Support thread from Arts & Crafts for the blankets

[tribpot]

We've been talking quite a lot on the main thread about getting the stitches right for a particular square with a lovely heart design in it. You need to be registered on Ravelry to see it here or with the designer's website (also free) to see it here.

The race is on to see whether any of us can complete it without going completely insane at the difficulty of some of the patterns, so we are having a (supportive) 'heart-off' this weekend to try and get it done without flooding the main thread with messages about it.

On the cast list so far are: GleamingHeels, MinnieBar and me, but all are welcome - beware though, you have to supply your own valium.

I've just recharted it to get it down to a size that will knit out to (about) 6", so have chopped out 4 rows of border from the bottom, 2 stitches of border from the sides and 2 stitches of the plain bit between the outer and inner border. So I'm starting with 29 stitches. I'd prob prefer to have 3 rows of border and 3 side stitches of border too, but as the square is going to be put into a larger blanket (unless rejected by our Blanket Mistresses Pistey and Knotty) I thought a slightly scrappy border would probably be okay.

Just checking in to see how Team Heart is faring .. I have Arm Phobia at the mo - just finishing the baby kimono for a baby born early this morning (exactly two weeks late) but just can't be arsed knitting the sleeves. I think my big worry is trying to make sure they're exactly the same length and so don't look as wonky as hell!

Hope all are enjoying their knitting pursuits!

Hi trib! I'm back at the knitting. work gets in the way Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday!!

Still plodding on with the blanket its taking ages!!

I'm looking for something to make for my sisters birthday in June as a jokey gift as she's been taking the p about me being a middle aged knitting pleb! Will check ot ravelry but if you know of anything let me know!

Hello all - sorry to be AWOL so long, but all three came down with a D&V virus over the Easter hols which was messy, to say the least and then this week has been manic.

I've started a jumper for DS, here (because I'm such an expert at cables now, obviously) but it's been slow going and I'm not even sure I'm doing it right? only one way to find out!

Some lovely patterns linked to above. I keep thinking 'Ooh, I could do that/that looks great!' and then have to remind myself I'm still yet to sew up DD1's top .

Looking forward to seeing pics of the blankets too.

Ah now, this is good, Glaikit. The woman who sits next to me at work was very dismissive about knitting, until I brought in this and she started crying and told me she was pregnant. (As an aside, she is having an absolutely shit pregnancy and is currently laid up with a bronchial infection and on the penicillin, horrid).

Anyway, she told me she thought of knitting as 'just scarves' but even with 'just scarves', there's the omnipresent clapotis. I also like the prismatic - so jokey but also practical! How about a witty hat like escargot or the fabulous Regina? Or how about a Kindle cover? (This link may not work, but if you search on Ravelry for Kindle covers there are loads - better present if your sister has a Kindle than if she doesn't!)

I now have just over 12 hours til my 'finishing techniques' course starts and I need to get knitting the squares I have to take to practice on - garrgghh!

Oh I am loving the escargot Trib. I often wear a squishy beret-style hat which I fear makes me look like Che Guavara as I have brown, wavy shoulder-length hair and I think that might rather suit me?

I like the hats, but I think thats a bit beyond me at the moment!
Sadly she doesn't have a Kindle, but what about this wee-willie-warmer. She is single, but you never know when it may come in handy!!

Depends on your sister of course, Glaikit, but it might seem like a Smug Married's present to a single gal! The Regina hat is super-easy, btw, or at least the pattern is fantastically well-explained. As well as the escargot I really want to do Hermione Hearts Ron - oh and Selbu and Quincy and Beaumont but none of that is really suitable for a spring knitting conversation!

These flowers are very cute, too.

Minnie - the Che look can definitely work! But I'm sure he would have rocked an escargot hat if he had wanted to :)

Am back from my course on professional finishing techniques - I'm exhausted! But it was great.

Good stuff Trib! Do you do this for a living?

Right, I'm going to make this scarf for DSis

But I don't understand this bit, as it says repeat until you have 65 sts but I can't see where I pick up the stitch? It says to slip all stitches pwise.

Scarf:
Cast on 10 sts.
Purl 1 row.
Inc R1: sl 1, yo, k to end.
R2: sl 1, p to end.
Repeat last two rows until you have 65 sts total.
Even R1: sl 1, yo, ssk, k to end.
R2: sl 1, p to end.
Repeat last two rows until scarf measures 47? from cast on edge.
Dec R1: sl 1, yo, sssk, k to end.
R2: sl 1, p to end.
Repeat last two rows until you have 10 sts remaining.
Bind off.

The yarn over is where you make the extra stitch, Glaikit - so you slip one to create the edge, then yarn over and then knit - voila.

And, no, not my profession, which is NHS IT :) But I strongly recommend the course to anyone who is a keen knitter - we all felt it should be mandatory for anyone before they start, so you don't have to go through the 'oh my god noooooooooooo' phase of being shown really simple tricks that can make such a MASSIVE difference to the way something looks. I've ripped down the little cardigan I had been doing to have another go at picking up the stitches underneath the arm and OH. EM. GEE. Cannot believe the difference. Now, admittedly it was fine before, certainly no-one being presented with it as a gift would go 'bloody hell - what have you done?' but nice to see it looking the way it does on the photos on Ravelry!

This is the course - the tutor runs them all over the country so it is not necessary to come to Leeds to partake of her wisdom - although I will say they now host the workshops at Salvo's, which won best Italian restaurant on the F Word a couple of years back so you can have a very reasonably priced, marvellous sarnie during the lunch break as well - what's not to like!

Here ends my plug for local businesses in Headingley and the Rowan consultancy goddess that is Emma King. :)

Yarn over mastered!! I'm on holibobs now so plan to get a bit of knitting done once dss birthday is over and done with. my baby boy is one on Monday :o

Oh wow, happy birthday WeeGlaikit! How exciting.

My baby surprise jacket is now gracing another baby in your vicinity, Glaikit, so if you see her (she's on my Ravelry project page) you will know her at once! Erm, assuming her parents dress her in that jacket every day - I'm sure they will :)

Right. Don't ask me why, but this weekend I shall be mostly doing a moebius scarf - worth watching the YouTube video just for the 'WTAF' feeling.

Oh and I should add, honourable mention to the fantastic Dr Who shawl - I was trying to do a tardis last night (obviously) and was getting freaked out by the instructions on how to do cable stitches without a cable. Eeeek!

how on earth does that work?

No knitting for me this weekend. I will mostly be eating cake and marsjmallow top hats. with maybe a cheeky

No idea Glaikit. None whatsoever.

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Amazingly, it seems to be going well!

Happy Birthday wee Glaikit!

V impressed with the Tardis scarf! I say I don't like sci-fi but I love Dr Who. And Star Wars. And The Matrix. And Bladerunner... !

Phew! Birthdays are exhausting!!

Trib how is the impossible scarf going?

Tis done and I have to say, in a way that sounds stealth-boasty but isn't meant to, it actually is quite easy to do. Much easier to do, in fact, than understand what it is you are actually doing. Just need to sew the ends in.

As you'll see, I started in cheapy grey fake-aran from Hobbycraft (gotta love those 400g uber-balls) and then when I realised I could make it I started again with my amazing Manos de Uruguay silk blend. However - MEGA TOP TIP - if you get yarn in a hank like this do not attempt to knit with it like this, it has to be wound into a ball. I must have spent 5 hours untangling that little mess at the weekend.

How was the birthday party, Glaikit? I'm sure ds was v excited to be turning 1.

He had a ball and has been spoiled rotten! I need an extra room for all the stuff he got!

I'm very impressed with the scarf. I'm a long way off even attempting something like that! But I'm enjoying doing my sisters scarf. I might make one for me afterwards!

I have a question SSK and K2tog to me appear to do the same thing and you swap one ofr the other? I find K2tog easier than SSK.

Glaikit - this page is a really good guide to increases and decreases.

ssK and k2tog are not quite the same, with ssk the stitch slants left and with k2tog it slants right. This can be quite important if you're doing a pattern like lace - or like the tardis, for that matter, where you're wanting stitch definition to help make the shape stand out. I've done a little sample but not sure it's exactly clear, picture to follow!

Tribpot, as always, thank you! I did do one of each to see if they look different and to my untrained eye they didn't! So much to learn!

Glaikit, image of knitting on my ironing board - the decreases on the left are ssk, on the right k2tog.

How do I follow you (is that even the right term??) on Ravelry??