One of my favorite things....

Removable stitch markers! These little babies are the best most useful ones I've found.  They are from cocoknits and come in a fun little container.  

Pros:

• Light - these are thin but strong metal and slide easily across needles. They don't add weight to my already getting heavy shawl. When I use them to mark rows they don't pull on the stitches.  These don't feel cumbersome and work on my little sock stitches and larger shawls without getting in the way of either.
• Colorful - Always a plus to have pretty decorations. It's also good for marking different stitch patterns or end of round verse repeats.
• Magnetic - I love metal accessories! cocoknits has a great bracelet that utilizes their tool's stickiness.  Also, I have some how-to's in the works for keeping track of all the little do-dads that I find in my couch cushions.  Having metal stitch markers increases how well I can keep track of them.
• Removable - The sharp end on these opens like a safety pin.  This makes it super easy to use these as row counters.  On the shawl below I put one at the beginning of every 12-row repeat.  I used six at a time because I had to repeat the pattern 24-times (Cutting it down into four chunks made it easier to handle mentally).  I was able to detach them easily and keep the extras hanging from the first one waiting to be used.  No hunting around required! Unlike the plastic spiral makers, these don't constantly prick your hands. I'm not sure how anyone uses them, they're painful!  These are sharp enough to pierce yarn or even a project bag to keep a few in waiting, but because they are like safety pins the sharp end is hidden away. 

Not really cons:

• On my set, the paint is chipping off on a few. It looks like the new ones have a double coat of paint, so they may have fixed this problem already.  And this is something that if I really cared I could fix with a coat of colored or clear nail polish.  But I feel like it's worth a mention.
• Cost, these are more expensive then most basic stitch markers.  To me me, this was worth it for the quality, the amount they truly are ingenious little things and supporting a great business. But again it's worth a mention.  I have found because I can keep track of these by either attaching them or sticking them places with a magnet I don't lose them. 

As you can see I'm still working on my sunwalker.  I started this in the fall for the Julie Asselin KAL.  While the end date was last month, I'm making slow and steady progress on it. I'm almost done with the first section and finally made it to ball #2/3.