extreme knitting geek tip no. 4

i believe i have quite possibly achieved the everest of knitting geekdom. it happened last night as i was beginning a "folk knitting" project. (which is, itself, worthy of extreme knitting geekness. but i digress.) as i was rifling through my knitting bag for bobbins, i found not one, not two, not three, but four different bobbin designs.



it occured to me that all bobbins may not be created equal. i decided to put my hypothesis to the test. here are the results, clockwise from the lower left corner:

bobbin #1: the "boye" - this bobbin lives up to its name. it assumes bigger is better. not only is this boye cumbersome and unwieldy, it also doesn't clean up after itself and always leaves the seat up.

bobbin #2: the "clover" - our friends at clover may have the market cornered on the kacha, but when it comes to bobbins, they simply don't click. sure, it's a cute and modern design and it comes in cool colors. sure, it winds up breezily. but it also comes unwound much too easily for this bobbinoisseur's taste.

bobbin #3: the "hand-me-down" - this sentimental favorite was a gift to me from betty at knit n purl who got it from a little old lady who apparently got it from woolworth circa 1930. one tiny glitch: the slit up top is positioned off-center, which makes for a very awkward winding technique.

bobbin #4: the "susan bates" - susan bates may be the betty crocker of the knitting world. but she is no desperate housewife. this little lady winds and unwinds faster than you can say edie britt. and it is a heck of a lot less slutty. plus, it has that little triangular handle on the side, all the better for holding in place while you are doing all that winding.

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