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

Wow - we are nearly at the end of Thread 9! I'm sitting in my classroom enjoying a peaceful free period with not much to do before break duty, my last lesson (making Spanish Christmas cards), then the last of this term's meetings of Knitting and Crochet club and the end of term at 1:30. Then I'm off to get my Christmas tree and will be decorating it with the dc and settling down in front of our annual watching of The Box of Delights!

It’s the 16th! I’m just back up and out of bed today after being wiped out by a fluey bug. I missed DS2’s P1 show which was gutting but DH took videos for me to watch. He was so cute 🥰

Cute @MerylSqueak! I like their happy little faces btw, if you’re still having problems with the thread, I turned off view 1000 posts per page and while it’s annoying having only 100 posts on the pages it’s not crashing all the time now.

Those are great @VittysCardigan!

Ooh, photos of your yarn please @Fairislefandango I’m so impressed you’ve got it all done!

Can’t wait to see your finished cardigan @QuantumWeatherButterfly it sounds amazing!

Thank you everyone. I love your sheep @MerylSqueak they are very cute!

Photo of the alpaca yarn I spun. There's a bit more to spin, but I didn't have a spare bobbin and this one got too full, so I'll have to ply a second small skein.

Loving the alpaca yarn! Ds loves going to visit some alpacas near us and they sell the coat when it has been shaven off but I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with it!

The first thing you do is wash it. A lot! Alpacas dust-bathe...

That looks absolutely wonderful. That's the kind of yarn I lust after.

Alpaca yarn is just yum 😋 That’s looking really good @Fairislefandango

I love your little sheep @MerylSqueak. So cute!

I’m making good progress on my fingerless mitts. I’m about to create the thumb gusset on the 2nd one, after which the end will be in sight and I shall have perfect alpaca mitts once again! I’m currently using a pair I made 8 years ago, which are unravelling all over the place. I’m impressed with how long they lasted though as alpaca always looks so delicate. May be appearances are deceiving 🤔

That is fabulous @Fairislefandango! It’s absolutely gorgeous and such a lovely colour and twist!

Happy to report my Christmas gifts were well received this evening

I also gifted my blanket & the recipient actually welled up!

Aww that's lovely, @VittysCardigan ! It's a fantastic blanket!

@SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound - I feel like I don't really have any deliberate control over the twist. I just spin how I spin iyswim, and it comes out however it comes out! I should really go back and read all the stuff I have about spinning and refine my technique, but I don't have a lot of time for that these days!

I have promised my knitting and crochet group that I'll take my wheel in at some point and do a demo. There seems to be quite a lot of interest - several members of staff have asked me to let them know when I'm doing it!

It looks perfect @Fairislefandango you’ve got the knack for feeling the twist with your fingers without thinking about it by the looks of it!

It is fascinating to watch, you’ll maybe get them hooked on spinning next DS had to do an Egyptian project for school so took in a spindle with some ramie I’ve spun onto it to show how linen was made, he can spin the spindle convincingly, I was impressed

Awh, that’s so lovely @VittysCardigan!

It looks perfect @Fairislefandango you’ve got the knack for feeling the twist with your fingers without thinking about it by the looks of it!

It is fascinating to watch, you’ll maybe get them hooked on spinning next DS1 had to do an Egyptian project for school so took in a spindle with some ramie I’ve spun onto it to show how linen was made, he can spin the spindle convincingly, I was impressed

Awh, that’s so lovely @VittysCardigan!

I’m desperately trying to finish my mum’s blanket for Christmas. The last day for special delivery with Royal Mail is Monday and I don’t think I’m going to get it done! I’m so fed up of it too!

How's it going with the blanket now, @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally ?

I've got presents I need to wrap and post tomorrow too - my parents were supposed to be coming up this weekend, but they've cancelled, so I need to post their presents!

Up early knitting this morning. It always takes me a while into the holidays to sleep a little later in the mornings!

@Fairislefandango this is the blanket I’m making. I’ve finished all but two of the big squares and I just need to do the final corners (so the light pink bits in the photo). I’ve sewn two vertical panels and sewn the ends in but I’ve got to sew the ends in for the other panels and sew them to each other. Then the border which is 13 rounds so not going to be a quick one! I’m not going to make posting on Monday. Hopefully I can get it to her for between Christmas and new year.

Thats a shame your parents have cancelled coming up and a bit of an annoyance as you need to get the presents in the post and hope they get there.

Duh, would help if I posted the photo.

I started that blanket when you posted about it before @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally I done a couple of the sections and got bored and haven't got round to it! I don't know why but if I leave a project too long I just can't get into doing it again!

I hope it comes together quickly for you!

Sending you speedy crochet thoughts, @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally!

I'm sure someone here has said previously they've made a granny-go-round jumper - I can't remember who, but I have a question: did you fasten off after each different coloured row, or did you just drop and pick up? The pattern isn't totally clear on this point.

I'm about to start a kids size one for DD. I can't decide whether it's more hassle to sew in all the ends, or to manage 4 balls of yarn the whole way through!

Wow! I absolutely love that @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally It’s so happy! Crochet crochet crochet! You’ll get it done 😄

Awh, that’s a shame @Fairislefandango

Personally I’d rather weave in than manage four balls @QuantumWeatherButterfly but I think weaving in knitting ends is easier than crochet so that’s possibly not helpful!

I have a very long gradient that I want to use in colour work or mosaic with a solid colour contrast. I’ve been browsing patterns but I haven’t found anything I fancy yet.

@sophs29 in finding it quite a long project and I’m losing interest easily. There are a lot of ends to sew in and it’s just a mammoth task.

@QuantumWeatherButterfly Carrying four balls of yarn has the potential to get tangled. How diligent are you at putting your work away each time you put it down? One knock of 4 balls on the floor and you’ll be detangling for about 3 hours!

I didn’t get much more done yesterday as my wisdom teeth are causing me some issues so I wasn’t in the mood. I’m hoping I can get some done tonight. Tomorrow is my office day so I won’t get much done tomorrow evening but I think I’m going to take Wednesday and Thursday off so I can probably finish it before Christmas even if I can’t get it delivered before Christmas. If I’m being honest I need to complete it before Christmas as I’ve got a number of crochet books for my Christmas presents plus the toft yarn subscription, so it’ll be at the very bottom of the pile if I don’t finish it before i get all these new patterns!

@WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally That's a lovely blanket but something i don't think i'd have patience to make. I am a terrible non finisher of projects.
Nothing even getting picked up today as my cough/bug has come back with a vengeance & i feel terrible. Not sure i'll even watch the last episode of Strike tonight

I haven't made a Granny Go Round, but did make a top that's similar. I kept all 4 (might have been 5) balls attached. It was fine.

Well, I’ve started - on balance, I decided to weave in. Mostly because it’s for DD and I don’t trust her with the long strands.

I'm planning a similar style summer top for me soon, so I might try managing the yarn for that to see how I get on. I am quite organised and weirdly enjoy untangling so hopefully it will be okay. But I can always change tactic if it is awful!

Here’s my day one progress. It’s a bit untidy but the collar will hide a lot of that when it is on. Slightly weird colours because this is another Mum’s stash special, so I’m using what I have.