Great leaders don’t blame the tools they are given. Great leaders work to sharpen them. ~ Simon Sinek

The past several years, I’ve indulged myself in a pair of Signature needles during their anniversary sale. This year I acquired a set of US 6 straight needles. Normally, I wouldn’t buy straight needles any more, but this brand is an exception. While scarf knitting is no longer my favorite knit wear to produce, I still love wearing and giving scarves. Ten inch Signature straights make knitting a scarf sheer delight. The customizable tips and ends, make these needles more like art work than tools. I was eager to use them on my Sunset Cable Scarf. (I’m not sure if you I made a cable the wrong way. I’m a little annoyed at the mistake, but not enough to go back and fix it.)

This weekend I also purchased another US 5 needles. As I’m starting less projects and attempting to finish more (well, it’s not going to swell this month), my needle selection is growing. Normally, I prefer metal needles, but for my lace Spring Sunrise Shawl metal needles were just too slick. That meant a trip to my yarn store! They carry a new to me knitting needle, Lykke. This beautiful needle is made from driftwood. The points aren’t as piercing as the stiletto signature tips, but they are sharp enough for the lace sections of my shawl. Smooth joins allow the yarn to easily pass from cable to needle and back again. I see more of these needles in my knitting future. I would really love it if they made dpns.

Today I tried out a new tuna salad recipe, tuna-cottage cheese scoops. My local library had some interesting low carb cookbooks. I checked out 300 15-minute Low-Carb Recipes. The British Hubby can eat the same three meals day in and day out. I prefer a little variety in the my salads. This has some really interesting meal ideas. Obviously, I haven’t tried all 300 recipes, but so far the first one really did only take 15 minutes to prepare. I also like the versatility in this salad. I can use it as a dip with raw veggies or I can put a scoop on a big salad. (I’m sure it would be even better on a warm croissant, but I don’t have any of those.)

Gracie is trying to convince me this salad is for her!