Mossy Cottage Knits

If you want a more efficient way to hold your books open in the meanwhile, you should try the FlipKlip: http://www.bluezap.com/flipklip.html

I've got one, and I just love it. I use it all the time for knitting, and also when I'm doing school and need to keep one book open while I reference others. And it managed to cope with holding an enormous hardcover Harry Potter book open just as well as with a small paperback. Highly recommended!

I feel the same about audio books.
So, what's wrong with having two different size needle tips? Seems like a valid way to get gauge to me.

If the needle combination got you gauge stick with it.

I'd "knit the [sweater] using interchangeable needles with a size 6 on one end of the cord and a size 5 on the other." ;)

You don't want to get me started on books. I stopped counting about 10 years ago and at that point I had 860. Then again, I'm an academic who started in literature, which requires a lot of books, and moved to art history, which requires fewer books, but they are much bigger and much more expensive. In recent years I have limited myself to purchasing books directly related to my field only. And, um, knitting books. And the occasional novel. And... Oh hell, it's hopeless!

I think I might like the Kindle if it wasn't white. I hate white. Especially white plastic. Blech! I recently saw a prototype for a new electronic device that is about the size of a trade paperback when opened. The screen scrolls out of it like a window shade. When closed it's about the size of a glasses case. If they can get that up and running, I'll be quite interested.

How about the angle factor of a Kindle? As in, do you have to look at it directly to be able to read it? Or can you have it at an oblique angle and it still gives you words and not blurs? I love real books, too, but I can't read while knitting or the results would be laughable.

As for the gauge thing, I'd go with the larger needle size. I have a logical explanation, but it sounds ridiculous when reduced to writing.

I regularly do flat knitting with two different sized tips. I've found it to be the only solution to my terrible purling/rowing out problem. If you love the swatch I say go for it.

On the swatch...if it gets you gauge, go with it. There are no rules that say you have to use the same size needle. Many people have different gauge knitting vs. purling, so using different needle sizes definitely is "legal." Brilliant, even.

As for Kindle? No, it won't replace a real book anytime soon. I swoon at the smell of a roomful of books, but I still like my Kindle. I took it on two vacations with me so far this summer. It was the perfect companion on a 2.5 week overseas trip where weight limit was an issue and there wasn't a bookstore nor library within hundred miles (was on a boat). I had enough variety on a single gadget that I can read any one of several books, depending on my mood. (Jane Austen? Trashy murder mystery? Mark Twain? All there.)

As to Sheila's question, the e-ink technology is amazing. You don't have to be fully in front of it like a computer. It really is like paper. You can still read it outside in bright daylight. The text is crisp in all sorts of situations.

I don't have a kindle, but I did have a Rocket eBook. I totally bonded with that little piece of plastic. It slept with me (mostly because I fell asleep reading with the lights out). There was a wonderful online community called the Rocket Library (kind of like Ravelry) where people stored and shared books (mostly in the public domain). I was in love. Then Rocket eBook sold out (to RCA to be precise), and it was all downhill from there.

But I sure loved that charcoal black little reader, and I miss it still.

Dude, knit the sweater w/ the different needles ;-) Might make for an interesting affect... or maybe not. Sad when you find out swatches lied AGAIN! I like it when I discover one that is not lying and even then I still distrust it.

I am waving hi because I am a fellow book sniffer. I, too, could never replace a book with something electronic. I work on a computer all day. When I crawl into bed, I want something that is not glowing at me (unless it's a good man). I LOVE used-book sales. I grab a box and start shopping. I rarely keep books once I have read them, yet my house is like an unorganized library. You are in good company, my dear.

The Kindle is tempting, but you never pick up a book and find out the battery is dead.

I use audiobooks when I want to read & knit at the same time. I'm just not quite ready to give up the smell and feel of paper books to go all technical. I kind of hope I never will be.

I have a knitting friend who swears (swears) that if you knit with two different size needles, the knitting gauge is always, absolutely, and accurately determined by the larger needle.
When I argued the logic, my friend said, "I've been knitting since before you were born - you don't know squat!" She may have a point.
I'm still a bit skeptical, though I did knit some sweater sleeves with two interchangeable circs and two sets of tips (two of the correct size, two one size smaller) and it came out perfectly.

I agree with everyone who said to continue using the two different sized needles - that's a completely viable way to get gauge, and is even recommended in some books when you are having trouble getting gauge! If you like how the swatch looks, I say, go for it!

De Lurking to say that I swear that I have read somewhere that using two different needle sizes was a valid way of fixing stubborn gauge issues (I think it was particularly mentioned for fixing "row gauge" problems).

Just wish that I could remember where I read that so I could give you the reference.

Pats and Scritches to the kitties!

Ummm, knit the sweater with the wacky needle arrangement? I'm pretty sure Claudia has blogged about using two different sized needles on projects.

And I'm with you on the books over Kindles.

The only thing that's really keeping me from buying a Kindle at this point is the lack of a used "book" market. I buy 95% of my books second-hand (either at Half Price in Everett or from powells.com) because brand-new books are just too darned expensive.

Maybe eventually the price for Kindle food will drop to a more reasonable level, and then it's Kindle all the way. Unfortunately, very little of the price of a new book goes to the actual manufacturing, so it isn't that much cheaper to publish an electronic version compared to paper. (Or so they tell us...)

As for gauge, the armchair scientist in me would knit two more swatches: one using 2 of the larger needle, and one using 2 of the smaller needle. Then compare the three swatches.

Then, if the original swatch was knit back-and-forth, I'd try to work out which needle was used for which side, then reverse it. (i.e. if the 6 was the right-hand needle on the knit side, switch it around.)

Personally, I find that my gauge is far more dependent on me than it is on the needle size. I once knit one sock at home in front of the TV, and one sock while on business travel. The gauge difference between them was remarkable.

Who cares what size needles you were using if it got you the results you want? Keep on knitting.

I've been using a Kindle since last December and I love it. Here's my best brief synopsis: "If you have the luxury of sitting on the couch for several hours immersed in a book, then nothing beats a real book. For everything else, the Kindle works better."

A few notes:
- it is ugly at first glance, but you'd be surprised how quickly great engineering overcomes the ugly exterior
- the battery lasts over a week if you turn off the wireless when you aren't browsing the store
- the screen and e-ink technology are amazing and totally different than a computer screen.

I've heard that a new one is coming out soon. One that is much, much nicer.

Hey, remember me? From a long, long time ago.

I just started knitting again. And still am a beginner. But at least I'm back at it.

I am interested in Kindle too but hate the looks of it. If the page graphics were all design-y and interesting looking, that would entice me to buy one. How hard could it be to make the background of the page look good instead of a computer screen?

Oh yeah, and we moved. Are you ready? We are in Bogota. As in Colombia, South America!

As far as the swatch, do the sweater w/2 different size needles. It will be LOVELY!

I have to agree. If the different size needle points gave you gauge, kiss and make up and carry on with your project. Oh, and buy the Flip Klip. Wouldn't be without it!

Well you know I love my Kindle. It will, however, never ever ever ever replace the book. You probably noted that I couldn't stay out of the bookstore that weekend - even with the Kindle in my hands. I'm totally with you on the feel and smell of a real book. And I love book trading too, something you absolutely cannot do with a Kindle download.

There are, however, a couple of points I'd make about the Kindle. First of all. The screen does not glow. The developers tried very hard to make the reading experience and screen paper-like. This means that a book light is still going to be a necessity if you read in the dark. Second, for knitters the Kindle content seems a bit lacking. I just did a search and found a couple of those knitting mysteries and a 'Knitting for Dummies'. That was a bit disappointing. I'm also not aware of any other sources for downloadable content other than Amazon.com. Regular ebooks are just not compatible. So the Kindle does have it's detractors. I still love it. Especially since sometimes holding a thick book is very painful for my hands and the Kindle solves that problem very well.

Much love to you. Sorry for going on and on.

I thought I was gonna be all original and suggest using the two different size needles. Guess again.

I say if you got gauge with two different needle sizes go for it with those two needles. Remember, there are no knitting police to give you a ticket for using different size tips.

And I agree with you totally about the look, feel and smell of books. Along with everything you mentioned, I love the quality of the paper used in the pages of old books. I don't think I would enjoy reading a book contained within a white plastic case. And what happens when it breaks? Which in my house would be sure to happen.

There is nothing like a book. (That said, I've been fascinated by the idea of Kindle...)
(((hugs)))

But...but...books smell better.