Plastic fantastic

Last month I kind of fell off the knitting related waggon. Not that I had a specific rule to stop spending money on things, just to kind of cut back. Anyway, I weakened and bought the knitpro spectra trendz set (that's knitpicks to anyone in the U.S. I believe).

Here they are:

Pretty don't ya think?

I spotted them before Christmas after a knitting group discussion about the wonder of interchangeable needles but decided to be sensible and try out a single size and a few cables. I did that and used them to finish up my Christmas knitting, decided that they are great in the process and talking myself into buying the set. Note- being sensible not always the best option :D

Before I bought my trial needle I hunted the web for reviews, I had only heard reports on the metal and wooden needles so was after some advice. Not much joy, so I thought I would add a few bits here:

Good things:

1. Nice colours in the set.
2. Very quiet when you use them.
3. Noticeably cheaper then the wooden or metal options.
4. the flexibility of interchangeables is FANTASTIC! I am a total convert and even use them for straight knitting now.
5. The needles sizes are printed on the needles, no evidence of rubbing off so far but obviously the colours are different for each sizes which makes identification easier.
6. The cables make great stitch holders.
7. The set comes with a decent choice of cables, cable ends and keys but these can also be bought seperately.
8. There is a little bit of flex in the needles, especially the thinner ones. I suspect this might be easier on hands but I don't know.

Not so good things:

1. The needles come with a very very pink case, this might not be on some peoples' bad list but to me its way too much barbie style and I am not a pink person.
2. Obviously the sizes in the set are fixed.
3. The seperate needles only come in clear acrylic if you need to buy a different size (may just be the shop I used).
4. The smallest size is 3.5mm which is a bit big for 4 ply socks (I stick with my dpns for those).
5. It may just be the shop I got mine from but the needles only come in .0 or .5mm divisions, no .25 or .75s and over 7mm only in .0s which could cause issues if you are specific about your gauge
6. They can squeak a tiny bit if combined with acrylic yarn.

All in all I am a big fan, the downsides are pretty small compared to the benefits.