Wednesday 24 August 2011

The perils of mobile Hexipuffing

I know you are all dying to know what pitfalls can befall the plucky knitter who likes to get her Hexipuff fix whilst out and about. What dreadful event could have left me with scraped raw knuckles, dishevelled hair and a slightly wild-eyed expression?

I always knew that DPNs were tricksy little creatures and normally I avoid them like the plague but such was my Hexipuff love that I overcame my DPN dislike and carried a little set of bamboo 3.5mm DPNs in my 'out and about' knitting bag.

Having dropped the children off at the holiday club I was enjoying a quick 10 minutes peace and quiet (coffee from my trusty Thermos and a Hexipuff) in the car before entering the usual mid-week work mayhem. All was going well and I had just finished a particularly lovely Hexipuff. So lovely in fact that I put my DPNs down in my lap and held up the little Hexi to the light - all the better to admire it.

It was this one:

In case you were interested - sorry but I have no idea why my PC has suddenly rotated it - never mind.

Busy admiring my little Hexi I failed to notice that one of the DPNs was slowly sliding off my lap. I looked down in time to see it slide gracefully down into the little gap between the seat and the front section of the car where the handbrake is. The gap is tiny but that didn't stop me trying to shove my hand down there to rescue it. I managed to get my finger to it and then, predictably, it slid beyond reach.

I am ashamed to admit that some cursing took place, at DPNs in general, at Skoda seat manufacturers in particular and at the fact that I had to endure 6 hours at work and then waiting to collect children from holiday activity du jour without any knitting.

It was not my finest moment.
On the plus side, I found £1.50 in change, a lost stitch marker and the partner to a small childs mitten which I thought had gone altogether.

In the end I was resourceful and merely used 2 DPNs and a 4mm crochet hook to make the next one. It was a little awkward and I think it may have produced a slightly bigger Hexi - but knitting peace was restored.


3 comments:

  1. Good grief!! Who knew hexipuffs could be so deadly!! I once lost a button off my coat down that gap, but your's is better. :)

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  2. Oh dear! I had a fit of the screaming abdabs once in a French service station because I lost a dpn "but how can I knit this sock?" Mr CK didn't seem to understand and suggested I drove instead.

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  3. I'm sorry, but I did laugh at this post!

    You see, I usually use circulars and this is my first DPN project too - so I bought a nice set (KnitPros 3.25mm - thankfully they come 6 in a set leaving me with 3 for home and 3 for my mobile 'puff kit) but I am terrified that I'll snap one or lose one while out and be left, like you, with only 2. I've ordered a cheap metal set (I HATE metal needles) to keep in the bottom of my Hexibag... just in case!

    Good news on all the other things you found under the seat and I hope you have contacted the car manufacturer and asked them to consider this in future design improvements! :)

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