Knit, Crochet and Natter 8: Keep Calm and Carry Yarn!

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A thread for woolly crafters. All welcome, from total beginners to experts!

Previous thread here

Thanks @MerylSqueak - yours looks nicer than hers .

Oh your is much better Meryl! Hers is very compact looking.

Thank you. I still can't find my blooming blocking pins!

Yay - I am feeling smugly productive this morning! I finished a sock before setting off at 8:15 to do a 5k Parkrun. Dh is still not back at work and has settled into having quite a nice time fishing and dog walking on full pay in this lovely weather. Even if he went back straight after the holidays he'll have had 7 weeks at home! DD had a week off due to her year being shut because of Covid staff absence. They are swapping years now, so ds will be off (a week early for Easter) and dd back at school. It's all a bit weird.

I’m also feeling smug but knackered, my house desperately needed tidying and cleaning so I’ve been doing that this morning. In theory I should make DS tidy his bedroom this afternoon but I might just turf them out into the garden and spin or wind a warp instead because I’m not sure I can face listening to the complaints about parental cruelty

That’s absolutely wild lazy. It’s nice he’s getting good weather but it’s really unfair on him. My DM was on a board of governors and I remember a teacher being complained about for hauling one kid off another he was thumping. That complaint got dismissed pdq…

Yes we're pretty sure dh's will be dismissed too. His union rep certainly thinks so.

In other non-knitting news, I have an interview on Thursday for another job at the school who recently rejected me for the two I applied for!

Oh, best of luck!

A parcel I was waiting for arrived today. I got warping pegs from Fibre Hut and they do back issues of The journal of weavers, spinners and dyers for a quid for charity so I got a couple. They’re fascinating, a combination of still relevant and obscure. I was reading the letters page and found this 20 year old drama for your entertainment

That's hilarious!

To my deep delight I realised I actually have the previous issue too so I could read the article in question. I’m team Carol

Excellent!

I was awake stupidly early and have spent ages browsing for my next project. I fancy using the lovely yarn I bought at Yarndale. It's a gorgeous hand-dyed merino dk with a bit of nylon in beautiful twilighty colours. I don't want to use it for socks or a hat. I'm thinking maybe sone longish wristwarmers or a cowl, or something else entirely!

I like the idea of doing something with some colourwork or stripes, using a plain coloured yarn alongside my colourful one (either as the main colour or the constrast).

Any ideas? And also, what plain colour would you use to stand out (I'm thinking cream/white).

Ooh, any photos of the colours? I have this saved but I’ve never made it www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/always-be-brave

You could always use it in a a colour work yoke too, something like Silpa but in DK…

D'oh - I meant to attach a picture!

I was thinking of something like this but it's not dk.

I like that one you've linked @SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound and yes, good idea re the colour work yoke. I hadn't thought of doing a bigger project but with a smaller amount of colour work .

FairIsle have you considered learning Tunisian crochet? I think as it’s halfway between crochet and knitting you should pick it up relatively easily. There’s this cowl which will look lovely with the merino dk and white/cream would be the perfect contrast - makeanddocrew.com/brick-stitch-tunisian-crochet-cowl-free-pattern/. I’ve made it (or most of it until I got distracted by something else), the brick stitch was quite easy to pick up and it comes up really nicely.

“DD” bought me some buttons today for Mother’s Day. Our local market now has a stall with a woman who is making handmade woven items, including buttons!

You're such an enabler! Yes I certainly have considered learning Tunisian crochet, along with umpteen other crafts. I admit though - it does sound like it would be easy for someone who already knits and crochets! It would be even better if I could find a pattern like that but knitted. Actually I haven't searched crochet patterns for this project though, so might do that first!

You're such an enabler!

Aren’t we all? These threads might be disguised as natter threads but let’s be honest it’s one big enabling session! I’m waiting on a thread wide intervention

So while we wait for the intervention - I really like the Tunisian honeycomb stitch. It’s so pretty and it’s not too hard to get a handle on, I’ve tried it in a sampler blanket I’m making. It also happens to look really nice in two colours - m.youtube.com/watch?v=3tu-B5GpqBE
Although now we’ve moved from just Tunisian crochet to Tunisian crochet in the round! I wonder if you can do two colour honeycomb stitch without working in the round as I’d like to do something bigger than the double ended hook allows. Regardless, I might go look up double ended hooks - I don’t have any yet in my collection!

Ooh that does look nice! Speaking of enabling, I'm still intrigued by that nalbinding thing too! .

I'm not sure I can cope with Tunisian crochet, I'm just getting to grips with normal crochet! DD2 gave me a crochet pattern for some flowers which I'm using at the moment to make a spring flower garland. I do not need a spring flower garland in my house but I am making one anyway.

Every one needs a flower garland!
Despite promising I wouldn't start anything new until I'd finished some UFOs, I signed up for 2 pattern tests. I've almost finished the first (hopefully the picture will load, its got half the first sleeve done now as well) and am waiting for yarn for the second. I've also decided to make bunting for the notice board in our community garden, although that should be super quick.
Oh and agreed to make an embroidered piano hanging for church.

ooh that looks lovely @Crochetbug, I think need to make some crochet bunting to go with my flower garland and then spring will have definitely arrived!

@CrochetBug that is stunning! It's so neat already! Looks shop bought! What yarn did you use if you don't mind me asking? The colour is beautiful!

I bought my dad a book for his birthday earlier, but Amazon wanted to charge me an arm and leg for the postage unless I spent over £10 so I treated myself to a micro crochet book I've been eyeing up for over a year! Can't wait to have a go!

I have made a Giant Sock So yay me for learning to knit a sock...but maybe a tension square would have been a good idea I can almost get both feet in this at once

That looks really good @CrochetBug. Sounds like you're going to be very busy with all those projects!

I'm doing ds' second sock. I'm using a teeny circular needle I just bought instead of my usual dpns - I hadn't realised you could get circulars small enough for making socks! I hope it doesn't mess with my tension - probably not a great idea to change needles for the second sock in a pair As long as it doesn't end up as big as yours, @anotherneutralname!

Help please, I'm just learning to knit and trying to follow my first pattern.

I'm confused by the instructions that start with

Next Row K5, what's it telling me to do other than knit stitches?

@DiamondBright I read it as you knit 5 stitches at the beginning of the row, then begin the next stage of the instructions which is - increase in the next stitch, knit a stitch and do that 39 times. Then you should be left with 4 stitches at the end of the row which you knit.

Does that work out with the current number of stitches you have? It should add 39 stitches to the number you already have.

Does the pattern tell you what kind of increase to do?

[quote SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound]@DiamondBright I read it as you knit 5 stitches at the beginning of the row, then begin the next stage of the instructions which is - increase in the next stitch, knit a stitch and do that 39 times. Then you should be left with 4 stitches at the end of the row which you knit.

Does that work out with the current number of stitches you have? It should add 39 stitches to the number you already have.

Does the pattern tell you what kind of increase to do?[/quote]
Just to be awkward I'm not knitting the correct number of stitches for the pattern currently, I wanted to practice the stitches and techniques first, which may not have been a good idea.

Thank you, your explanation makes sense, I'll just have to adjust it for the fewer stitches.