I second circular needles. I am a big fan for a number of reasons:

1) if there is only one piece, it is harder to lose one. (I cannot overemphasize this one) 2) The weight of the knitting is more centrally supported, between two hands or on your lap 3) No Long Pointy Things that freak people out and poke your neighbor

I do not have circular needles. I will have to try them.

I agree that they are probably best for traveling and for any project that is liable to get big and bulky. (The first time I used circs it was for a baby blanket project. . . it was ages before I actually used them to knit in the round.)

I bought the most delicious sock yarn - I wanted a good bright shade or red to make these socks - I had a bluer red but it wasn't really what I wanted. So I went to the Blue Moon Fiber Arts website and bought this yarn for those socks and then because I've been looking at this stuff for eons I also picked up Valkyrie from the Raven Clan colorway - and it's simply gorgeous! The picture just doesn't do it justice.

Now I want to order skeins of each and every one of the Raven Clan yarns.

Ooh. That's probably really dangerous for you to have linked to. That's even easier than my yarn store. Which I drove past today but did not go in.

How much should the circular needles cost me? What size should I get for starting out? I'm just doing generic projects right now, so gauge is not all that important; I just keep going 'till it's the size I want. Once I start doing stuff I need to piece together it'll matter, but right now it's all relative.

I haven't bought needles in a while, but online I saw circulars for $7-10. As for size, look at the yarn you already have and on the label it will show a size recommendation. If you are lucky they will all be the same size rec's, but you could always just buy an average of what the rec. Really big yarn will need bigger needles though.

I have a interchangeable set of Denise that I LOVE [link] they are $50, but I saw some on ebay for cheaper. They are plastic which not everyone likes and they do not have the tiny tiny needles you need for socks and lace so you have to buy those separate if you ever want to do that type of work.

Okay, thanks. I have plans for the yarn store tomorrow, before I leave for the rest of the month. Will let you know how it goes! Hee.

I have a interchangeable set of Denise that I LOVE

I haven't knitted in a while, but I also love my Denise interchangeables. And I like the plastic: not as noisy or slippery as metal, not as friction-y as wood.

I will splurge on knitting needles and only use addi Turbos. They're fast and slick and make a satisfying click-click noise. I used a gift card to buy a set of addi Clicks (their version of the interchangable thing) and I like the flexibility but need to buy more tips. I tend to use a lot of 16" needles, so I've bought a bunch of those in sizes 6-15. I knit tight, so I usually have to go up a few sizes to get gauge.

I love sock yarn but get impatient knitting socks, so I use it for lacy scarves or shawls.

Hey what sizes do the addi lace needles run in?

I'm knitting a shawl on sixes - currently only at the very beginning so I'm using straights but will be switching to circs once I'm further along.

I am not sure because I've never used the lace needles. I have only used the regular Turbos.