Hong Kong Phooey

Everybody was Kung-Fu fighting,
Rain was knitting as fast as lightning,
In fact it was a little bit frightening,
But she knits with expert timing.

I really have been knitting like lightning despite being surrounded by my mother and Hong Kong Scout up there fighting over a squeaky toy, it's bedlam round here at times and I'm surprised I get anything done.

There will be pandas starving all over China as I have been buying up bamboo needles from Hong Kong at a crazy pace. I discovered an eBay Shop - Joyce Super Shop - selling all kinds of knitting needles and crochet hooks at a silly price. I have to admit to being a little wary at buying from Hong Kong, you do hear a lot of horror stories about eBay but as the seller had mostly good feedback I went for it.

My recent purchases have been (in sets) 15 80 cm long circular needles, 14 20cm long 5 needle sets of DPNs and 15 pairs of 36 cm long straights.

It might seem a bit mad buying so many new needles as I'm hardly lacking in that department, however, it's been a bargain that seemed daft to pass up on. If you fancy some yourself they have several combinations of needles and sell numerous sets of varying types and lengths every day. It's worth looking on their international eBay pages as the cost is roughly the same whether you buy them in £, US $, Aussie $ or Euros. As they have so many sets available there's no need to get into a bidding war with anyone as there are plenty for sale in the following days. Basically the bidding tends to start around 0.99 whatever the local currency is, but the shipping costs are inflated to cover the low price. The cost (including shipping) came to £10 for the circs, £13 for the DPNs and £11 for the straights. I thought that was ridiculously cheap for so many needles.

The are a few drawbacks - the needles are made in metric sizes increasing by 0.5 mm (starting at 2 mm and going up to 12 mm). This means that some of the smaller UK and US sizes that are .25 or .75 mm are not available. The circs are not the same as usual sets, rather than a solid cord there is a plastic tube between the needles (which doesn't curl!). I personally have found the join to be ok when using them (I've magic looped with them too), but I don't think they'd withstand abusive use i.e. swinging your knitting around your head or dragging a heavy afghan about the house by the needles. They are a little rough on arrival but with a gentle sanding they are a dream to use. I love them and can't recommend them enough.

One thing I would say about the company is that they say they will combine postage if you buy more then one set on one day, but it seems to be a common complaint that they don't. Otherwise shipping is good, they arrive well packaged and mine came with 7, 6 and 3 days of dispatch. There are people buying these needles and then reselling them at an inflated price. With 3 separate orders I haven't had a problem with the company so would say buy direct.

Now I'm off to make the mother of all needle rolls to keep them in.......

Disclaimer: I am not on commission, I just thought they were a great bargain and thought I'd pass it on.