Knit, Crochet and Natter 4 - Yarning into Spring

[lazylinguist]

A thread for knitters, crocheters and woollly crafters in general. All welcome, including total newbies! Previous thread here

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers on the thread! I wondered if my dc had forgotten, but I've just been given some lovely flowers by ds and some earrings from dd which are a ball of yarn with needles, so I thought I must share those on the thread! Please excuse my wet hair - she gave them to me straight after my shower and I couldn't wait to try them on!

Morning everyone! I was with you on the first threads, but then lost you - it's been a lot to catch up on...

Attached are my completed projects so far this year - my 2020 temperature blanket (which is far too big and heavy to actually use - that's a king size bed!) and an amigurumi griffin for DS. I'm also partway through a Sophie's Universe in Scheepjes Whirl, but if I'm honest, I'm not loving the cotton - very fiddly to crochet with.

A question for all you knowledgeable people - do you think you could crochet a basket in DK weight yarn? I like the idea of it as a stash buster, which could then hold the rest of my stash, but all the patterns online seem to be for a much bulkier weight - presumably because otherwise the sides are too floppy? I did wonder about trying to double up the DK yarn (my stash is almost entirely DK) but I wasn't sure if that would work, and even if it did, whether it would be horrible to crochet with. And l any advice welcome!

And I'm impressed at the running. Would love to get back into it, but I'm a bit of a fair weather runner - maybe when spring decides it's here to stay!

do you think you could crochet a basket in DK weight yarn? I like the idea of it as a stash buster, which could then hold the rest of my stash, but all the patterns online seem to be for a much bulkier weight

Somebody posted a brilliant pattern (on the first of our threads, I think) which was for a chunky basket made of a bunch of dk yarns (or potentially even a mixture of aran, dk or finer) held together to make a much thicker thread. It was perfect for stash busting because you could use pretty much anything! It waa quite 'rustic' in style because of the mix of yarns and colours. Hang on... I think I might have saved it as a favourite on Ravelry.

Yup. Here it is! scrap yarn basket

Morning all

That blanket is amazing BookShark so much work! Your Griffin is very cute in a regal way

Awh, that so sweet and clever of your daughter lazy!

Ouch to the running injuries, I tried a foam roller for a stiff calf and ouch, it hurts but it really works.

I still haven't cast anything on, I've been spinning instead. This one is my favourite so far but now it's plied and washed I think I've put too much twist into it and it could be softer with less.

How big is each square on your temperature blanket @BookShark ?

I've gone for a bamboo/cotton mix for mine with the idea I can use it for a picnic rug if nothing else. I've still not decided how I'm going to join the hexagons though.

Wow - your yarn looks beautiful, Flavia! As I already said, I'm very keen to try a bit of spinning. I'm turning 50 in October and my family are already asking me what I might like for my 'big birthday'. I think I might well ask for some spinning stuff. Or even a course if there are any near me.

Lovely earrings lazylinguist!

BookShark the griffin's fab (I'll not show dd2...she'd want one of those too )

Flavia your yarn's pretty. Do you have any idea what you'll make with it?

My girls have given me £20 of home made "online shopping" vouchers so I can pick yarn for one of the jumpers I wanted to make for myself...now to decide which one 😊

Happy mothers day. Love the earrings lazylinguist

I'm so jealous of the spinning flavia

I don't think my children even realise its mothers day

The little bear is finished; he's very cute 🥰

His arms don't want to be at his sides though; I suspect the original creator had them pinned down for the blog pictures.

He's gorgeous, @lucysmam!

I just googled spinning courses in my area. I might ask for a 2 day residential 'learn to spin' course here for my birthday. Looks amazing!

I normally leave the last quarter of the arms unstuffed, they tend to fall against the body then

Oooh, that's clever tizwoz ,thankyou. I'll try that on the second one!

Very cute bear @lucysmam and great earrings @lazylinguist. I got flowers and pink gin for Mother’s Day so I’ll be having a G&T this afternoon!

lazy Oh wow! That sounds like bliss! You should totally do it. I went to a half day course with lunch but it really wasn't long enough to get into the hang of it, it was so good though.

I've been saving for a traditional spinning wheel but I've set myself a target of running 5k before I buy it. I love my little nano but I'm running into its limits with the bobbin size and motor power more and more often now. It was worth the purchase though, I've learned lots and it's amazing for laceweight.

Lucysmam Well, I was thinking of using it as a contrast to a solid blue but that's about as far as I've got! Your bear is cute!

It really is fun CrochetBug didn't you say you have a spindle tucked away somewhere?

Sadly it's not me that has a spindle. And I really can't afford any more hobbies at the moment. Maybe one day though.

Oops, sorry! Yeah, they kind of sneak up on you and accumulate and don't they? Then the next thing you know you're wondering how much time and money that jumper actually cost

I've done 2 rows of the cushion back . I'm not sure its actually any good, the tension is a bit wobbly but practise mashes perfect. No idea why I couldn't do it the other day. Mum came over earlier and I tried to show her what was going wrong. Only it didn't go wrong. typical!

Glad you've remembered how to knit, @CrochetBug!

Is anyone else ready to start the cushion covers yet?

I’m going to start the cushion cover tomorrow @lazylinguist

Confession i started mine, ive doing the interlace one

@CrochetBug I had a friend who had to knit with someone else in the room else she made mistakes yet sat next to me even though I crochet she nailed it.

Its weird isn't it @eitak22. I did finish the 2nd row after mum left so I can knit alone. Just as well really

However. I've started row 3 and have definitely gone wrong. I appear to have randomly done garter stitch in the middle

@tizwozliz the squares are about 8cm across - 4 rounds of dc granny squares plus a row of sc border. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have just done 3 rounds, but I didn't appreciate quite how big it would get. It's also very heavy - I should have chosen a lighter wool. But it was still nice to have an ongoing project last year - I'd just recommend keeping on top of it!

Thanks for the link to the basket - that's definitely the sort of thing I was thinking of, although interesting that they use 3 strands of DK at a time. That may be the solution then - although as my biggest hook is 5mm, I think I'm going to need a bigger hook...

And I'm in awe of anyone who can knit. It's a mystery to me. I've tried, and I can do the stitches, but I have no idea how to unpick it when I go wrong, or pick up dropped stitches. Maybe one day I'll have the patience to learn properly, but for now I'll stick to hooking!

Right, I'm going to start mine tomorrow evening then! I haven't even decided which one I'm making yet.