how long do you actually sit and knit / crochet for?

[KnittingForMittens]

I've been knitting a freestyle scarf / blanket type thing for over a month now and I am nowhere near finishing it. I am using Aran yarn for 5mm knitting needle. I think perhaps I'm not sitting long enough to do it! It really is a random project as I only learned to knit a few months ago. I probably sit for about 20 mins doing it (I'm quite slow) before moving onto doing something else because I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I'd say it is about 30 inches long ATM. Anyone else? Maybe I need to actually focus more.

I sit for a couple of hours most evenings but my DC are older and don't really require any input from me to go to bed. They were all out together yesterday afternoon so I watched a couple of episodes of a tv series and cracked in with my current project.

In the last month I have made a crochet doll, knitted 2 baby cardigans and matching hats, made a crochet 18" square and I'm finishing off a Christmas project but that is slow going because some of the pieces are fiddly and it needs lots of sewing up.

Hours and hours given half a chance. I can easily find I've 'wasted' a couple of hours listening to radio 4 and crocheting. I aren't pick up the current project until EVERYTHING I should have done is actually done!

Daren't not aren't

I should say that I've been crocheting for over 45 years and I'm pretty quick at making straightforward blankets and squares.

I've been knitting for about the same length of time and I pretty much stick to baby stuff and novelty items as they are quick to make. My youngest is 12 and would melt on the spot if I knitted him anything now. 😂

I'm faster crocheting than knitting, but get a lot done while I'm watching a film of box set. That said, I take on more small projects that bigger ones for exactly the reason you describe. I like being able to see more progress as I go.

Scarves and large blankets can take bloody ages and can feel like a knitting “black hole” for ages where you don’t see much progress. I often knit them alongside smaller projects so that I can get the “finished object” feeling in the meantime! Are you enjoying your project or does it feel like a chore given that you find yourself moving onto something else quickly? If the latter then it is ok to leave it for a bit and do something else. I do all my knitting/crochet/sewing etc during my son’s naps or at lunchtimes at work and in the evenings. I usually listen to an audiobook or watch TV (or read a book if easy knitting). I couldn’t do it without the entertainment. These days it’s usually 1-2 hours at a time, but I used to be able to spend the whole day knitting before I had a baby!

I'm crocheting quite a large blanket at the moment, and will do a bit or a lot any time I can. I will do half an hour as soon as I wake up, or half an hour before I go to sleep. I will also sit down with an audio book and do 1 to 2 hours if all my jobs are done. I am definitely seeing progress on my project.

Thank you all.

I have currently picked up crocheting as well after struggling massively! I find crocheting thinner yarns much better than knitting as it takes a hell of a long time to knit doesn't it?! I am waiting for my 8mm needles to arrive from eBay so I can begin knitting a baby blanket. But in the mean time, I'm just crocheting.

I have also found out a Hobbycraft has opened near me. I think I am in a very happy place now

I definitely knit slower than I crochet. If I do a knitted 6" square it will take me a couple of hours. I can make 3 crocheted ones in the same time. I definitely prefer crochet for blankets but choose to knit hats and baby cardigans as there are far more lovely knitting patterns.

I can sit with Netflix on autoplay and knit or crochet for hours. Literally hours. My favorite weekend is one spent alone with the remote, a couple bottles of wine and a yarn project.

I've been crocheting for about 30 years, and knitting for 2. I learned continental style knitting as you hold the working yarn the same way as for crochet. Knitting this way doesn't seem slow to me, but when I watch people knitting English style and doing a whole separate "throw" during a stitch it looks slow AF.

I agree that I prefer crochet for blankets etc. but knit for garments. I'm absolutely addicted to knitting socks.

Ah I am fast English style (I can do continental too which helps for stranded as I can do double handed) but I don’t “throw” in the sense of letting go with my right hand, it’s much more efficient movement than that

Well I am half way to crocheting a blanket... not perfect mind! Just wondering how do you all hold your yarns whilst crocheting? If you can find a YouTube vid that'd really help as I seem to struggle with it and end up not being able to pull more yarn through my fingers to crochet it if that makes sense?

I don't knit but I can crochet for a pretty decent chunk of time- I've got a few WIPs on the go which I work on during the evening in front of the telly.

KnittingforMittens I dont wind the yarn around my fingers as some do. I just run it between my index and middle fingers and lightly squeeze the fingers together to control tension. The whole in/around/loopy way drove me crazy.

I saw a youtube video for how to make a tension regulator to wear on your finger that relieves you of really having to hold onto the yarn. I'll see if I can find it for you.

I crochet & I find I get more done if I have my headphones on listening to music. The rhythm of the music helps me to concentrate & i get much more done that way.

@DoubleNegativePanda that's exactly how I want to do it. I am fed up of wrapping it around my fingers already lol! I will try it that way. Thanks for the vid :)

I havn't ceocheted long but I would say I do my project a couple of times a week once ds is sorted for bed etc I also have a cross stitch project on the go and I read alot. I don't see it as a race its enjoyable and passes some time in the evening instead of staring at the t.v. or my phone

Ha, I think I must be a continental style knitter too! I really don't get that whole extra winding thing, so much unnecessary effort!

I don’t see it as a race but I end up giving myself mad deadlines as I am always working on birthday presents etc

OP, if you've only recently learned to knit, have you got the knack of winding the wool round your index finger? I remember my mother showing me, and it was so much quicker.

I only say this because recently I saw a young woman on the bus, obviously a new knitter, very laboriously knitting without the index finger thing, and was dying to show her but didn't like to come across as an interfering old bag!

I can sit all afternoon/evening knitting when I'm in the mood - but then I'm long past having children who need attention. I never learned to crochet.

Shall be putting a LOT of hours in soon, knitting a (2nd) Nativity Set - the Jean Greenhowe pattern, if anyone's wants to know - very simple actual knitting and very clear instructions, but does need a lot of time.