Even I need to keep a needle inventory

I have a wonderful needle size chart on the back of our business card. I recommend that all of our customers fill it out, so they know what needles they own. Do I have one of these cool cards in my wallet? No. And so every time I take yarn home to start a new project, I find I do not have the needle size needed. How can this be? I own a LOT of needles. I mean, I own a shop, how can I not?

Recently I've been doing a lot of swatching, and I've been using a size 5 needle. What I wanted to use was a 5/24", which I know I had at one point. Because I have a plastic package for a 5/24" in my needle bag. But it is now empty... I have a 5/16", but my left hand cramps when I knit for too long on a 16" needle. I have a 5/32", which is too long. With only 28-30 stitches, that's just too much cable. I don't own any straight needles - can't stand straights. I ended up suffering with the 16" for several swatches, and then I switched to the 32" for the rest. I guess I should go grab a 24" while it's on my mind...

This weekend I took home some Malabrigo Chunky to make a button band hat. Kalen had made hers out of Blue Sky Bulky, but I wanted to use the Glazed Carrot color of the Malabrigo Chunky (double stranded.) I had written up her pattern for some people who asked about it after she posted a picture of it on the blog. And since I wrote it up, well, I thought it would be nice to make a sample for the shop.

I got home Saturday after work and was excited to get started. Marc and the girls went to the big Father-Daughter Dance at school, so I had two hours to myself! I ran on the treadmill, showered, and then went down to wind the yarn. I was all set... I sat down in my comfy chair with the yarn & pattern, turned on my DVR and started watching last week's Lost. I grabbed my huge needle case, full of Addi Turbos, and opened the size 15 pouch... no 16". I had a 24", but that was it.

Okay, I can make do, I thought. I do own a Denise kit, for emergency situations like this. So I went to my desk, grabbed the Denise kit... and look what I found?

Those empty spaces? They should be filled with the size 15 tips. I started to panic. When was the last time I used size 15's? It was a LONG time ago, I know that. I spent about 15 minutes going through my desk, my 3'x3' coffee table (full of yarn), my Lexi Barnes Lady B bag, my BagSmith bag, and my front closet. No size 15/16" Addi Turbos, and no size 15 Denise tips.

My blood pressure was climbing at this point. Sure, I had other projects, but I was COUNTING on starting this hat, and I really didn't feel like knitting anything else. And the clock was tick-ticking, and my precious "alone" time was going to be over soon!

I made a last ditch attempt to find some sort of size 15 needles. I STRONGLY dislike double pointed needles (I prefer working on 2 circulars.) I own a selection of DP needles, but I really don't like using them. I will use them if, and ONLY if, I have absolutely NO OTHER OPTION. Well, I had no other option. So I opened up my double pointed needle case, and the largest size I had was

size 13.

I sat and stewed for a few more minutes, and realized that if I wanted to get any satisfaction from knitting this hat, I'd have to use size 13 Addis - which I did have, amazingly... and 2 sets, so I could work on 2 circulars!

and rewrite the whole darn pattern. So, I did.

That's a lot of chicken sratch, isn't it? I had to work the decreases about 3 times to get it to fit right, but it's done and I love it. And I think I like it better at this slightly snugger gauge!

Moral(s) of the story...

• Keep a list of what needles you own, to avoid major headaches and possible heartbreaks.
• If you find you need a certain needle size, buy it right away, before you forget.
• Put your needles back when you are finished with them.
• Don't be scared to re-work a pattern. You may just end up with a fantastic result!