Next week I’m attending Cat Bordhi’s 3rd Annual Magical Moebius Festival – “Footsteps Along the Moebius Path ” – an ocean side knitting adventure! To say that I’m excited by this is a gross understatement. We will not only be bending geometry with the wonderful moebius, Cat will also be introducing new amazing sock geometry magic. And, I understand, the room we will be meeting in features a whole wall of windows looking out on the (probably stormy) Pacific.

Cat Bordhi. Socks. Ocean waves. Need I say more? I can’t wait!

A couple of days ago I stopped by the website of ColorSong Yarn to make sure that I had the right time/date info. Of course they sent a wonderful packet with all that info in it. Of course it was at home and I was not. So I stopped by their website, and there I saw it:

They have Addi Lace needles. In stock. Right now. I’ve knit with these needles, gentle reader, and they are amazing.

I called Nancy to ask if there would be any needles available at the workshop. Nancy assured me that there would be.

You know, Nancy offered. You don’t live that far away. If I drop some in the mail to tomorrow, you’d have them the day after.

What’s a girl to do?

I bought needles. I showed what I believe is admirable restraint by buying only two US#1 24″ circs. And I have them. And my socks are on them.

Addi really got it right this time. These needles are awesome.

Here you can see the tips. Top to bottom: Addi Lace, Addi Turbo, Knit Picks and my trusty and still-loved Inox Grays.

My take on it:

• Tips:
  • Lace: The clear winner in this category. Sharper than Turbos, not as sharp as Knit Picks. These points get into tight places without drawing blood. The thinnest part of the tip is slightly elongated before swooping up to the body of the needle, giving almost the illusion that the points are convex. Although the tips are shorter than the Knit Picks or Inox tips, the longer point helps the needle get into multiple stitches easily without a lot of splittage.
  • Turbo: OK for larger, bulkier knits without complex patterns. Just too for blunt lace, complex patterns like cables or small items like socks.
  • Knit Picks: Lethal weapons. These are not the needles to use if you like to help your needle along with a finger on the point. Ouch. I like the sharpness for knitting socks and lace, but I did have to get use to it. They are so sharp that splitting can be a problem.
  • Inox: Variable. The pairs I have are just about right. But the quality is not consistent. To find the just right needles, I had to dig around through a lot of other ones that ranged all the way from points I could pierce my ears with to Turbo bluntness. Not the needles to buy online. (For some reason I just could not get a clear picture of this needle.) when good when not good

• Joins:
  • Lace: The clear winner here, too. The joins are absolutely smooth. Interestingly enough, the joins are not exactly round. On two sides there is an almost imperceptible flair from the cable up to the needle. By opening the stitch slightly, this promotes a smooth transition from cable to needle. Love it, love it, love it.
  • Turbo: Very smooth joins. Nothing to complain about here at all.
  • Knit Picks: Also smooth joins. Slightly rougher than the Lace needles, but not anything that’s an issue. Variable quality — I’ve had good luck with mine and by all reports Knit Picks is happy to replace any that aren’t up to standard.
  • Inox: I like the little knobby thing on the cable at the join. I’ve never had a stitch stick on it. Like the slight flair on the Lace cables, the little bump helps to open the stitch so it slides onto the needle.
• Cables:
  • Lace: Very nice cables. Thinner than the Turbo cables, slightly thicker than the Knit Picks cables, and a really lovely transparent red color. Very flexible and do not appear to be subject to any kinking. No steaming or the ilk necessary.
  • Turbo: Thicker than the Lace needles, but very flexible and kink-less. My favorite cable before I met Knit Picks.
  • Knit Picks: The winner in this category. I just love these cables. To me they feel even softer and more flexible than the Lace cables.
  • Inox: Plastic. Stiff. Kinky. Need steaming. What I don’t love about Inox.
• Knitting speed and feel:
  • Lace: Oh, I want to love these needles so much! The feel is slightly stickier than turbos, not as sticky as bamboo or other wood. The yarn glides over the needles very nicely without hanging up or dragging. I’m not the fastest knitter in the world and there is no appreciable slowing of my speed. Very quiet. The needle size is helpfully printed on the cable. That’s such a nice touch! My only beef: To me the feel when the needles touch reminds me of the old, old, old metal needles I knit with 35 years ago. It’s almost like finger nails on a chalk board. (To you youngsters that know only white boards — that is not a pleasant sound). I’m not sure yet if this will end up being a deal breaker. I love everything else about them so much that I’m willing to work with them for awhile and see if I can become inured.
  • Turbo: Very fast. Too fast sometimes for intricate lace or very slippery yarns. Also have the needle size printed on the cable.
  • Knit Picks: I like the way these knit. Fast, but not too fast. Quality, though, is variable. Size is not revealed anywhere, so carry your sizer with you.
  • Inox: The winner. I like the teflon coating. Like the Lace needles, the Inox are smooth without being too slippery. I like the bend in the needle — it fits my hand well. (This is purely subjective as other knitters hate it.) Inox thoughtfully stamps the size on the needle, down near the join.

The overall winner: Definitely the Turbo Lace. Marvelous, wonderful, amazing needles. Except the sound. Stay tuned on that score.

In the comments, Maia helpfully opines (and ~Kristie agrees):

The only thing I notice since you rebuilt is that there isn’t a spell check in the comments section. I thought that was such a lovely gift to the spelling impaired

I know! Believe me I am spelling impaired as well and I miss it too. Unfortunately the spell check plugin I was using does not work with this version of WordPress and it doesn’t appear that the author is going to modify it to work. 😥 I am searching for an alternative. All of the ones that I’ve tried so far have not successfully worked with comments. But I will keep looking! Until then all I can suggest is to use Firefox for your browser. It includes a built-in spell checker.