It's Crochet, Knit & Natter 9: So Many Projects, So Little Time. (Oh well - I almost made it rhyme!)

[Fairislefandango]

A thread for woolly crafters of all types and levels.
Previous thread here

I lost at yarn chicken

@sophs29 I have the same problem. That was how I accidentally posted the picture from Thailand recently. Annoying, isn't it?

@VittysCardigan oh no! How annoying! That will probably be me in a few days - after much discussion with my Mum, I'm going for it with the 4th square in cream. It's going to be close!

I am bringing no fewer than 3 absolutely stuffed bags of yarn back from my mum's so I see a basket in my near future too. I'm very pleased though - it means I can mix some smaller projects into my plans for bigger things and practice some different techniques without feeling like I've invested a lot of money in yarn. And there is some lovely stuff in there!

Lovely bag @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally !

Oh no, that's so annoying @VittysCardigan ! I usually have the opposite problem- I always end up with loads of yarn left over at the end of a project. That's why I've got such an unhelpful stash of 3/4 balls of yarn!

I actually managed to sit down and do some spinning last night, and my alpaca singles are finally nearly ready to ply! I'll be interested to see how the yarn ends up, because it's a mixture from different animals - some llama, some alpaca, and quite a big variety of staple lengths, colours and textures, and I've sequenced them totally at random! I'm wondering what I'll make with it. I've got some plain bought alpaca yarn that I can combine the handspun with if I don't have enough. I'm thinking some fingerless glives or one if those Andean hats!

Dh wants to take the finished item into work to show them, or even auction it off to his colleagues for charity because it's made from the fleece they donated to me from their team-building walk with alpacas . I'm not at all sure it will turn out as something worth anything though!

That’s so cool @Fairislefandango Your DH sounds so impressed! It’s a lovely idea.

I’ve been offered a fleece and I said yes It’s a longwool, so I’ve been looking up info on DIY wool combs because the price is jaw dropping. I found the book on wool combing by Peter Teal re-released on kindle and then realised why they’re that expensive after reading the preview that gave you the instructions! Crazy amount of work and tools needed.

I also bought mini hand carding brushes which are hilariously tiny. I read inches instead of cm

oh no @VittysCardigan!

I really want to do a stashbuster basket but I'm telling myself I need to finish WIP projects to be sure what can be used for a stashbuster project! I also think I need to get a bigger crochet hook, I don't think I've got anything bigger than 4mm. Probably going to ask for a couple for Christmas, I also need a replacement 4mm as it has lost the end of its handle courtesy of the dog!

@Fairislefandango Sounds like a great idea to let your DH's work colleagues see the finished article. I'd go for something like wrist warmers, so a thumb hole but no individual fingers. One size can then fit a lot of people.

I think it's great fairislefandango that your DH takes an interest in your projects. When I first met my DH I asked him back for coffee and showed him a patchwork quilt that I was making. If he'd dissed it, he wasn't going to get another date - luckily, he was impressed.

Got home this afternoon and sorted through my newly acquired stash of random yarn. Blimey there is a lot of it! One thing that caught my eye is about 350g of Debbie Bliss cashmerino chunky - it's really lovely! I don't really know how to go about finding a pattern that will suit it. If I filter Ravelry by Chunky, everything seems to have a very different gauge. I'm fine finding yarn that will suit a pattern, but I've never tried finding a pattern that will suit the yarn, and I'm not sure how to start!

I did find this one that I liked, where the yarns seemed to have a similar gauge - but the intended yarn for the pattern has a boucle texture, and the yardage is much shorter - 100 vs 130. It seems very confusing!

You can use the advanced search to search by gauge in Ravelry @QuantumWeatherButterfly If that’s any use - here’s a search that has 15sts to 4” and 300-350m www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#gauge=15%7C15&meterage=300%7C350&sort=recently-popular&view=large_mobile&page=1

I didn’t put in any other filters but the advanced search is really customisable to anything you want.

Or here’s a link to projects people have made with cashmerino chunky before www.ravelry.com/projects/search#photo=yes&yarn-link=debbie-bliss-cashmerino-chunky&sort=popularity&view=large_mobile

With boucle the loopy bits bulk it up and put it into the heavier categories, but you get lots of yardage per weight because the base yarn that holds the loops is thin, usually more like a lace weight.

Does anyone remember ages ago I turned the house upside down looking for a little bit of sock yarn to finish a pair so they’d match? I just found it! It was in the box of attachments for the go pro camera. Obviously 🙄 🤦‍♀️

It’s now in the bag with the socks and I will be wearing them asap 🥳

But of course @SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound . I'm surprised you didn't look there first.

I am sorry I am not aroud much. My phone is having trouble posting on Mn.

@SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound where else would it be!

We did our video quote for removals today and the guy summed up one of the rooms as “assorted items for packing and of course woollen pumpkins”

Yes, it seems inevitable it would be there now doesn’t it?

I like the sounds of those movers @StillNiceCardigan Good priorities!

@SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound its a pity the quote turned out to be eye wateringly expensive. I’ll be loading a cart and pulling it myself at this rate.

Ouch StillNiceCardigan

We are having another quote tomorrow so hopefully that will be more sensible. I’m going to do some stress busting crochet this evening as life is being way too stressful at the moment.

Me to myself: you’ve tried to make socks, it didn’t work.
<Looks through sock pictures again>
Me to myself: you couldn’t even use the 4ply yarn. Your fingers are too fat. Look, it uses 4 ply.
<Looks through other pictures on Ravelry>
Me to myself: it’s a paid for pattern and you would need yarn and it’s just going to sit in the yarn cupboard when you can’t even do the toe.
<Opens another tab to check how much the yarn would be to buy>
Me to myself: you’ll never be able to make socks if you don’t practice…
The pattern in question.

I'm too scared to try socks @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally I'm not good with fiddly & delicate. I can feel myself breaking into a sweat just looking at those.

Does anyone buy labels to sew onto their makes/projects? If you do could you please point me in the right direction to buy some. TIA

@WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally those socks are stunning! I've never tried mosaic though, is it hard?
Also I found once I got the hang of socks (on my second pair so 4 socks later) I actually think they're quite easy!

@sophs29 I don’t know, I haven’t used mosaic either but it only uses one strand of yarn rather than tapestry crochet which uses more and I’ve done that. See I’m talking myself into the socks even more 😂 Mosaic crochet is on my list because there’s some really stunning patterns but I feel like I need a fantastic yarn to really show mosaic off and then I get distracted trying to pick a yarn.

@VittysCardigan Etsy have loads

Thank you

@WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally I've made some of that designers other socks. They are easy peasy!

If you can crochet in a circle you can make socks.
Mosaic uses 2 strands, but you drop one and pick up the other at the start of a round so you don't have to keep switching like in tapestry.

I do love socks. I’m saving the beautiful yarn I got at the knitting and sewing show for sock knitting in January when life has hopefully calmed down a bit. I do have a “first sock” which is the first one I tried making and it’s rubbish and baggy but after that I got the hang of it.

Tonight, Matthew, I'll be..... playing yarn chicken as I see whether I've got enough cream yarn to finish the last round of my last square for my cardigan!

Anyone fancy joining either Team Yes or Team No?

Also - you are a bad influence @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally - I have been googling sock patterns!

@QuantumWeatherButterfly It’s not me! It’s this chat, it’s always been an enabler thread! I have refrained by buying the sock pattern but mostly because I have no money until I get paid at the end of the month. I am almost certainly going to buy the yarn and pattern with some Christmas money. I have asked DH for the toft yarn subscription too, the dye club one.