Knit, Crochet and Natter Thread

[lazylinguist]

I was hoping to join a local rl knit&natter group, and then lockdown happened. But knitting and crochet are keeping me cheerful during lockdown and as the nights are drawing in!

There seem to be quite a few ongoing chat threads on other MN boards, so I wondered if there might be any interest in a rolling knitting and crochet thread, for anyone who fancies chatting about knitting, crochet and life in general of course! Total beginners and scarily experienced needle-wizards and everyone in between, all welcome.

Share your projects, yarn stash confessions, pattern niggles or newbie questions. Not sure if it will fizzle out after a few posts, but hey ho, worth a try!

@lazylinguist I quite liked when Dds swim club went back after lockdown as parents weren't allowed poolside but had to stay on site, I sat in the car crocheting with my ipad and Netflix on and a cup of tea, it was lovely to be sat peacefully for an hour instead of by the hot noisy pool.

I'll take crochet to my parents but haven't really taken it anywhere else. My mum is desperate for me to make her a blanket, I started making the Coastal Stash buster with Attic 24 woodland pack for her so haven't taken that with me as I wanted it to be a suprise but I don't think I'll get it finished in time for Christmas for her. Instead I think I'm going to get the Meadow A24 pack and do the CAL and it should be ready for mother's day/her birthday in March or May.

So, instead of finishing the blanket you've started but won't finish for
Christmas, you're buying more yarn and starting another blanket with a different deadline... 🤔 😂

@lazylinguist

5 motorbikes, TheEmoji? I thought my dh was bad with his two pedal bikes and umpteen fishing rods. My yarn stash is pretty modest really. Must try harder.

According to dh, when the boys were younger, there was a simple equation that governed how many bicycles we needed - X + 1 - where X is the number of bikes we already have! I suspect this applies to motorbikes and fishing rods too.

Here’s the start of the sock I started yesterday. I can’t say I’m loving that black yarn. Sooo scratchy! Fortunately the rest of the sock will be done in the other colour 😓

I don’t think I’ve ever knitted in public. I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate to be honest!

I think my yarn stash is relatively modest, but I did find about 10 balls of sock yarn when I went looking for some yesterday. That at least 18 months’ worth of knitting for me, so may be I’m a little deluded when it comes to my stash 😂

I crochet everywhere and anywhere. I've always got yarn and a hook in my bag when I go out.

Anyway. I've started my Among Us crew. I'm using DK and a 2mm hook. Its very small. (This is the first 6 rounds of a leg, next to my pinky nail for comparison)

I don’t think I’ve ever knitted in public. I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate to be honest!

I get a kind of perverse pleasure out of knitting in public. It feels like a slightly eccentric thing to do, and I am an otherwise a pretty conformist person. People sometimes ask me about what I'm knitting. One man once asked me to knit him a jumper. Total stranger.

Yes, tiny! Nice colour. If I get around to making them for the dc's stockings, apparently dd usually plays as black, red or yellow and ds as bright green.

I always play as yellow. DSs are lime and blue so I'll be making those next. Although I'm not sure I have lime yarn

Thank you so much for the link, Sarahduckobsessive. The idea of storing a tiny fraction of my stash in a thing made from my stash is a very pleasing one.

There’s was a programme on BBC 4 a year or so ago about knitting.

There were these Scottish Highland women knitting and l think rounding up sheep simulataeneously? Now that IS doing knitting and other things.

They were highland Fair Iske knitters and the sped of the knitting was so fast.

I've got a book about the history of Fairisle knitting. It's really interesting. There are pictures of the Highland women going around with these special needle-holding belts on so they could stick the needles there for a bit while they delivered a lamb or milked a cow or whatever. Amazing! The book has got loads of stuff about the different types of traditional Fairisle designs and how to design your own etc.

I've got four things on the go at the moment, an Attic24 hydrangea blanket, a bolero jacket for my friend's grandchild, a bunny (but the wool is awful) and some socks, but struggling with the thin wool and multiple needles.

Some lovely photos of WIP on here!

I don't knit in public but that's because I never go anywhere! Now more than ever! I do find it very relaxing in the evening with the TV on.

@SoupDragon absolutely 🤣 I'll carry on with this one for now and see how far I get but it's very autumnal so if I don't finish it by Christmas this year I'll make the Meadow one in the spring ish colours and give her that instead. Seems a bit odd to give an autumnal blanket in Spring, although she definitely wouldn't care either way.

Haha the Barbie bikini is buried in a granddaughters box of accessories at her house now. It was a crochet circle with a halter neck of chain stitch, fiddly but only took half an hour
I learned crochet after knitting and switch between the two. But it wasn’t til I joined Ravelry a few years ago that I learned how to do “ foundation less row crochet” . Much easier than trying to work the first row into a tight chain, lots of YouTube’s to explain it. It was a game changer
I’m happy to knit anywhere, it’s. 15 hour flight to one son and family , 8 to another so I always take it on board. And in holiday for relaxation
My two and a half year old granddaughter ( not the Barbie bikini one) does a good arm impression of me knitting! Ten year old grandson wanted to learn but quickly decided it wasn’t for him.

Can l ask for advice?

Here the glove pattern l cba to do on dp needles.

The random black mark is where the thumb increase starts. (it IS a Drops pattern🙄) if you were making it flat with the seam on the outside would you start where l suggested?

I could swap to a circular needle, but l find when you are only knitting a small circle it makes my hands ache.

Any suggestions?

And with photo....

OMG I cannot get that Among Us figure to work. The stitch count is off. Or I'm being dumb. Argh. I've frogged it so many times now. And it's so small and fiddly. my fingers hurt.

I'd start on the first black solid column on the palm beside where your arrow is so when you do your seam you're joining two solid colours I think.

I'd try a bigger hook - 2mm with DK is going to make it very easy to mess up the stitch count I think.

Failing that, I've found that it's very forgiving ... just ignore the stitch count if the shape looks right. I'm not convinced I've had even one that's been 100% accurate on the count.

Yeah that’s what l thought.

Thanks for the help.

I remember knitting a little dd age 2 1/2 a beautiful jumper in Rowan yarn. I did embroidery on it and everything. She took one look at it and said ‘That’s yukky’ 😭

Now age 14 she still refuses to wear anything knitted. Hats, gloves, scarves anything😩. She’s happy for me to make endless ammigurami though, even though she’s meant to be ‘making them’....

I’ve got an embarrassing number of WIPs in boxes but have dropped everything to make Baby gifts for a close friend - working on this blanket then a jumper, hat and musical mobile to do.

Also need to finish toys for my twins for Christmas - I didn’t get to make them for their birthday this year for the first time ever so need to sort them for Christmas!

@SoupDragon

I'd try a bigger hook - 2mm with DK is going to make it very easy to mess up the stitch count I think.

Failing that, I've found that it's very forgiving ... just ignore the stitch count if the shape looks right. I'm not convinced I've had even one that's been 100% accurate on the count.

Thanks. I usually manage fine with a 2mm hook. It makes a nice tight stitch.

I'm on the bit where I'm joining the 2 legs. It says 4 st in 1st leg. Chain 2. 12 in second leg. 2 in chain. 8 in 1st leg.
Which makes 26 dc (plus 2 chains) but the pattern said it should have 28dc.
Which isn't really a problem, I just used the leg join technique I've used on all the other ami I've done. But I keep either losing or gaining a stitch
To be fair I haven't slept for 2 days so am a bit tired. And unfortunately I can't leave it if its wrong. I just can't. I once frogged an entire doll that I'd been working on for a year because I didn't like the shape of the leg

I'll put it away until tomorrow and try again when I've slept.

I think the "missing" 2 stitches are the other side of the chain... the first time round you put 2 DC in one side and the next time round they go in the other.

So,:

1. 4 DC, Ch2, 12 DC, 2 DC in side of chain, 8 DC
2. 4 DC, 2 DC in side of chain, 22 DC.

This is the bit of the pattern that made least sense when I translated it! (Well, that and the visor but I winged that - it's basically a rectangle with rounded ends. As an aside, I stuffed the visor with the hanging tails of the yarn!)