knitting aids

Custom Knits arrived yesterday: most designs are a bit "young" but there are a few top-down set-in sleeve patterns I like -- Cameo, Slinky Ribs, Lettuce Coat ... Essential Tank is also a possibility, as well as Karma (top and/or skirt). But the most useful parts of the book are the sections on fit and modifying patterns.

Agnes mentioned in a forum post that she had received a knitting chart keeper, which would help her to knit faster (as fast as Nancy?) -- I had a look but Knitpicks doesn't ship outside the US, so I asked jh to make me one. Here is the first prototype:

It's an A4-sized metal sheet (from a would-be industrial shelf) glued to a piece of cardboard and slotted into a folded piece of cardboard. The magnets are cut from a council-recycling fridge magnet. Not (yet) portable but it does the job :-)

Then I found a forum thread about knitting faster, with a post from Aaron Lewis about knitting sheaths; a google search led to his blog, where he has videos of him using a knitting sheath. I'd read about these before, during my own gansey-knitting period, but I don't think they can be adapted to circs, which is mostly what I knit with now.