Knit, Crochet and Natter into 2021

[lazylinguist]

A thread for chat about woolly crafts. All welcome, including complete beginners.

Previous thread here

I think I'd find left-handed really hard! I taught myself a few years ago to knit with different yarns in each hand to do Fairisle, which felt really awkward too. When I made my recent jumper with the Fairisle yoke, I ditched the two-handed approach, as I found it actually made me slower than just dropping one yarn and picking up the other!

Btw sophs - glad your CAL yarn is on its way too!

Oddly, the hardest bit was the chain from what I remember. My brain just couldn't work it out.

Interesting about the spirals, I must tell her to so she can try it out. She has a crochet farmyard animals book with a ram in it I think but she hasn't got that far though it.

I'm still working away slowly on my jumper but have started anothet sock. So I have two completely different socks in completely different colours on my needles at the moment. Keeps things interesting for my varying levels of concentration...

Woo hoo!

The grey and white is going to look so nice @lazylinguist glad you've received yours! Not jealous at all

Planning to finish this 1 year+ old WIP this week.

That's pretty, CrochetBug ! I was about to print out the CAL pattern, then realised how mamy pages it has . Might work from it on my laptop instead!

Thanks @lazylinguist I love the grey and white you've bought. What do you think about that brand of yarn? I used the bonus chunky for something and found it quite scratchy.

You're all so organised, planning colours, printing patterns. I haven't even looked to see what yarn I have yet. I think I've got mostly aran not DK so may use that and adjust my starting chain accordingly.

It feels quite soft actually! I'd far rather use real wool, but the cost for making a thing that size is eye-watering!

I've got squares! Not neat but they're still square! Just need to work on tension. I've been doing a bit in between teaching my 8 year old fractions. I'm hoping to have a perfect square by the end of the week! X

@lazylinguist that's good then. I've noticed difference in softness within a brand before. For example stylecraft special aran was beautifully soft. I ordered the dk version for a scarf and its nowhere near as nice.

Well done @itsme. Keep practicing and they will be perfect! I don't envy you teaching fractions!

@CrochetBug that blanket is stunning 😍
And well done @itsme feels so good once it finally clicks and all comes together!

@lazylinguist 65 pages isn't it? I literally only selected the pages with the pattern on to print, not the whole thing!

Hi folks, I’ve been lurking on this and previous thread. I love seeing everything in progress and completed, it’s a real mood lifter! The only problem is how much wool I’ve accumulated as I re-started knitting in first lockdown to use wool I have been hoarding since maternity leave nearly 10 years ago! Also I watched Dark on Netflix and got knitwear envy!

I spend a lot of time in online meetings and knitting helps me pay attention rather than fidgeting or doodling. I also like having something to show for the time too.

I also like how knitting forces you to learn - my mum and grannies taught me and I come from a place and time that the girls did handicrafts even at primary school so I could competently use a sewing machine by age 10 (long gone from my brain and hands now!). So I would have thought of myself as a capable knitter and the past year has changed that a bit!

Current project is a nice jumper - hopefully the picture will upload ok. I also want to says thanks to lazylinguist not only for setting up 5he threads but for the boob lights recommendation- so useful!

👋 @leaningtoweroflisa

Love the knitting. What are your little stitch markers??? I've only just bought some which arrived today..

Boob light is perfection, so handy.

Hello @Leaningtoweroflisa - that jumper looks so soft and cosy! I love the colour too!

Glad people like the boob lights! I will have to tell dh that you've adopted his stupid name for them.

Good that you've de-lurked, Leaningtoweroflisa - jumper looks lovely! You are so right about it making you learn. Between learning new knitting and crochet skills and teaching myself a new language, I'm hoping I will stop my brain turning to mush during all this lockdown time.

itsme - yay!!! So glad you mastered the art of squares! Onwards and upwards!

Thank you 🤗 they are from charmed knitting- a fab Xmas present from MIL. They make a cheerful little tinkling noise too (as there’s so many stitch markers around the raglan increase - also I am pretending I know what that means!).
Wool is drops brushed alpaca silk which is lush and I do not know how it is so cheap for such a fab yarn. Work is very stressful so I have to keep getting hold of myself and knitting in a lovely yarn in a nice colour with pretty tinkly stitch markers is a good shortcut to mindfulness grounding and the counting can be a good calming technique but it’s always easier to say that sort of thing when not actively stressed.

I’m meant to be knitting a mermaid tail blanket for one of my nieces but I got fed up with it yesterday (a crap day) and started this jumper instead, funnily today has been much better!

Yay! Well done itsme! We're also doing fractions in maths (yr6)...& designing web pages in ICT .

CrochetBug I like the colours of the blanket; right up my street!

I'm on with orange crewmate -the yarn actually seems more yellow to me but dd1 assures me it's orange 🤷‍♀️

This is what I have so far.. I find it easier with this 3.5 hook that I had lurking in a drawer to the 5 I got recommended. X

Oh dear; dd2 wants to learn to crochet...turns out I'm not the best teacher for it I don't think :/ we've stumbled at how to wrap the wool for a magic ring (possibly not helped by her sitting facing me, rather than at the side of me copying). We'll try again tomorrow.

Crochetbug I love the blanket, especially the colours!

My yarn arrived today and I’ve repurposed some Christmas cardboard that we hadn’t managed to shove in the recycling. I don’t know whether to do a swatch... I think my tension is a bit tight but I don’t plan on making it to the ranks of the elite crocheters where my blanket has to be the same size as everyone else’s. As long as it’s straight, I think I’m ok with it being a bit bigger or smaller than the pattern says. —But does a swatch make it look like I know what I’m doing?—

I'm toying with the idea of doing a swatch, InTheNightWeWillWish - not really for size, but to see how tight/baggy the stitches come out with the recommended hook size. I've bought more yarn even than the pattern suggests because I want it as a big drapey throw for a double bed, so I can repeat some rows if I need to make it bigger, but I want to get the looseness/tightness of the stitching how I want it.

Sooo... I made a list earlier of who said they were doing the CAL. How many of us are still waiting for yarn?

Ooooh lovely colours @InTheNightWeWillWish
I'm definitely not bothering with a swatch, I'm too much of an eager beaver haha!

I'm still waiting @lazylinguist but hopefully it will turn up tomorrow

I think those colours are going to look fantastic, InTheNightWeWillWish! I know I'm going to feel a bit jealous when I see everyone else's colourful creations, but I need to remember mine is to match my bedroom!