My brief venture into the world of designer knitting supplies.

Today was really spectacular in lots of ways, but ridiculously frustrating in some others. The day started with a yarn-shopping extravaganza with my beloved Aunt Andrea -- can't complain about that! Except I can, just a little bit: for one thing, I forgot the gift card I was intending to use. That was annoying, but I decided to just make the yarn a birthday gift to myself. Not that big of a deal.

So we wandered around the store and, after lots and lots of deliberation, I settled on the most gorgeous dark green Ironstone Harmony wool for the Hot Lava Cardigan. I'm excited to start that and the yarn is really soft and a great color, one I think I'll wear a lot. Feeling good about that, I headed on over to the needle section and located the circular I'd need for the project. There was exactly one left in the specified size and length and...you might want to make sure you're sitting down before I tell you the price (though why would you be standing and reading a blog?). It was $24! I went into a mild state of shock and even put back the yarn for a bit, dismayed but certain that I would have to be crazy to pay $24 for one freaking circular needle. Aunt Andrea offered to get it as an early birthday gift and I still said no, because I felt like I might explode with rage just from owning something so overpriced, even if I hadn't personally bought it. Eventually, though, she talked me into it.

Now, I might be something of a cheapskate some of the time, but I also understand that you get what you pay for and sometimes it's necessary to pay more than you would like for quality (that's definitely my philosophy when it comes to yarn, anyway). On the ride home after our delicious lunch, I started feeling ok about the needle. Maybe it really would help me knit faster and better! Maybe it would do all the work for me, then clean my room & cook me dinner, and therefore be worth the price! I cast on for the first sleeve as soon as I got home, and what did the $24 needle do?

Did it somehow make the knitting amazingly easy or more enjoyable? Was it a beautiful sensory experience? Did it magically make the project go faster? Did it, in fact, clean my room and cook my dinner?

NO! IT BROKE. IT @#)$ING BROKE! The first time it was kinda cute. I was on only the 2nd or 3rd round when the needle part came detached from the cord part. I stared at it in disbelief for a minute, said "Surely you're kidding me," and snapped it back together. It seemed to hold, and I got another several rounds completed before it happened again. This time, though, it seems serious about it, and doesn't hold very well when I snap it back together. al;dfj;alskfj;askdfl; there are no words for how frustrating I find this!

So, let this be a lesson. If you ever find yourself burdened with way too much money and think, "I know, I'll treat myself to a really fancy "Destiny Lantern Moon" circular needle," DON'T! Not only is the name stupid, but apparently the price does not, in fact, indicate quality. You would probably be better off just giving all that extra money to me, really.

As for me, I'm not sure what I'll do. The sleeve does look beautiful so far and maybe if I'm just really careful the needle will be nice to me... I would just go return it at the store, but it's kind of a lengthy drive for me, especially considering the fact that my car is barely even running at the moment. I think I'll try superglue first, or any suggestions you want to leave in the comments.