Knitting chat

[tamum]

Just thought I would start a thread that can be resurrected when any of us have bits and pieces to share.

NQC, there is a tie pattern in the latest issue of Interweave Knits

For hand-dyed yarn fans, I recently ordered some silk from Curious Yarns that was gorgeous. Highly recommended!

Marina, the hats you saw were easy ones. Well, the big cashmerino one was a bit tricky, but the others were easy.

I think I'll probably frog the moebius scarf, as I think it's far too narrow/short, but it's worth a go ...

I use DPNs, but I hate them. Always dropping stitches, and getting annoyed.

can I chat even though I don't know half the words? just started knitting again (last time I was 8) having been seduced by the gorgeous yarn. I'm knitting this and I'm really liking cashmerino. Might get it done over xmas if I'm lucky...

That looks pretty, phillipat.

My next project, after I make something for FIL, will be some boobs. I have the pattern, but I don't think I have yarn in the right sorts of colours ...

That looks lovely- is the cashmerino good to knit with then? You're right, yarn choices have expanded so much in the last few years. I think the internet has helped a lot, it's really broadened people's horizons. I like looking at knitting blogs to see pictures of knitted garments on real people! I think I might try the Pearl Buck Swing jacket from IK next.

Cashmerino is very nice to knit with. A bit of synthetic in is, a bit of cashmere, quite a bit of merino. Very comfortable and pleasant.

But then, I like everything that's got a reasonable amount of give to it, and doesn't make me itchy.

Maybe both methods are magic loop but the way i do it is with a long circular, and you halve the stitches and pull the loop through as you would if you were going to use another circular, but instead you pull the right hand needle through again and knit with that, so there are two loops, one in the middle of the knitting and one near the join. You are able to do this because the circular is longer than usual.
If you can knit with two circulars, its basically the same but less hassle.

Oooh, Giraffe, I may ask you more about this later, when I work up the nerve to try it.

I always have super-long circulars, as I use the Denise set. So this would be the perfect solution for me.

Oh, has anyone on here done dying? I'm really looking forward to it, now.

Dyeing.

I'm supposed to be sewing up the most complicated thing I've ever knitted, but instead I'm sitting here posting this! It think I'm just putting it off! It's a beautiful cardigan for my dd (13 months), but it involved 14 small balls of wool (7 colours) and so it has about a million ends. Will someone PLEASE kick me off here and tell me to go and finish it!

Go and finish it. Now. Nah, tell us more about it

There is often some dicussion about dyeing on UKHK- a lot of posts about Kool Aid I seem to remember.

I think we'll be doing natural dyeing. At least, when I asked my painter friend, she immediately wanted to do natural dyeing.

Actually, a local friend's husband does spinning, and also dyeing, with natural materials. I should pick his brains.

The kool-aid thing also tempts, although I guess I'd have to get someone to bring me sugarfree kool-aid from the US, right?

I guess so. I've never seen it here to be honest. Might be worth asking on UKHK as the vast majority are UK based. Natural dyes sound good though.

It's from a book called PipSqueak. It has stripes of varying thicknesses, and then every so often, a wider stripe with either hearts or flowers knitted in it. It's gorgeous, but it's taken sooooo long to knit.

My next project is a really nice, mindless knit for my nephew - a jumper - plain but with stripy sleeves.

Yep. Just ask away, not sure i explained it very succinctly but when you try it you'll wonder why you ever struggled with double points. I am the hat QUEEN, i know.

Oh, that sounds just like one I knitted dd, it was this but in more pinky colours. The worst thing for sewing in ends ever, drove me mad. She's had a few years' wear out of it though, it still looks nice

Tamum - that pattern is in the same book as mine! It's very, very similar, but the heart stripe in mine comes at least once more, and there's the flower stripe as well.

Hmmm, not sure I'm willing to give up the title of hat queen. You can be fairisle hat queen, and I can be texture hat queen?

I do original hats, with textures from Barbara Walker books. I even wrote out a pattern, in some sense, for a MN person, for a hat covered in butterflies. It is very pretty, but in bamboo, which has no give, and hence is a very stupid hat. It'd be ok in wool, though.

What is "Intarsia"? Is it when you don't carry the wool across the back of the shape?

Exactly, littlefish. It's good for blocks of different colours.

OK knitting people:

I was taught to knit by my nan when i was a child. I haven't made anything since i was about 14 (20 years ago).

Am finding myself at home with nothing to do apart from feel crapola after chemo. I spend about a week dying from TV overdosing during each cycle. So I was thinking about starting knitting again, but I haven't got a clue where to buy any stuff now - there don't seem to be any haberdasheries around these days.

Where are the best on-line options, and any recommendations on something simple, beautiful and relatively fast to make - want to do something good quickly to fuel motivation! I'm probably going to need some kind of manual to remind me how to do the more complicated stuff. I think I can remember how to start, knit and pearl, but casting off and anything more than that is buried deep in my memory......

How's the chemo going Lalaa? Any joy with the Herceptin (sp)

I've knitted some Debbie Bliss patterns for my dd and other children. They are really easy to follow, but come out beautifully.

I've got a link someone to an online wool shop - I'll see what I can find!

falalaa, I've been reasonably happy with angelyarns, but others haven't.

Where do you live? There may be reasonably nearby options for needles.

Alternatively, if you CAT me your address, I can send you a few random balls of different types of yarn, and some of my old metal needles? Just to get you started, like.

Oh, and I really like the first Stitch'n'Bitch for learning to knit - I used to knit as a child, but forgot all of it. I only started again a bit more than a year ago.