It's Crochet, Knit & Natter 10: New Year, New Yarn, New Thread!

[QuantumWeatherButterfly]

Time for a new thread for all the lovely yarn crafters!

Old thread here: http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/artsandcrafts/4557189-its-crochet-knit-natter-9-so-many-projects-so-little-time-oh-well-i-almost-made-it-rhymee_

@CrochetBug wow! That's ana amazing pattern. Beautiful. Best of luck with your son and his GCSEs. I hope he's feeling up to it. It really is a stressful time.

Very special yarn that too !

I'm a little disappointed.

Hello all

I am new to knitting 🧶 I have taken it up to help me relax whilst I am about to go through IVF.

I have a question about wool I don't know if anybody can help with.

I am using an acrylic wool but I am quite sensitive to allergies and the fibres are agitating me a bit.

I would like to use real wool but I also don't know much about the sourcing of wool and whether it is cruel or if there are some wools that are cruelty free? Any tips for responsibly buying it?

Thank you

@lemons44 have you considered other natural fibres such as cotton? I just started using it, after only using acrylic, and really enjoy crocheting with it.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche Why are you disappointed - I think that is lovely??!

@Skiphopbump I didn't know such a thing existed! Thank you! I will look into it.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche i love it! It turned out beautiful. Why you feel disappointed? ☺️

@Ladywithacat . @QuiltedBear

There's a bit of a list.

The ears don't curve how I'd like.
The eyes are too close together and not in the right position.
The nose is too low.
Bits of the body are over-stuffed.
Bits of the body are under-stuffed.
The head is not sewn on nicely - it's bodged.
The pants aren't neat - didn't get on with the magic loop method.
I didn't block the clothes - couldn't be bothered to get the ironing board out for such small pieces.

In the words of Patrick Grant - it's good from afar - far from good.

It's my favourite ply to knit with (4 ply) though.

I started this just over a year ago - and then twins intervened.

Anyone else over-critical?

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche oh why? She’s lovey!

Shearing sheep isn’t cruel @lemons44 they’ve been bred over the centuries to need sheared. Anything labelled British wool will have been from sheep where the UK welfare standards apply.

There are companies like garthenor.com who are organic and raise their own flock for wool but they are correspondingly expensive. Merino wool is a bit trickier since merino sheep wouldn’t do well in the UK so to avoid cruelty then get it from somewhere that states the merino is from a non mulesed flock. Alternatively, Bluefaced Leicester is a good native substitute for softness.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche I started knitting (loom knitting) just over two years ago. I don’t think I’ve made anything perfect yet, and whenever I look at my makes I tend to obsess over the errors.

But I’ve just picked up crochet this year - got given a basket kit as a Christmas gift and now I’m rather ambitiously trying a child’s hoody. For some reason I’m much more relaxed about my mistakes and happy to bodge things in order to press on. I don’t know if it’s a sign of maturity, or laziness, or if it’s just because I can’t read the crochet stitches as well yet and so my mistakes don’t jump out at me yet…

@QuiltedBear

I'm an 'old' knitter - so I would say that my mistakes/bodging are pure laziness 🤣

I'd love to be able to crochet - had a little foray but can't keep edges straight.

I'd also like to be able to spin, dye and all the other wonderful stuff. I'll stick to my usual outlets for purchases - I'm too predictable and stuck in my ways.

I've usually got quite a long list of 'orders' to keep up with which I never get to the end of. I'll treat myself to a jacket soon.

I love all the unusual/bespoke yarns used on here.

Thank you @SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound that is really helpful ! 😀 i did think they need shearing regardless but wanted to make sure I am not accidentally making any bad choices so it's helpful to know what to avoid and look out for.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche I’d be thrilled with it – but I’m a perfectionist too, so I understand how you feel. If you’re not happy with it, no amount of reassurance will change that. Also – Patrick Grant is just wonderful!

@lemons44 My DD was an IVF baby – wishing you the best of luck! It’s worth knowing that if they are not organically raised, all British sheep are at least free range. They don’t respond well to intensive farming, so welfare standards are usually good. Shearing is good for them, fleeces can get extremely heavy, dirty and uncomfortable, which can lead to parasites and other infections.

@Ladywithacat Thank you for your wise words. You are absolutely right. I started again with the 6.5mm hook. I’m 7 rows in and it is bang on the width measurement, so I frogged the 7mm one last night. I’m so pleased I did it, it looks much, much better. I’m trying to ignore the fact that, had I just ploughed in without doing a gauge swatch in the first place, I’d be nearly a week further on, less stressed about it, and wouldn’t have panic bought two extra balls of yarn I probably don’t need. Oh well. Hopefully that is the end of the poncho drama!

@lemons44 as spinmerightround said sheering sheep isn’t cruel, it’s actually cruel to not shear them.

When picking fibres there is a lot to take into account. Generally speaking, if you want something that will wash well (anything for a baby or child or if you make hats to give to the food bank, if you’re making a jumper and know you/the recipient won’t want to hand wash) you want to use acrylic. If you want to make breathable garments then cotton is your friend. Cotton is also good for things like dishcloths because it washes well and toys because it holds it shape well. Cotton also generally has good stitch definition so it you want to clearly see your stitches then cotton is a good shout. Bamboo is another nice natural fibre, although I haven’t come across any 100% bamboo yarns, it’s breathable but not as warm as other yarns. For warmth you want 100% wool or merino wool/cashmere but these yarns are more expensive so these are usually for making a jumper for someone you know will love it and look after it or more likely hats/scarves/gloves/wrist warmers. But budget factors into what you can buy too.

I am trying to move away from synthetic yarns and trying to move to organic, natural fibres. The cost for those is high and so to make a baby blanket you are looking in the region of £40-50, which isn’t possible for me at the moment with the amount I make. Everything is a little bit bad, so for me it’s balancing it with everything else (mental health, money).

everyone got busy crafting I guess. I managed to finish the folded hem and finished one shoulder side for my husbands jumper. Hopefully i can get some progress on my knitting over weekend. Thats the plan at least 😄

Finally, after all the self-inflicted tension difficulties, I'm making some good progress with the poncho. 15 rows down, 32 to go, and then side one is done.

Progress is slower than it feels like it ought to be, because the yarn is quite sloppy, and also because every 4th row is double treble, which I find quite difficult to keep even.

But - it looks gorgeous worked up. I just hope it looks as nice when it's finished!

@QuantumWeatherButterfly would you share some process photos or the pattern you are making?

@Ladywithacat tbh it will probably end up as a hat/ glove set. Even though I'll have to live forever to wear all the hats I've made. Not that I'm in a rush to use it. I've got so much yarn I'll just store it until I find the right pattern.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche I think the mouse is lovely. But I'd be the same, all I can ever see is the mistakes in anything I make.

I really want a "like" button for posts....

Anyway @QuantumWeatherButterfly that sounds great and after all the preparation at least you can forge ahead now without doubts. We're all looking forward to the end result I'm sure.

I have started a new pair of socks - the yarn is dyed to a specific pattern so I have to make them top-down rather than toe up, a first for me. Yesterday I taught myself the twisted German cast-on (or Norwegian) to start the cuff.
And here's a pic of me yesterday wearing socks I made last autumn. I tend to buy colourful wool and stick to a very simple ribbed pattern.

Oh yes, I'm more than happy to share!

This is the pattern: www.yarnspirations.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-catalog-spinrite/default/dwa6697394/PDF/RHC0107-015145M.pdf

I only have one progress photo at the moment, and it's off the now-defunct 7mm attempt. I'll take one of the the actual one to share later.

Oh, I meant to say - gorgeous socks, @GlowWine! There was much sock chat on the last thread. I might attempt a pair from scrap yarn as a learning exercise, but they'll be a much chunkier and less professional looking affair if I do!

And some better progress pictures. I've tried to show the colours better

And here's a pic of me yesterday wearing socks I made last autumn. I tend to buy colourful wool and stick to a very simple ribbed pattern.

Beautiful socks, @GlowWine ! I stick to a basic sock pattern too. It took me a lot of effort to get my head around how to make socks, after several failed attempts, so I'm sticking with what I know works!

<apologies non-spinners!>
As resident spinning expert,@SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound, do you have any particular advice on how to spin my beautiful fibre from Hilltop Cloud? Or what would be good to make with it? I've never bought a braid of fibre before, only carded batts or bundles of roving, let alone one with such a mix of fibre materials. I haven't looked at the staple length, but I'm guessing that with my usual short forward draw method it will make quite a smooth, lustrous yarn. I'm thinking socks, but surely they'd be too delicate not to felt when trodden? Colourwise I'm also thinking of having a go at fractal spinning...? I'm quite nervous about spinning with it, because it's so beautiful and I don't want to mess it up!

Lovely socks @GlowWine. I think I started a fair bit of the sock chat on the last thread as there are so many sock patterns I want to try.

That’s looking really nice @QuantumWeatherButterfly, lovely colours.

DH’s jumper is still in the naughty corner but I’m going to leave it there for a little while because if I can work out the stitches it’ll be my most portable project and I’m doing some travelling in the first week of Feb so it can come with me quite easily. The baby blanket I’m trying to design is also in the naughty corner at the minute. I am still trying to do the counting toy but it’s aran weight yarn with a 2.5mm hook and it’s really hard on my hands.

I’m really making an effort to get my scrap stash under control. So I have plans for an Elmer blanket with some of the scrap DK I have but that’ll be a big project so I’m not planning on starting that at the minute. I found a half abandoned cardigan for DD, I just need to add a sleeve. I’ve also done a granny hexagon cardigan (might turn it into a jumper) for DD made with the scraps from my mum’s blanket. I need to sew that together tonight and probably add a bit of length to it. I’m hoping to have the two cardigans/jumpers finished this weekend and that’ll be two out of the scrap/abandoned WIP pile. I’ve pulled all the chunky/weird/don’t quite remember/really tiny bits of scrap yarn together and I’m going to turn them into fiddle mitts. I’ve started making one which I’m going to see if a relative wants but they’ve been admitted to a secure unit so I don’t know if they will be allowed it. It’s not remotely to my personal taste but relative is a Man Utd fan so hopefully they will appreciate the colour scheme on good days. I think I need some grey in there though but maybe that’s my intense dislike of football coming through though.