Addi Unicorn needle review :::::::::::::: Blogtober 2022 : Day 7

It’s raining again.  Ugh, I think yesterday was the only day it hasn’t rained – it’s been a wet week overall and the dog and I got soaked as we were out walking with a friend and her dog this morning.  We kept telling each other that we didn’t dissolve when we got wet and a bit of rain wouldn’t hurt us, but as it got heavier and heavier, we walked a little bit more quickly to get back! 🙂

Now that we’re back home again after some errands (I dripped around a few shops but that couldn’t be helped!), it feels like the kind of day to get on with some more finishing off jobs on my List.  I’ve got some jobs on there that I’ve been putting off for a very long time and I would really like to get them out of the way so doing something to make a start at least seems like a good idea.  Cleaning and re-grouting the shower room is on that list, as is clearing out the garage before the Winter.  You can maybe see why the jobs are still on there!

First, though, the most important things of the day.  A brew and a catch-up of other Blogtober posts … this is a good time of year to find new writers and new blogs to read, and I am using being part of Blogtober as a good excuse to do that!

How about you?  Have you found any new blogs to read this month?

I’ve been using Bloglovin for years to keep up with the blogs that I enjoy reading – you add in the names of the blogs that you want to read and it presents them to you on a “home page” of posts to read.  It’s great!  It also gives you other blog suggestions so that it’s easy to find other blogs that you might like too.

The blogs I’ve been reading so far this Blogtober are Coastal Ripples, Planet Penny, A mug for hooks, The Barefoot Crafter and One Creative Cat – if you’ve been reading any others, please do let me know as it’s always good to have new blogs to look at! 🙂  (If you’re wondering why Attic24 isn’t on the list this year, it’s because Lucy is away in the south of France teaching at a crochet retreat. )

As I am sure that you don’t want to see photos of shower enclosures or grout trowels, today I’m going to show you a new long circular needle from Addi which I’ve been trying out recently instead.

Addi mentioned on social media that they were launching their Unicorn needles some time ago and I’ve been waiting with interest to see what they were like.  Addi have always been a first-choice needle for me and I do love unicorns so this seemed like a match made in heaven 🙂

The needle tips are twisted like a unicorn’s horn and the idea is that they massage your hands whilst you’re knitting.  An interesting idea, eh?

Can you see how they twist?  It’s quite noticeable when you touch the needle tips, there’s a very definite twist in there!

I often use a long circular needle for the toes of my socks these days and I was just coming up to the end of the Twilight Rainbow sock that I was knitting so it seemed like an excellent opportunity to try the new needle out.  This is an 80cm 2.5mm needle – there are different cable lengths and tip sizes to choose from too.

What I noticed straight away is that the cable isn’t nearly as curly as the old Addi long circular that I have – there’s no memory in this one so even though it had been curled up in the packet, it was perfectly straight when I took it out and started using it.  That makes quite a difference and is a big improvement on my old needle, and to be fair, my “old” needle is easily anything up to 10 years old so you would think that Addi would have made some changes by now! 🙂

I like that the size is stamped on the cable (I was talking about sizing marked on needles the other day) and I think it’s fun that it’s pink!  Well, why not?

And here are my finished socks, toes completed …

If they look like these are well-worn socks already then you’d be right.  I love them!

The needles worked just as well as any other needles that I’ve used – the join was lovely and smooth, the non-twisty cable made life easier when working with magic loop and whilst I can’t honestly say that I noticed my hands being massaged by the needle tips, that’s not to say that they weren’t or that you wouldn’t notice it more with a bigger project.  What I did notice, though, was that the twist slowed the stitches down as they moved along the needle which is not a bad thing sometimes for metal needles – the yarn can slide a bit too quickly for some people depending on the yarn.  I quite liked that the twist made it a more mindful process to create the toe decreases as I was aware of moving the stitches along instead of trying to get through the toe decreases as fast as possible.

Would I use this needle with the twisty tips again?  Yes, absolutely!  I did like it very much and it’s yet another needle addition to my collection (I will try not to lose this one!) – it’s already got a home in my project bag 🙂

At the moment, Addi only make their Unicorn needles in fixed long circular sizes so I won’t be swapping my short circular needle for one any time soon.  However, with changes in needle options available happening all the time, it’ll be interesting to see what comes up in the future!  If you’re tempted to try one of these, my needle came from Laughing Hens and you can buy them from Addi stockists worldwide.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another Blogtober post – the first week has gone past already, can you believe it?  I’ll see you tomorrow! xx

With many thanks to Addi Needles UK for sending me the Unicorn needle to try out!