder

So – long story short – I love my new needle holder and it is small enough to fit right in my knitting bag or tote and I don’t have to worry about finding a spot to hang it! There will probably come a day when I need more than one circular needle holder – then I’ll get a cute one!

Oh and here are some shots of my completed baby hat – my cute model is holding it on his ‘baby head sized’ fist.

Simon and Baby Hat Unfolded Ribbed Hat Peek

Baby Hats

Baker Yarn

I loved the way this handful of things all matched. Yarn-corn nuts-knitting bag from my sweet friend-cozy couch – ahhh! I’m making yet another hat for a doula client and I’m using some more of the yarn I got from Skyline Yarns . The doula client is less of a “client” and more of a friend so I wanted to make sure to use something special. This is a worsted weight superwash 100% wool yarn. Machine washable wool is the best! It says to knit with size 7-9 needles and I am using size 8 circular needles. I cast on 68 stitches to start this sweet little baby hat. Knit 2 Purl 2 round and round we go! It is still under construction as I type. This yarn makes a pretty amazing pattern, look at that beautiful stripe.

Variegated Yarn

I’m of course doing my favorite pattern – the good old ribbed hat. I love how stretchy they are and it just seems like a little person can get a little bit extra use out of a hat like this – it will fit for longer. I wonder what Karen used to dye this yarn, she dyes her yarns with all natural dyes – maybe carrots? Whatever it was – it looks delicious!

The second hat I wanted to make mention of, I whipped up in a couple of nights. It was for my last doula client and her sweet baby – Claira Rain – she was born a month ago (with the rain on April 30th) and I actually used the same yarn I used for the other Clara’s hat. It is special Skyline Yarn again but a bit lighter weight, sock yarn, fingering yarn.

Skyline Yarn Hat

This yarn called for size 3-5 needles. I used size 6 circular needles to knit this up. Same pattern knit 2, purl 2. I think I got a little bit slack when I decreased and closed up the top, I’ll have to look back at my old patterns when I close the hat I’m currently working on. It still looks pretty sweet on baby Claira’s head.

Claira and Ilsa Baby Claira

Look at that sweet little newbie and her pretty Mama. Knitting hats for new babies is quick and easy and so fun. I remember when my midwife knit a hat for Gussy while I was in labor, and it is one of my most favorite sentimental keepsakes ever. It goes on the top of our Christmas tree every year. Here is a photo of Gus in his baby hat 3 + years ago. Maybe some of the hats I knit will end as tree toppers? Who knows, what I do know is those babies will have warm little heads.

Gus Hat

Happy Knitting!