I love the idea of the washer.. If I can find some with a small enough hole, I'm going to try that next. The reason I chose the knitting needles is because I wanted a flat surface to glue to, without the bulkiness of adding a bottle/dish. I didn't want anything to get in the way of the birds. I felt that a vase or something would make it harder to tell exactly what they were at a glance. The needle hardened back up after I removed it from the soil. I am convinced it was the moisture in the soil that softened it. I don't use insecticides and it was in my new grill planter, so there isn't anything residual because it was all new potting soil.... the only thing I can figure is it's a really old needle and is made of something other than what I assume is plastic. I only posted this so no one else gets the wrong kind.

The circular cables from KnitPicks don't have memory, so you can knit with them immediately, just as those K-Kables are advertised to do. As for the square needles -- I would think they'd be uncomfortable to hold when knitting for long periods at a time.

Funny you asked about these, I have a 16 year old who saw the larger ones and thought they'd be a great Xmas prresent to put on her list. When you use one of the 40% off coupons, the price isn't so steep for a novelty gift. If they use those expensive disk batteries then I probably won't replace them and just considerr them the novelty they were designed to be. Now on the flip side, my 84 year old mother saw them and thought they were a terrific idea as she used to knit even in the dark movie theaters.

Thanks for posting this. I hope I can remember it next year, I have lots of knitting needles.