My Review of ChiaoGoo Interchangeable Red Lace Knitting Needles

 

I went to knit group last year and right before class, the owner of Bumbleberries in Clarkesville, GA had this yarn on a clearance rack. The skein is HUGE. I was drawn to the teal colors and subtle colorway. Of course I can't find the tag that was on this large skein right now. I usually keep them but now can't find this one. I wish I could tell you more about it.

I made up this knit design so that it flows in blocks using knit and purl stitches. Using number 10 needles as it's somewhat bulky and what was called for on the yarn tag.

I picked this back up and put these on circular needles instead of straights and moving much faster.

 

 

Needles are ChiaoGoo in the interchangeable set Red Lace. I really got a deal on Ebay recently as someone just didn't like the way the needles felt in her hand so she sold them at a fraction of the cost. I mean FRACTION. I had to reread it twice. She only used them a couple of times and I was so blessed to have found this the very day she put them on Ebay. At first I thought something had to be wrong with them at that price but it's not. I have small hands so they fit perfectly for me. I can see how someone with larger hands may not be as comfortable although the needle tips are 5 inches long.

 

The Chiao Goo Interchangeables Red Lace Circular Set, comes in a compact and very organized zippered holder, with a pack of markers, cords (6), measurer, needle card, T-pins to tighten, and 4 end pieces to hold work if you want to store for later.

 

I had already used a ChiaoGoo needle in the past and really loved them. I used Addi ones last year and I will have to say for the price I like these just the same, if not more so. I found through experimentation that I prefer circulars on all projects even when patterns are written flat.

There is no snag at the joins. They do stay together well when used with the T-pin. The cords are plentiful in size variation and the quality of the cords are excellent.

 

 

 

 

 

zip-zip

 

 

This is all in the side pocket. I love the colors of the markers.

 

 

 

Each slot has a label sewn in for the number and the number is inscribed on the needles.

 

 

Please excuse Abbie's white hair. It gets on everything even though I try to remove it all.

 

 

 

 

 

Both large and small of all sizes have their own place tucked inside this little bag.

 

 

So, yeah, this is really a good deal I think, but I know everyone has their own opinions.

 

In summary, I love the ChiaoGoo Interchangeable Red Lace knitting needle kit because:

 

• it's so compact and organized
• the stainless steel needles are very pointy which I like for any project
• they have smooth joins and do not snag yarn
• options for needles sizes 2-15 cover a lot of patterns
• the 6 cords are made very sturdy and there is no aggravation with winding up like nylon
• you can make the cords even longer by joining two
• comes with plenty of markers and end pieces for small and large cords
• the side zipper pouch holds all the accessories
• I love metal needles slick and pointy nature for faster knitting.
• I love the classic color of the case itself.
• you can buy additional cords to fit them. Chiagoo cords however, as other name brands do not fit (which makes sense) and they are very affordable.
• the number size is easy to read on the needle itself
• these do not have bends in the lower part of the needles (some do but I don't like that)
• I love that I waited for a year to get a steal like this instead of ordering a set at full price as this was listed for 75% off retail and hardly used at all.

I LOVE< LOVE

Goodbye wood needles, goodbye straight needles and HEeeeeeellow ChiaoGoo RED needles

 

I just love red anyways. It's a really close favorite color of mine but Pink is my favorite.

I do love the classic Black, white and red together. Just classy. And functional, and very cost effective.

So what needles are your favorites?

Have you tried ChiaoGoo ones? If so, how did you like them?

 

 My dearest husband has just returned with a cord of wood and putting it away so a cozy fire in a few in the wood stove while I knit a while.

 

May God Bless you this weekend with lots of love, coziness, kindness, memories, and a sweet loving companion to share it with,

 

Jennifer

New Yarn is good eye candy!

Hello,

 

Yesterday I went to the junkin' store, actually a few of them to find a really cheap but usable to repurpose--frame for my Jane Austen sampler. After 3 hours, still didn't find one I could get. So, I probably will finish as a hanging because I do want it to go on my sampler wall in one of the guest rooms.

More on that later!

 

My splurge for this week was 2 skeins of Red Heart Boutique yarn. Found this at Walmart and honestly, it's like yarn shop quality. It almost has a soft mohair appearance but it's not. It's very soft and pretty. The colorway is called Tidal. It's a gorgeous teal and light green and medium teals. There are 258 yards on each skein and it recommends a number 8-9 needle. I want to make a small shawlette and lacy so I will use a bigger needle.

 

 

Red Heart has come a long way baby!

 

I think I'm dreaming of Spring already. However, I heard we are in for a big cold front moving here about 9a in the morning and lasting through the week, making very frigid nights. Tomorrow night is predicted at 17 with a real feel of 3 degrees.  Someone said today the Farmers Almanac spoke of this area having 4-5 snow episodes this Winter. Hasn't happened yet though. But.................................we have many weeks of Winter to go!

I feel kind of silly talking about these temps when I know there are many of you that live in much colder climates and probably laughing at us southerners.

 

It's time for a small design. I had some ideas while roaming through the afternoon and my devotionals. My creative juices are flowing. ;-0

 

Stay warm and cozy,

Jennifer

Some Knit Finishes and Valentine Inspirations

It's been so long since I posted this time!!!  I can't believe how time flies. Since I last posted, I have done many things, just not all stitchy news. I did finish and pieced together my Chunky Edge Lace scarf and decided that putting this many sections to connect in one scarf was more than I wanted to do. Although it came out lovely, soft and oh so warm and girly, it has more bling in it that I thought when putting it on and looking in the mirror.

With that being said, I still love it, enjoyed knitting it and used 3 full skeins of the colorway Constellation, Thick and Quick yarn. I gartered all the stitching except the two end pieces. Used a # 13 straight needles.

 

 

 

 

Each end piece is a full skein of yarn. I joined them all with a quilting needle and weaved in the ends. I did have to taper down to fit the other 2 sections at the end but I still love it!

We had some really COLD weather since last post too!  Colder than I have ever seen it here before. I have seen colder air in Chicago in the past but this was like brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr cold for North Georgia. Our outside cat, Louie, of whom we love dearly, has an outside "cabin" Mr. Fox made for him but it was way too cold for Louie about 4 days so he boarded in the downstairs bath. I have a cat allergy but I will say that it didn't cause me any problems this time. They say allergies change and it's been several years since I was tested so.........maybe it's gone now?/?? I hope so because Louie clings to the door all the time.

Miss Abigail snuggled away in her knitted throw and pillows as she places them as she likes it for different times of day. She is so funny and so loveable. I love her so much.

Another finish this morning, well start to finish, is this Valentine colored washcloth. I simply gartered it because of the colorway in Damask, Sugar and Cream. I love the light pink, the dark pink, red and a hint of milk chocolate this makes. I can make a few more of these for washcloths.

 

It's funny how I really didn't see the pattern it made until I posted pics. Close up I couldn't see this pattern.

 

 

 

 

We've had 2 callings of snow by the weatherman but each morning, no snow.

All in all, January is halfway over and I do look forward to Spring. Actually, the daffodils here are already sprouting from this cold mountain!

Downton Abbey this past week was really intense and I was so upset about Anna Bates. We'll have to see what next week brings. I think Mary is realizing she needs to be in the "living world" instead of the "dead one" as her grandmother described now. This should lead to a lot of good adventure in the next episodes.

On the book side, I'm reading and participating in a Bible Study on facebook called Wife After God by Jennifer Smith, The Unveiled Wife. The book on Amazon is called Wife After God as well.  This study is something I look forward to every morning after I wake and grab a cup of coffee. She posts a 2-6 minute video in the study and some study questions for pondering through the day. We are all following her devotional book which can be found on Amazon and if you are looking for a good one as a wife, you will find this one to be full of humility, strength, encouragement and just really a lot of hope. Interesting discussions have been stimulated by many wives and her husband in fact, has a facebook page Husband Revolution. I do not see him doing any studies right now but I suspect he will in the future. The couple has been married 7 years and have the cutest baby boy. The focus of their ministry is an Ephesians 5 marriage.
Topics from this include faith, fears, arrows of the enemy, Satan and how to handle them, humility, submission, love, forgiveness, and many more. It's a 30 day study but her videos are available to the public so people can catch up if interested.

Ok, so in keeping with some other January beginning-of the-year resolutions, I have been trying to follow FlyLady and other websites for cleaning and decluttering/ organization which is not one of my good traits (really). This week is the bathroom detail and yesterday I spent 5 hours....yes 5 hours in one bathroom taking............every.thing..............I mean everything out of cabinets and reorganizing all the girlie stuff, tossing out old stuff, changing out shower curtains, scrubbing the tub, and I even changed the look of the bathroom by taking off the cabinet doors and putting in some old pretty baskets I already had for organization. The open cabinet effect is so much cleaner and easier to access. I read a book from Pixel of Ink freebie off of my Kindle that fired me up to start this weekly detail cleaning. The name of it is The Busy Mom's Guide to Speed Cleaning and Organizing by BJ Knights. Of course any couple or single person could utilize the info in it. It's easy to read, about 160 pages of just really GREAT remedies for things in cleaning. There are scattered recipes for natural cleaning solutions such as baking soda, peroxide, vinegar, water and others but very simple. 

I found the book to be a great motivation.

 I don't know about you, but I add free books daily offered at Pixel of Ink if you have a Kindle, You have to grab it though then to download at zero dollars because the next day it goes back to the 6-14.99 cost. Pixel of Ink on FB like and then you can check it out each day.

I have a list of several more to get read soon. I like the option on my old Kindle for text to speech. Crossing my fingers this is the first Kindle to come out and it's still working. :)

Another New Year's resolution is to start back yoga daily. I have enjoyed it a lot and look forward to it. Just using You Tube yoga lessons for my sessions. The stretching and movements are very beneficial for the body and mind. We also do couples yoga as Mr. Fox got a men's yoga mat and stuff for Christmas. He really likes it too.

I have completed half of the last row of flowers on At Home with Jane Austen by The Sampler Girl. I am so close to finishing it, I don't know why I have not already. I think I'm dabbling with ideas in my head on how to "finish, finish" it. We will see how it strikes me with the last stitch and I hope soon so I can show you.

Here's to changing up to finish this sampler and soon I will get a progress completion pic.

Jennifer