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

The colours haven't come out very well on that photo! What looks like a dark grey there is actually teal (along wity grey, cream and mustard yellow).

Wow, that is one fat needle! That basket is on my to do list for when I've finished Sophie (I'd attach a progress pic but Mumsnet doesn't want me to) but I can't imagine using such a thick wool/combinations of wool - I'm a really tight hooker (so to speak!).

Although Sewing Bee last night has also prompted my annual internal debate as to whether to buy a sewing machine. I really don't have time for all the crafts I want to do!

I was wondering about watching sewing bee. I don't sew, but thought it might be fun to watch. What's it like though - does it concentrate on the actual sewing or is it very show-offy and 'personality-based' with attempts to generate drama? I'm not a big fan of competition-type shows generally because they tend to be a bit like that!

I'm finding the basket fine to do. Admittedly I'm normally a relatively loose crocheter, but actually you need to crochet fairly tightly for this, otherwise the basket would be too floppy. The pattern recommends a 9mm hook, which I'm using, and 4 or 5 strands of dk. I went for 4.

I love Sewing Bee I have the series book with all the patterns in for the first one they did. It’s more about what the contestants sew than created drama lazy and their personalities tend to come through in the fabric and styles they chose for the challenges.

I also love sewing bee, I own every single book  
The basket looks great so far @lazylinguist
@FlaviaAlbiaWantsLangClegBack I love that jumper! it's stunning!

I love the sewing bee too, I did not know there were books! I'm off to Google.

I love it sophs! I'm going to abandon all other projects without regret and cast on this one once I have time to hunt though my stash to pick colours

That combination looks really good lazy! Is it hard on your hands with the tension?

The N Irish guy from bake off's cake gate is a friend of a friend and my friend told me he said the crew were egging him on (if you'll excuse the pun) to accuse the older lady when he was up with the judges but he wouldn't do it. There isn't anything like that on the sewing bee, the contestants usually end up helping each other. It's lovely.

Here’s a knitting version of Sewing Bee. It has subtitles if your Danish isn’t up to it!

I'm not finding it hard on my hands so far, Flavia. It's going to be a great yarn eater - I might end up making several! I'm guessing you could quite easily adapt it to make different sizes. Some people stopped at an earlier stage, making it into a kind of dish-shaped cat basket!

I’ve finally finished the Norwegian sock pattern goodness it was difficult!

Are those the ones your dh told you to keep going with NiceCardigan? They're amazing. I can see why you might have had issues now though, they look very complicated! But definitely worth the effort.

I quite like Sewing Bee. I bought the book from the first series for the patterns but never used them because I found other things to make so haven't bought any since.

BookShark could you borrow a machine to have a go?

Yes lucysmam they are the ones I nearly abandoned. The next pair of socks I make will be plain!

@NiceCardigan they're lovely socks!! A real work of art!
I still haven't ventured into sock making!

Beautiful socks, @NiceCardigan! I haven't tried fairisle socks yet.

Popped into local fabric shop to see if I could get another balls of wool for my cowl, didn't have right colour so had to buy 4 new ones for a yet undefined project lol

Sewing Bee is lovely and gentle! Not especially dramatic. It’s also how I ended up getting into loom knitting - in my late teens I was taught how to finger knit and periodically I’d think “wow it would be so great if they made some kind of tool that would enable me to do this on a bigger scale” - never once thought to actually go online and see if such a thing existed. After the first sewing bee episode I went online to look into maybe getting some sewing stuff, saw a knitting loom set, and the rest is history!

I haven’t watched the latest episode yet, forgot it had started.

Oh wow niceCardigan they're fabulous! 😍

That seems like a good move eitak22 you never know when the next lockdown will happen, better to be prepared!

Those socks are amazing Nice Cardigan! Definitely worth persevering.

And yes, lucysmam I probably could borrow a sewing machine, but that's a bit like saying I could stop buying wool as I've got plenty already! To be honest, I think I just fancy being a bit frivolous - I've just had my bonus paid and where it would normally go on a holiday, that's not really an option at the moment, so I want to do something to treat myself. I might take a day off once DS is back at school and go for a wander round John Lewis and buy lots of small craft things that I don't really need, and see if that does the job!

I just watched the first episode of Sewing Bee and enjoyed every minute! I wish there were a knitting bee - might have to watch that Danish one! I suppose knitting is a bit slow for a tv programme.

Thanks for the compliments everyone - I wanted get them done before going on holiday tomorrow.

@lazylinguist

I just watched the first episode of Sewing Bee and enjoyed every minute! I wish there were a knitting bee - might have to watch that Danish one! I suppose knitting is a bit slow for a tv programme.

Yes i always imagined a knitting version: “ok you have four weeks to make a blanket, using at least three different stitches and, to make this extra difficult, you can’t buy any new yarn, it must all come from your pre-existing stash”

I’d find that last bit the hardest, I have so much yarn but I never seem to have the right yarn for a new project...

I understand that BookShark. That's half the reason we're off to the Range. I still have birthday and Christmas money & I need a "fix" of things I don't really need!

Dd has the cardigan...actually on her body. I half thought she wouldn't wear it but she says it's "pog" 😊

Argh I now have an interview on Thursday I hope the cottage we are staying in has ok WiFi. I’ve got the laptop and charger, head phones and a mouse and an interview outfit. I think that’s all I need!

Exciting NiceCardigan! What's the job?

Ooh good luck @NiceCardigan!