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_

Hi i'm new to this thread I am a pretty novice crocheter and I'm struggling with borders and loose thread. I'm trying magic knots but I'm still finding that bits poke out on borders. Does anyone have any tips on how to tie up loose ends neatly because the finish result is not how I want it.

thanks

Hello I'm still here and still knitting, just a bit busy.

@VittysCardigan that's a lovely blanket, looking at the dimensions I finally understand how some things are better in crochet. I should try a stashbuster, especially for my mixed collection of sock yarn leftovers / bits& pieces. Another pair of socks I guess

Instead I bought another ball of wool to complement my recycled Jaeger aran yarn. My swatch was spot on with the different yarns so I've made a start. The pattern is "Fairy Glen" from The Knitter and also found on ravelry. As I said I wasn't so keen on the moss stitch cuff/welt pattern so I turned into something more ribbed, while respecting the main pattern so it's not perfectly 2/2 rib to make it fit. Also a few minor mistakes but decided to carry on, adjusting pattern on the fly, that's why you do the back first... and thank you @QuantumWeatherButterfly I think the extra thin line was a great idea! I toyed with the idea of more, but decided it would detract from the main pattern.

Oh, it looks lovely, @GlowWine! So pleased it is working out.

Welcome, @lifeturnsonadime - I'm afraid I'm not a blanket maker so can't get specific on exactly how it works, but I've heard that an envelope border can hide a multitude of edging sins!

I'm ploughing on with the Aviva top. Both panels are done, and connected at the shoulders. I need to join the sides, add the cap sleeves and then I'm done. Can't seem to make myself do it though! I think I'll have a push at the weekend and try and get it done, because I'm seeing my SIL at Easter, and it would be nice to show her since she bought me the yarn for my birthday.

Progress pictures, including bonus dodgy shadows from the lampshades!

I’m still working on my granny squares. I haven’t got the headspace for anything more complicated as there is so much to do in the new house. I do seem to be wearing everything I’ve ever knitted though as the weather has been so bad!

Hi @lifeturnsonadime I tend to sew my ends in. Its a ballache, but I dont like knots.

@GlowWine that looks lovely, I love the colours.

@LancreWowhawk I really like that top. It's on my (very long) to do list. I've got a top I made and don't like the fit of that I can frog for it.

@StillNiceCardigan granny squares are so good for mindless crochet. I hope the house is done soon.

I'm working on a new made up as I go along project. I'm a little in love with it so far. But keeping it secret, so here's the sneakiest of sneak peeks.

Ok, no photo. MN won't let me upload it. As usual.

@CrochetBug I find that it will let me load screenshots of my pics but not the actual photos

I think it was a bad Internet connection!

Ah @CrochetBug those colours looks great, I love jewel brights paired with monochrome. I have no clue what you might be making though...

I'm feeling much better thank you @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally and @MerylSqueak . My stomach's still a bit sensitive so most meal times are very beige and boring though which is no fun when I have a new cookbook and baking book I want to dive into 😢

@GlowWine I love your cables, they look squishy and comfy 😊

@CrochetBug will you show us the full item once you're done? I'm intrigued 🤔 The brights are lovely, just up my street.

I looked properly at my Mother's Day present today - the yarn and pattern I had been eyeing up upthread - & realised that suggesting gifts & doing my own maths when poorly was not my best call 🙄 I'm only seven balls short of the yarn 🤣 I'd read the weight as metreage so told them "just two balls is plenty". Oops!

Luckily for me, the yarn is still in stock so I ordered the remaining seven today. Katia are discontinuing it though so the lady who answered my enquiry about dye lots did warn me there may be an odd one. I'll see how different it is when I get to adjusting the length to where I want it & work out what to do then, if I do end up with any different that is.

And I’m up to 4 baby blankets this year, 3 for girls, 1 don’t know but I feel like it’s a girl. I don’t know when I’m going to be able to frog and redo DH’s jumper or redo my mum’s blanket that Royal Mail lost or finally finish the temperature blanket or finish my other UFO’s. I think I might also have to finally buy some yarn to do all these baby blankets, which I haven’t done at all this year and I was quite enjoying the achievement!

Ooh, the rest of my yarn has just been delivered 🥰 It's so lovely and soft, I might just admire it all in the box.

There are three balls with different dye lots in there but I've been thinking; since it's held double, and has a slight shimmer, if I use one of the 6 that do match, with one of the 3 that don't, it might look just like shadow/intentional. Or there might not be a noticeable difference at all. We'll see.

Need to print the pattern now...

Hello all. Finally the weekend and one more week until the holidays - woo hoo!

I haven't got past the ribbed bottom of dd's jumper yet, because it's really not the kind of thing I can knit in front of the tv in the evening, and that's the only time I seem to manage to knit atm! I did one row of the cable pattern and had to undo it. Twice . At this rate it might be ready for her 21st birthday. She turns 18 this summer .

Had fun at knitting and crochet club yesterday. I took in the fibre I bought locally last weekend and taught a few of the girls to pre-draft it ready for spinning (i.e. pull off lengths of the thick, dense rope of fleece, split it lengthways into 2 and then pull and stretch each piece gently to tease the fibres apart and thin it out to make it easier to draft when spinning). They seemed to really enjoy it!

I'm going to take my spinning wheel in for another demo soon, and am thinking of taking in my drop spindles at some point and letting them have a go at that. I'll have to practise myself first though, as I'm rubbish at it!

Just had a go at using the drop spindle and actually kind of got the hang of it! It's a slow process compared with using a wheel, but I definitely think my students might enjoy having a go. I also started spinning the fibre they pre-drafted yesterday, which is lovely and smooth, so I'm able to spin it at a more consistent thickness than I usually manage!

Doesn't look much, and I've only done a little bit, but it's progress!

I'm a bit all-or-nothing with posting on the thread atm . Had a go at the next couple of rows of dd's jumper this morning, had to undo a row again but I think I've got the hang of it now. It's one of those pattern charts with different starting points for different sizes and then of course you have to reverse it when doing the WS rows because it's not in the round. Oof!

I LOVE that yarn, @lucysmam - it's going to look gorgeous!

I feel your pain, @Fairislefandango - but in my case it's just my complete inability to hit the same gauge on both my swatch and my actual project that means I end up taking stuff back multiple times!

Right! Fanfare please! The Aviva is finished! I'll post a photo when I've got a decent one, but I'm pretty happy. It looks a lot better than I feared and the main thing is that it actually fits me! The hems are a bit untidy (I found the foundation row really hard to keep even and it shows), and my finishing isn't the best, but overall - it's decent.

I'm going to press on with DD's hexagon cardigan for a couple of weeks now, before I start on the granny-go-round style summer top I have the yarn for.

Ta dah!

That's a pretty top@LancreWowhawk

I went to Stitch show, was a bit disappointed with regard wool. I bought a sweet little magnetic tray and some stitch markers.
I also did a rag rug workshop which was fun and I may be hooked and may attempt a rug.
DD wants to make a memory quilt with her Band t-shirts so can use left overs to make a rug for her

Thank you, Bruffin - I really like rag rugs, keep us posted with your progress. I would 100% have one in my home office, if I wasn't sure the wheels on my chair would give up the ghost if they had to deal with it!

Now that the Aviva is finished, I need to decide what to do next. The hex cardigan I mentioned above is definitely first, but what then?

I've got the yarn for this top, (although I strongly suspect not enough - only 500g, which is what the pattern says I'll need - but I've needed extra for everything I've done recently, and 500g doesn't sound like a lot to me...), so I really ought to do that one - but that's more granny stitch, so maybe something different? That would mean buying yarn though. Hmm.

I’ve got a partially made rag rug that I have under my desk in my study. I may finish it at some point. I really like that top @QuantumWeatherButterfly I’ve got an almost finished crochet jumper (bit of a theme here) that I should complete before I start anything else.

Ooh @LancreWowhawk - that top is lovely!
I'm feeling pretty pleased with my latest spinning efforts - this is from the stuff I bought in a random local shop I didn't know sold fleece! I think I've made another bit of a step towards consistent thickness. (Pics of the fibre once my students had pre-drafted it, and the work-in-progress single strand yarn I'm making from it. Will be two strands plied together when it's finished).

Oh I’ve so much to catch up on! Lovely pics everyone!

I’ve been wrestling with my knitting nemesis, a cardigan I tried to make a couple of times when I started knitting when the kids were younger. I put it down to sleep deprivation and baby brain then but even now the pattern feels like giant walls of text so I don’t feel so bad for not being able to manage it before.

@LancreWowhawk I love your top! It looks so summery and cool, that colour is gorgeous too.

@lucysmam wow! That yarn is so shimmery! What’s it like to use?

That’s beautiful spinning @Fairislefandango!

Thank you for all the lovely comments - I'm excited to wear my new top, but I'm waiting until Easter weekend, when I see my SIL who bought the yarn.

I've done a lot of thinking about my next plans, and have a nice list of things to tackle - but I'm going to do the Maria top above next, despite the granny stitch overload. I'm going to attempt it with the yarn that I have, and order more if I need to. It'll be annoying if I do run short, because being stripes means if I don't have enough of 1 colour I probably won't have enough of all of them, so it will mean buying 5 whole new balls, plus the dye lots won't match - though hope that won't be too much of an issue given the space between each stripe.

In the meantime, DD's hexagon cardigan is coming on nicely - hexagons are finished and seamed, and I've done the first back extension rows. Just need to connect them together now, and then it is on to the arm extensions.

Novice at crochet, I have managed granny squares with a lot of swearing lol. I'd like to make some toys, is that too ambitious?

Also how many squares to make an average sized baby blanket?