Review: The Sexy Knitter's Tool Tin

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We were thrilled when Sarah Wilson, The Sexy Knitter, invited us to have our yarns and spinning fibers featured on her tool tins.  She generously sent us sample tins so we could try them out for ourselves. 

I promptly chose my favorite and tossed it into my knitting bag. I've been carrying it around for just over a week and am pleased to say that the image is still securely adhered to the top and doesn't show any scratches. I also appreciated that the lid stays closed while in my bag and is still easy to open. 

Here's what's inside:

Tape Measure
Scissors
5 Stitch Markers
Cable Needle
Double-Ended Crochet Hook (2 sizes)
3 Sewing Needles
Stitch Holder

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Everything fits easily and there is even a magnet at the top of the lid to hold the needles in place, which I love. The whole thing is the size of an Altoids tin, so it even fits well in my sock sized project bags. 

The tape measure is 60 in/150 cm, which is plenty for my size 18 body, but just barely long enough to measure my husband's chest. It definitely suffices for travel use. 

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Tiny scissors are tiny. They should make it through just about any security check. They handled all my trimming needs for the week and even though they are pretty tiny, I didn't have any trouble with them. 

Can I tell you how much I adore these stitch markers? They are seriously cute, light weight, and more durable than you would expect. I tried to squish one. I probably could have, but it was much more difficult than I expected. I usually prefer the loopy style stitch markers, but I was pretty happy with these.

My favorite thing was the double-ended crochet hook. I crochet as well, so at home I always have hooks around, but not when I'm on the go.  My project right now is garter stitch, so having this little beauty in my bag made a couple of dropped stitches much less of a headache. 

Sarah has a special offer just for Anzula readers to make them an even better deal. Through September 1st, the code FriendsofAnzula is good for 20% off a purchase of $25.00 or more (wholesale listings and monthly collection excluded). Click here to visit The Sexy Knitter Etsy Shop.  The tins are also available for wholesale, resale license not required, more information is available here. 

Overall, I think The Sexy Knitter Tool Tins are a great buy.  Everything you need in a tiny little box. So grab a project, your tool tin, and hit the road!

Update on the 30 Day Sweater

Obviously I'm running a bit behind. I could give you a whole series of excuses, but that would be tedious and boring. I will only say that there was a wedding of sorts, and then a couple of holidays, and life just happened. When life gets chaotic, I crave stockinette, in-the-round, gauge-free, don't-make-me-think projects.  

So, I am nowhere close to finished with this sweater, but I've learned a lot and I'm not giving up. If you can remember all the way back to October, you will know that I decided to knit the Lollipop Cardigan by Vera Sanon using Milky Way in colorway Nimbus. 

I was pretty concerned about the shoulders, that was a completely new thing for me, but look how nicely they're coming out!

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Through some clever construction techniques, I get the look of set in shoulders without needing to do all that seaming. As an added bonus, once I get to the point where I can separate my sleeves from the body, I should be able to try it on. 

I've worked enough rows of the beading and lace to feel pretty comfortable with all the stitches. I still don't consider this a travel project, but once the beading is done I might be willing to reconsider. 

Do you have any projects  you're dying to finish, but just can't seem to find the time? 

Day 6

Where did the weekend go? Day 6 is here and I'm only 2 days into actual knitting on my 30 day sweater. I chose to knit Lollipop Cardigan by Vera Sanon using Milky Way in Nimbus. Vera is one of my favorite sweater designers of all time, and I've been in love with this cardigan since the first day I saw it and tried on the sample. I've known since that moment I had to have one of my own.

Of course, I've never knit a sweater before. So far it's been great, tricky, but great. That doesn't mean I'm not a little nervous about a couple of the new (to me) techniques. I swatched like crazy. I'm a loose knitter and I really want this to fit properly, so swatching was a must for me. Not that swatching is really new, just um, rare.  

So, what actually is new for me?

Beads. I've never beaded any knitting before. How can a person knit for 5 years and never bead anything? I'll let you know how it goes. (Note to self: Buy beads.)

Contiguous sleeves. What does that even mean? Well, it means the shoulders look like set in sleeves, even though it's seamless and knit top down. It also means that after 2 days of knitting and a couple provisional cast-ons later, I have about 7 ends to weave in. SEVEN. Yay! (Really, yay! I love finishing.) Even if you are one of those knitters that hates weaving ends, I have a feeling this is going to be worth it. I mean, I've tried on the sample and it was so perfect. How could it not be worth it?

My theme for the month: Go big or go home! Check back soon to see how I'm doing. Feel free to offer tips, suggestions, advice, or your favorite chocolate to eat after throwing your knitting across the room in the comments below.