I'm not normally fond of metal needles, and have been increasingly replacing my metal straights with bamboo, birch, or rosewood straights.

However, these circular needles live up to their advertising - knitting with them is very smooth and quick.  I never would have thought I'd find myself recommending these needles, but they're worth the price.

I have a project that requires 30 skeins of this yarn. Before making that kind of investment, I knew I'd have to love the yarn, considering that I'd be spending weeks, if not months, intimately interacting with it. So, I ordered a couple of colors and took it out on a first date.

It reminded me of my husband. We went out on our first date, and 20 years later never looked back.

I'm picky about yarn. It has to feel really good in my hands (clearly I'm not a flax fan). It has to behave nicely on my needles, bamboo and metal. No reticence, no arguing, I want cooperation. It has to hang around long enough to be rescued if I drop a stitch.

Rowan Felted Tweed passed every test. I can't stop swatching the thing, because my fingers (and brain) suffer from separation anxiety when I put the needles down. The material produced is lovely and soft, but with nice body.

I have many unfinished projects on needles, and at this point in time, they are going to have to stay unfinished a while longer. I have a new love.

And, as an added bonus, the folks at Jimmy Beans Wool are wonderful to work with!

OK.  I wrote the last review a couple of days ago, and at the same time, I wrote to Pick Up Sticks for advice.

They wrote back to me right away, indicating which step I might have skipped in the pattern to cause the problem.

Last night, I tried the Lily again, and it came out perfect.  It wasn't a step I skipped last time, it was a fundamental mistake I made while making the flower.  I knitted it while talking with friends, and I was a complete idiot, I guess, because I only decreased on one side when you're supposed to decrease on both.

So, I'm sorry Pick Up Sticks, for wronging you!  The lily looks beautiful, although again, they don't felt too well.  I hand felted it last night, and now I think it might have to go through a couple of washes, and then maybe another hand felt.  It's just so small, it's hard to get every bit felted.

But, they are beautiful, and fun to knit!

I used 1 hank to make a baby hat and then 1 hank to make a pair of booties and the entire project only took me about 3 hours! This yarn is so soft and cuddly - and the colors are as gorgeous as all of the Lorna's Laces colors - you can't go wrong here.