I wrote last week about my continuing gauge dilemma on my Bullfinch Blanket.

After some pondering, I have decided to go down to a 2.75mm needle. The idea of knitting a whole blanket with such a small needle feels like madness, but I’m hoping I can claw-back some of the additional yardage of yarn so that I don’t run out before the end.

I’m cracking on with the 2.75mm needles, which has given me an issue as I need to find a needle that is comfortable to knit with.  The 3mm needles i was using were quite short and fit nicely into my hand with a 40mm cable on. Because it is such a small project, a long cable flops around and gets in the way. That means that I grip the needles too much, giving me hand cramp (oh the life of knitters!!)

I found some 2.75mm needles in my kit bag with a 40cm cable on, but at full length needles, they feel a bit odd when there are only up to 50 stitches on them. So I’m off on the quest to find some more comfortable needles.

I bought some cheap wooden ones that looked shorter. But they were rough and just snagged on the yarn.

So I tried some Knitpro “nova cubics” needles. I have to say they are a delight to knit with.

You probably can’t see from the picture above, but they are square. They slip really nicely through the yarn and the square shape is supposed to reduce fatigue. I thought a gimmick, but they do seem nice to use, so maybe not!

After a couple of squares however, I found them a bit TOO slippy (I know, I’m way too picky!). The way that i knit means that its easier when the needles don’t push too far through the stitch. That means I can throw they yarn around them without moving my hand too much. Very slippy needles equals more gripping. missing the point!

I think they will be nice to knit with for a larger project, where the weight of the additional stitches will keep the needles in check. For now though, I’m back to trusty Knit-Pro Symfonie but on a 40mm cable and that seems to be working out OK after all.

Wish me luck as I hop through to block 30 on 2.75mm needles!