About the Needle Set

I was asked on my last post about what kind of interchangeable needles I have, that I used in switching cords. I don't actually have a full set, but I have a bunch of Knitter's Pride--at least, I think they're all KP--that I have picked up here and there. I have a bunch of the Dreamz tips, and also some of the Naturalz (and yes, I am so over that whole "z" at the end of those, thanks for asking), and a variety of the components. I think I bought a mini-set at one point, that had maybe three sizes of tips and a few cords and things, and have since added to the collection piecemeal: a cord here, more tips there. I find them useful, and the quality decent, but not so fabulous that I want to get an entire set; I'm still hoping to find a type of interchangeable system I will love enough to shell out the big bucks for. (I've heard good things about the Lykke needles, and I am also intrigued by the Indian Lake Artisans ones, but I haven't yet used either.)

In the meantime, the KP does get the job done. In my opinion/experience, the joins are not perfectly smooth, and I know I have stripped a connection at least once, so it won't tighten perfectly. On the other hand, as my recent experience shows, there's nothing like a set of interchangeables when you're messing around, and do not own every size needle in every cord length available (which would make the price of an interchangeable set look pretty reasonable by comparison).

So, what I did the other day, when I wanted to switch to a shorter cord, was to remove one needle tip, join a connector, and connect the new cord. I put the needle tip on the other end of that cord, then slid the stitches over, removed the longer cable I wasn't going to use, and put the tip on the new one (let me know if that doesn't make sense now that it's out of my head). And when I wanted to spread the knitting out, I added the long cable the same way, spread the stitches out over both cables until I was satisfied, and then undid it.

Clear as mud, right?