Knitters - I want to start knitting again, any advice?

[TunipTheVegemal]

Basically, I knitted when I was a kid/teen (scarves, toys, the odd cable-pattern mitten). I wasn't going to start again but a month ago I bought a spinning wheel at auction and have been producing lovely handspun wool. It's fun sending it off to knitting friends but I'd like to do something with it myself.

Now, I can see that things have moved on in the world of knitting in the last 30 years. I've joined Ravelry but it's MASSIVE and I don't know where to start there.

So I'd like some advice about starting again, if you would be so kind.

1. What would be the best easy small projects to start with?
2. Are there good sources of online free patterns?
3. What are the best places to buy needles etc (but not yarn since I have that covered) cheaply?
4. Anything else I should know about 21st century knitting?

Thanks!

I think I will breed some acrylic sheep .
Knitting my own spun yarn is a bit lightweight, really. The really cool thing to do would be to knit out of yarn spun from sheep I have invented. I will call them Tribpot Sheep, after you.

I've just found some nyan cat patterns :) I just need to get to the wool shop and then I can get started. DD will pester me non stop until it is finished so as soon as its done I will post some pictures.

places first order for acrylic Tribpot sheep

once I have the sheep how easy is it to get started creating your own yarn?

Spinning with a drop spindle is easy, you could learn in a few evenings well enough to make knit-able wool, and a drop spindle is between £10 and £20 (there are some very pretty ones out there). Once you can do that you can make the shift to spinning wheel in a few more evenings, but a spinning wheel costs a few hundred pounds, typically, so it's financially more of a commitment.

I buy pre-carded wool tops which are ready to spin, but if you wanted to start from the cut fleece you would need to clean it and card it first.

If any of you is within reach: FibreEast is this coming weekend, 14-15 July. Google it.

CutItOut, seriously - please let me know. DS got birthday money and says he still wants the Nyan scarf. He's willing to pay good money!

hi racing, I am going to try and start one in a minute. If it comes together ok I don't mind doing another - will start a nyan thread for updates.

drop spindle is on my would like to buy list :) any suggestions for good places to buy one and the wool tops? I'm thinking this could be a good project for the summer holidays.

World of Wool for the fibre. Shiela Dixon at Handspinner for the drop spindles - I've found her super-fast and efficient.

thanks for the tips Tunip. How is the knitting going?

I've finished knitting the windmill bag and I just have to sew it together

I'm getting overambitious and keep thinking about jumpers - there's an easy-looking pattern in Stitch N Bitch for a big grey one with skulls on, which would work really well in Herdwick. But I'm not quite at the point yet where I can spin yarn to a predetermined width, though I can make an even yarn to whatever width the fibre seems to be telling me it wants to be. So I'm going to stick with small projects for a while yet, in case they go wrong.

I've also been practising techniques with some spare yarn - have mastered the 4 needle tube. Wensleydale makes a smooth yarn that has turned out to be good for learning new stuff.

DS1 (5) is getting very keen. He's working on a scarf for his toy rabbit. I've found he got on a lot better with full-size needles and handspun, than dd did with a kit I bought her last year - the long needles seem to work better for learning as I can hold the ends to steady them, and the handspun is less slippery than the acrylic and behaves a lot better.

I'm loving knitting with handspun. It's like it's alive (and not because I've overtwisted it....)

I learned as a kid but really did NOT get into it; then when pregnant with my first, I knitted some legging things....the legs were about 3 foot long ha ha....so gave up until a few years ago.

i saw a lush knitted throw in a dutch home mag which my sister in law drooled over. It was over 300 euros, i thought i could knit one as it was just straightforward stockinette stitch panels with garter stitch edge, three of these stitched together. It took me months but she loved it when received!
I was ill long term at the time, not working for 18 months so I really got into knitting, after discovering www.knitty.com and www.ravelry.com (loads of amazing free patterns!)
I would recommend Knitty for their "mellow" patterns, go to their pattern archive and click from the drop down menu what type of thing you want to knit, then it shows you photos of the items, in order of difficulty. Ravelry is a huge community of knitters and also people who crochet and weave, you can show your projects as you finish them, but more useful is the fact you can type in a yarn brand and see what other members have knitted using the same yarn.

I started with simple things, throws, scarves etc then took the plunge with socks and fingerless mitts. It's also useful to look on you tube and see tutorials (some are poor because you can't see what people are actually doing or they go too fast, but many are really informative and if you don't "get" written instructions, it's a great way to learn new techniques.

You will get a LOT of satisfaction from your knitting - if you get fed up with a pattern or change your mind, just "frog" it and reuse the yarn. also, it's lovely to see people's reactions when they receive handknitted gifts, a lovely handmade scarf means you think enough about someone to have spent all that time and effort on their gift (even if it is, say, two socks which aren't really the same size LOL!)

I also spin yarn now, but using a drop spindle. I mainly spin quite chunky yarn, as I have enough gorgeous sock yarn to make sufficient socks, scarves and mitts to last a lifetime ha ha ...even the worst-spun most chunky yarn looks amazing knitted up.

Incidentally if anyone has any suggestions for smallish easy to knit patterns, I would really appreciate.

I'm skynorth on Ravelry..are there any other Ravelers here?!

xx