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Original poster

Knitters' Thread ...

141 replies

NotQuiteCockney · 08/07/2006 19:40

I have started knitting again. I've finished two baby hats (one with a four-eyelet design, another with panels of a fern-looking lace) and am working on one with a simple all-over lace.

I figured lace made sense for this weather.

What is everyone else working on?

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tamum · 26/07/2006 11:58

Ooh, they're nice! I actually used to make crochet squares when I was at primary school, so I can do it, just need to get back into it really. The cardigan I am doing at the moment like this but better I hope and dark blue requires a crochet border (as does the tie front cardi that is waiting to be blocked) so I must get into it. They tell you the UK equivalents, don't they, so I am hoping I can muddle through...

Pruni

bundle · 26/07/2006 13:16

oh yes crochet borders much easier - i had rowan scarf pattern that involved picking up a squillion stitches..i instead did a lovely curvy border thing

lionheart · 26/07/2006 22:16

Doesn't it seem a bit strange to be knitting when it is so hot?

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 28/07/2006 07:11

Goodness I wander off and the thread fills with people saying knitting is odd in this weather, and talking about crochet.

I've almost finished the flames hat, and had a new Knitting Revelation: If I decide I've made a major error and need to start unknitting, I need to put the project down and walk away. Because about half the time, when I look at it the next day, I'll find I haven't made an error at all.

Not sure what I'll make next, I still need one Scally hat, one hat for a dear friend here (who I think will get the great lace hat that will fit now), one for my sister's new baby (girl, September), and one for a friend's new baby (unknown, nowish).

I think the flames hat may be too big, anyway, and will have to go for a two-year-old.

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lionheart · 28/07/2006 10:19

No, you're right about this. The blanket I'm making and which I'll return to when the weather cools down, will probably be ready just in time for the next heatwave.

So I should get back to it now.

TooTicky · 28/07/2006 10:26

Can I just barge in and ask if anybody has knitted with hemp? If so, where did you get it from?

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 28/07/2006 10:28

It's not barging, TooTicky, this is a general knitting thread!

I have hemp, but haven't knitted with it. I got it from Purl Soho I think it's called? Anyway, a shop in NYC. (Actually, DH got it.)

From what I know, hemp is very similar to linen, and I'm sure, as a vegetable fibre, it will be kinda annoying to work with (veg fibres have no "give").

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warthog · 28/07/2006 10:43

NQC I have the same problem! I kick myself for having made a mistake, sit for hours unpicking, or even worse change the pattern to cover the mistake only to find I wasn't wrong in the first place. So infuriating!

I'm nearly finished my first sock. It's ok to knit because it's small.

I'm still upset that there's no really good wool shop in London. And by good wool shop I mean one that has floor to ceiling shelves packed with wool, spanning two floors at least and a little tea room at the back so you can have tea & cake whilst leafing through patterns dreaming about your next project. Perhaps one day I'll open my own...

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 28/07/2006 10:46

Yeah, put it down, come back and check again. (I've gotten better at unknitting, too.)

Just to make you happy, I will link to the yarn store I will be visiting in just over 2 weeks: drool at this

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Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 28/07/2006 10:46

No tea and cakes, though, but there's a starbuck's next door. They do have everything.

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Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 28/07/2006 10:46

"starbucks". Sheesh.

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TooTicky · 28/07/2006 10:48

Ah, but I'm in love with the naturalness and eco-cool of hemp. And I can't afford to buy any readymade hemp clothing, so I could probably put up with its inconveniences. Not that I have actually FINISHED any piece of knitting larger than a teddy's jumper in many years...
Generally, I love the creative side of knitting - turning a picture into a knitted design, the colours and textures. The shaping and getting it to look like a garment I find difficult and tedious. My grandmother is an instinctual knitter - the sort who knits a sock just for the fun of turning a heel, can knit both ways without turning it round, shape anything without using a pattern, and watch television throughout. High standards I will never reach, I fear!

warthog · 28/07/2006 10:48

I meant it's ok to knit in this heat, because it's small!

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 28/07/2006 10:51

Hmm, hemp is pretty pricey, and I'm not sure it is that ecological. Isn't it, like cotton, grown with a lot of fertilisers etc? I think wool is probably one of the better fibres, as it's natural and less processed etc etc.

If you enjoy colour work and don't enjoy shaping, then I would recommend making flat things. Make a shawl, or a scarf. Hats are ok, not too much shaping.

Can you stand sewing?

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warthog · 28/07/2006 10:54

Yeah I've seen that pic. It's in Toronto though isn't it? You could get lost in there for hours!

TooTicky, lucky you having a grandmother that can do that stuff who's still around. Mine was amazing but she died when I was very young. I'd love to know how to knit without turning. Think she could teach you, and then you could teach us?

TooTicky · 28/07/2006 11:02

Hemp doesn't need fertilisers and pesticides on the whole, whereas cotton production uses a scary amount of chemical intervention (am I right in saying that something like a third of the world's pesticides are used on cotton?).
I worry about wool because it is so often produced unethically - many sheep die from exposure from being sheared too early in the year. Also the cruel practise of "mulesing" which is cutting a strip of flesh from the bottom area of lambs, to discourage blowfly. This is done without anaesthetic.
I've heard alpaca wool is a good option as they don't get eaten and conditions tend to be better.
I don't mind sewing - not too much though - gone are my days of trouser-making (for now at least).

TooTicky · 28/07/2006 11:05

warthog, when I've asked my grandmother about knitting backwards, she laughs it off and plays it down. She says she only taught herself to do it because she was too lazy to turn it round each time! She says it's very easy... I suppose it's just a matter of reversing your brain and working it out by trial and error.

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 28/07/2006 11:06

I've done it by trial and error, it's not hard, but it is slow.

Alpaca is very nice to knit with, I have some alpaca/wool blend, and also some alpaca/silk. I think 100% alpaca is maybe a bit angora-like?

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warthog · 28/07/2006 11:09

Wow! I didn't know that about the wool / cotton industry. It just doesn't end does it? Have to be so careful about what we eat, and now what we knit too! Had never considered knitting with hemp, but am intrigued now!

Does anyone know what brands of wool are ethically produced?

FanjoFanjoWhosGotTheFanjo · 30/07/2006 22:27

I've nearly finished my flame-stylee hat. Got to track down people to give them hats before I go on holiday!

warthog · 30/07/2006 23:04

is that you nqc? new name?

FanjoFanjoWhosGotTheFanjo · 31/07/2006 08:20

Yeah, sorry, still me.

warthog · 31/07/2006 11:52

like it!

so i always thought lace was made using a tiny crochet hook and special yarn. can you knit lace too? is it just very holey knitting iyswim, with lots of patterns / crossed stitches / single cables etc.?

nearly finished the sock. approaching the toe now, but finding the time is so hard. very difficult to justify sittiing down with tongue sticking out, trying to sort out botches when there are a million things to do... on the other hand, could be doing it instead of sitting on here...

FanjoFanjoWhosGotTheFanjo · 31/07/2006 15:50

Knitted lace involves a lot of yarn-overs, which does make big holes. Here's a sample link.

eenywifemum · 02/08/2006 02:05

I just have to post and say - as of yesterday I now know how to knit!! I've learned how to cast on & off, and knit, and tomorrow plan on learning how to purl. I've bought some yarn to make my DH a scarf but I wont follow a pattern I am just going to experiment with combining knitting and purling and go for it!! I am so excited though I had to mention it to someone