The Case of the Disappearing Needles

Meet the Knitting Needle Sprite

It's a beautiful day here on the Isle of Wight. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, I have coffee and an audiobook lined up as I settle into my  comfy knitting chair, ready to indulge myself with a new sock cast on.

As I go to reach for my trusty 2mm circular needles, my heart sinks. They're gone. Every last circular sock needle has seemingly vanished into thin air, like a magician's vanishing act. Hang on, I just cast off a pair, the other day! I must have some somewhere!

I should be basking in tranquility, but instead I’m  gripped with anxiety. Where could they have gone? I frantically search every drawer, basket, box and random project bag (passing thought...erm, there are rather a lot of those random project bags! 😱). I find lots of needles I don’t need, several packets of sizes that make me wonder what I was thinking when I bought them. A set of 5 10 mm bamboo DPNs??? Eh? 🙄

Still my favourite circulars remain stubbornly elusive.

That's when I notice a odd sort of presence in the room. A faint twinkling sound like distant chimes in the breeze.I turn towards the noise and there, perched impishly on my chair, is that? What is that? It looks like a tiny, knitting fairy? ¹

"Looking for these?" The diminutive fairy smirks, jangling a handful of  missing circular needles mischievously.

This must be the dreaded Knitting Needle Sprite, a legendary figure in the knitting realm. She's the one responsible for spiriting away all those stray needles, coveting them for her own mysterious purposes and then hiding them in, frankly, weird places, where I would never under any circumstances have put them.

"I simply had to acquire these," she says unrepentantly. "They're the finest circulars around. Nice sharp points.  Perfect for the delicate lace shawls I enjoy knitting for the fairy princes and princesses. Or for defence!” She winks 😉

“Can I have them back when you are finished, please?” I ask politely, remembering it’s not wise to confront the Wee Folk. I try to plead, I start to beg the headstrong fairy. “Honestly, knitter to knitter, please give them back!” but with a wiggle of her nose, she's already disappearing in a shower of iridescent sparkles, my precious needles in tow. A tinkling voice rings out in her wake “We’ll have a treasure hunt when I’m done!”

Resigning myself to a serious new needle acquisition session , I make a mental note - from now on, I must find a more secure storage solution to outwit the crafty Needle Sprite's tricks!

As frustrating as it is to have your precious circulars swiped, I can't help but feel a tinge of admiration for the mischievous fairy's appreciation of quality knitting tools. She’d nabbed my Hiya Hiyas 😞 Still, I will need to up my needle storage game to avoid her pilfering ways in the future. Clearly keeping a jumble of the empty and full packets in an open basket is not working well for me.

I have already rejected the idea of interchangeable sets. I’m too fond of quite a limited range of sizes and the way I knit tends to undo them. I look online and decide I can’t afford decide to invest in some fancy, clear vinyl, circular needle cases - the kind with transparent sleeves that you can neatly tuck each set of circular needles into. However there are some old, unused CD cases here that look remarkably similar. Maybe I can appropriate them... No more rogue needles escaping into the Sprite's clutches when they're all kept tidy and accounted for, I hope!

For the circulars currently being used for projects in progress, I need a new system too. I resolve to add a post it note to each pocket of my new circular needle organizer, to show to which project each cable is assigned. The Cozy Cabled Cardigan, more socks (assorted and various might prove a challenge), the Lace Weight Cardigan , so on and so forth. This way I will always know at a glance exactly where my circulars are in use. This does assume I know what all my WIPs are, hmm 🤷‍♀️

With my new storage solutions implemented, (in my mind at least 😂 )I risk a satisfied smirk. "Alright, Needle Sprite, let's see you try to pilfer my needles now. I'm one step ahead of your trickery!"

From the corner of my knitting chair, I  hear a faint jingling sound. The fairy has arrived, her tiny brow furrowed as she sizes up the vinyl pouches. She lets out a disgruntled huff.

"Well played, knitter. Well played. For now..."

She gives a meaningful glance at the  remaining messy project bags overflowing with yarn and needles in the corner. The pile lurches in disarray, tumbled where I left it in my search for needles. The Sprite's eyes glimmer with renewed determination.

The storage solution quest continues! I make a mental note to deploy some baskets for corralling active projects very soon...

Ooh and I might cast on that felted project bag pattern that just about everyone snagged when it was free yesterday (Ravelry link warning). ² That would make a handy temporary store for NINNs - needles I need next...If I can find my 6mm needles ...😱

1. Before anyone asks. Yes, she’s AI generated. No,there isn’t a pattern. Cute though?

2. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wool-vessel-v-project-pod