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

I absolutely love that sampler, @InTheNightWeWillWish! I loathe sewing up though.

Post is fine here, @SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound, even in the wilds of Cumbria!

I'm nearly done with dsis' big crochet basket for her birthday (5th May)! I think it will be the first time I've ever knitted or crocheted something with a deadline and actually finished on time

@lucysmam - possibly a bit high, mine are sewn on between rows 10 and 15. It might look fine once the head is on though

SpinMeRightRound our post is OK. I ordered two things last week that came via Royal Mail within a few days of me ordering them. The only issue I’ve had is with DHL, who delivered my parcel a mile away and refused to collect it. When I emailed the company I bought it from, they patronised me and told me just to pick it up because you know, you can just walk round someone else’s property without their permission I did get in touch with the owner of the property they’d left it at and did manage to collect it but I’m pissed off I had to pay £5.20 for postage!

FairIsle I loathe sewing up too but I’m trying to embrace it as part of the process and creating something worthwhile at the end. If not embracing, at least accepting of it. In the same way that I realise unless I want to eat takeaway pizza out of the box all the time, I will need to do some washing up! I think part of my hatred of sewing up comes from it definitely being my weaker area and my sewing letting down the rest of the project. At some point I need to do a proper finishing off course and learn properly.

Hmm, I have lowered them...he seems very drunk now 🤣🤔

I think his tail maybe needs to move down a row or two to match his legs?

Who knew a dino would be so challenging 🤔🤔

Oh, who asked about post? Ours seems to be ok - Pancake was sent 24hr signed for on Monday & arrived early ish yesterday (although that might be because she was labeled as live & 24hr).

I've consulted Rexy's pattern again - in the pics, his tail looks to float but in the actual pattern it says he needs it for balance so I think maybe some photographic trickery/magic is going on & I'm going to re-stitch it tomorrow where it was.

@InTheNightWeWillWish, that is indeed lovely and is going on my maybe list. It’s probably a bit more complicated than I had considered (thinking mindless knitting) but I really like it. Thanks for the link!

Oh, jealous of all your post! I’m hoping my parcel will turn up now I’ve whined about it

Wow InTheNightWeWillWish! That must have been awkward! And infuriating to pay for the experience too

I’ve been messing around with my loom and I finally worked out how to use two heddles together to make diamond twill. Now I’m just going to throw lots of random yarn at it for fun to use up the warp.

We don't seem to be having the luck atm, one way and another. Meant to be going to Dorset for a week tomorrow, but now dd has covid so we've cancelled. I know we don't technically have to, but she's feeling pretty rubbish, and the chances of the rest of us not catching it when stuck in a car wher for a 7hr journey seem remote.

oh no @Fairislefandango that's rubbish I hope your DD feels better soon. I think I would take refuge in and yarn.

Well as it happens we have cake - it was ds' 14th birthday yesterday. He made his own birthday cake, bless him - he's developed a bit of an interest in cooking lately and insisted he wanted to!

As for yarn - definitely. We've got a lot of Easter holiday left, as we don't go back until 21st, so I'm hoping to finish dsis' basket, ds' second sock, maybe make a mini basket to go with the big one and decide on my next couple of projects.

Happy Birthday to your DS FairIslefandango and that you all enjoy the cake. At least you all have some time for chilling at home and getting all your projects done. Hopefully the weather will get a bit warmer too. I had to dig out my "coldest" colour for my temperature blanket as I had optimistically put it away thinking I wouldn't need it again till the end of the year!

Happy birthday to your DS @Fairislefandango 🎂!

We go back on the 19th...I keep seeing kids and parents from school though 🤣 I live over the road from 2 of them. It's like being a minor celebrity when the little ones realise it's really you they're seeing at One Stop.

Does Rexy's tail look ok position-wise? I've shifted his limbs a bit today & dd1 says he looks good. I just want some more eyes on him before I sew that and his head properly.

He looks great to me @lucysmam

Sorry about your holiday @Fairislefandango. Your unlucky streak should now be over if bad luck really does always come in threes.

One more day of school here. Thank goodness it's an inset. I'm exhausted. I've had little illnesses all month and I am wiped. Had a complete tantrum ( quietly to myself) last night because DH told me our garage door is broken and can't be fixed and will cost upwards of£1000 to fix. I told him I'm not paying nearly a month of my wages for something I never touch and then sulked all evening. Very grown up of me It was just one thing too many for me. I consoled myself by starting my grey scarf again ( you know how I like that ) on bigger needles and it looks much nicer.

lucysmam I think that’s a good position. If you move it any higher Rex is going to be leaning backwards and any lower and it’s going to be coming out of his bum rather than his back.

FairIsle sorry to hear about your holiday.

Meryl sorry about everything. Sometimes we just need a strop. Hopefully over the Easter holidays you can get some rest and recharge a bit.

@Nametoname

Hello! A question for all you experienced knitters. I want to make a blanket, generous single bed size. Am a reasonably confident knitter though perhaps a little rusty but that shouldn’t matter! I’d like to do squares for a patchwork look (don’t relish sewing it together but will worry about that later!). What sort of wool should I be looking at? What size squares? How much wool do you think I might need (how long is a piece of string?!). And should I follow a pattern or just go for it with squares of whatever size?

Am thinking there’s a good chance that someone here has already done this!

Thanks.

Have you thought about a mitre square blanket? No sewing together at all and you can make any size squares, any colours. I’m doing this one at the moment in DJ. You could use any yarn too with the appropriate size needles. www.theknittingsquirrel.com/how-to-knit-a-mitred-square-blanket So easy!

DK not DJ 😀

Oh no @Fairislefandango you are having an awful run of bad luck, I hope this finishes it!

It sounds like your break is well earned @MerylSqueak, if it’s any help my garage door had been on its last legs for about 3 years now and we’re just about managing with brute strength and ignorance closing it.

My parcel finally arrived today, it looked like it had had a kicking so thank goodness for bubble wrap. I wonder where it was all that time.

I got my 3ply finished and it’s nearly dry so next I could either start knitting with it or spin the last colour I need first. Decisions decisions…

That mitred squares blanket looks brilliant, @YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp - what a clever way of doing squares without sewing up!

Rex is finished 🦖 @tizwozliz thanks for the pattern suggestion; I've thoroughly enjoyed making him & am quite attached now 🤣

He's a touch wonky in places but my friend's chuffed with him & I'm sure her ds will be too!

Looks great @lucysmam

I got addicted to making them for a while.

He’s great! @lucysmam

He's currently sitting next to Pancake (the mantis), on top of the bookshelf, & I keep turning round to look at them both 🤣

Anyway - my next hairbrained idea; since our next topic is life cycles; is a crocheted butterfly lifecycle, or plant stages 🤔 Has anyone seen anything that might do the job, pattern wise? Free or very very cheap preferably :) This one was £9 ish when I clicked the link 🙄

The whole book beetles, bugs and butterflies is 12 on Amazon, so I wouldn't pay 9 for one pattern.

Because it's a book though, could you check if any of your local libraries have it?

Rex is gorgeous!

I finished my dsis' basket.

Lovely colours @Fairislefandango I’m sure your dsis will be thrilled!