Still somewhat obsessed with finding additional information, this is a
Lavor 4mm Hook Point for Portuguese Style Knitting
What I really want to find out is WHY it has both – Is there some technique,
or is it just practicality so that the tool owner can do either.
Speaking of Practicality, if you don’t have one of Andrea’s pins, it turns out, that depending on what I am wearing, that either
Clover Yarn Holders,
Or, the
No-Coil Safety Pins
are great for the yarn holding if you don’t want to wear the skein around your neck.
I even found a blog page with video on how to turn a paper clip into a safety pin
As TNNA approaches, where Andrea will be teaching, I am having “visions” of countless shop owners, walking the show floor, with glorious skeins of yarns around their necks, happily knitting or crocheting or Portuguese Knitting. Sort of like the year at Soar where Ed had everyone wandering around dropping spinning while walking
Dear Wheat,
You are the only one so far that had problems playing my DVD in about 1000 DVDs sold. Please return it to me and I will replace it.
Please contact me to talk about your order.
Thank you,
Andrea Wong
I made an adaption to Andrea’s pin – not a pin at all, because I found I would unhook the yarn, walk away with the pin attached to me, change my clothes, and then have to go and find whichever cardigan, etc, it was pinned to. Now I use a necklace with a locking stitch marker on it. I thread the yarn through the marker, and then can simply remove the whole necklace, marker and yarn when I have to get up. I use a Wright’s Boye Jumbo stitch marker, but a split ring (coiled)stitch marker works just as well.
You use both the hook end and the pointed end of the set of needles of Portuguese needles (available from Lacis.com). The hook on one needle hooks the yarn – which slides easily off the smooth end – off the pointed end of the other needle.
The Lavor hook is also a tool used to correct knitting mistakes. Aversion can be found at Createforless.com
The hook end is used to rescue dropped stitches or when doing any style of knitting, to pick up stitches (along a finished edge). The stitches can then be knitted right off the pointy end. The working needle has to be the correct size needed for your project of course. One could use Afghan hooks with the long cords to knit back and forth, but the ends are sealed off with “buttons”. You would not have this problem with double ended circular crochet hooks.
P.S. Ms Wong. Hats off to you! I will buy anything you sell. You are a smart woman.
The reason for the knitting needle having a point and a hook is that it is intended for circular knitting using 4 or 5 needles. All stitches are either knit or purl and a hook is, in Portugal, traditionally used when either stitch is made, though the purl stitch is used when possible as it is quicker to make. The advantage of the “hook point” needle is that in circular knitting the hook is always on the right hand needle and matched against a point on the left hand needle. This makes it easier to pull the stitch from the left needle.
that just makes so much sense – thank you so much for sharing this information .