Hurray for Knit Klips

I was going nuts trying to unite the two halves of the rib warmer and knit up the back. It kept turning into a mobius strip - it took about 7 attempts because I would get it right, set off knitting, and then find it had flipped again. So I Knit Klipped the two halves together and that prevented it flipping inside out and getting that pesky twist - they are a brilliant invention.

It wasn't easy to buy my Knit Klips, though. I asked first at a big knitting shop - and I'm not going to name them because they were so sweet. They had never heard of Knit Klips, so I explained that I'd seen them on the Internet and they were like pegs with a single prong so that you could line up single stitches. 'Oh', said the chap. 'I know. Like bull dog clips.' He ran up the shop to get one to show me. 'You can buy these in the Post Office just up the road,' he said. Well, no, not like bull dog clips at all! Any other kind of clip or stitching seems to either get in the way or pull the knitting. I wanted Knit Klips.

So, I got out some old knitting magazines and began ringing around. What a nightmare. The British are rubbish at retail. You'd think people who worked in specialist shops would like knitting and know all about it, even if they couldn't stock everything. I got several 'don't knows', several triumphant 'We don't stock thems,' one or two 'there's no call for thems' and then a man answered the phone. 'Hello?' he said, suspiciously. Somewhat thrown I asked if he was the X wool shop. 'Yes, but this is the house!' He cried. 'What have you rung the house for?' I said I'd rung the number that presumably somebody had paid to have put in the magazine and rang off before he had a nervous breakdown. I almost didn't feel like trying again, but I wanted Knit Klips. So I rang one more shop and asked if they stocked them. There was a long pause and then this unpleasant woman snarled, 'What do you mean, Knit Klips?'

Then I remembered the Knitting and Crotchet Guild. One last call. Speaking very slowly and clearly with a pause between each word I said: 'Do you stock an American knitting accessory called Knit Klips? And this brisk voice replied: 'Yes. Do you want a pack of 12, 18 or 24?'

They are worth all the effort it took to get them - don't be put off by the lurid pink colour, either. They are well made and feel nice. If you ever sew any pieces of knitting together, and especially set in sleeves, Knit Klips are the answer.