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_

Thank you, @SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound sending you good cardigan vibes!

I've decided to make a start on the Maria top while I ponder what to do about the sleeves on DD's hexagon cardigan.

In reality, I know I'm going to end up taking the ribbing back and extending them in the end, I'm just in denial about it for the time being. And I know I could just be getting on with the extra length and neck band while I prevaricate, but that will make it harder to ignore the sleeves. So yeah - next project it is!

This lunchtime - gauge swatch! Which never seems to go well for me, so let's see...

Well, my top is still a non-starter but I have now finished the butterfly life cycle I started last Easter holidays 🙈 I struggled with the wings so put it away...turns out I just needed a bit of time to improve!

Ooh I have a bit of catching up to do! @bruffin - those squares are beautiful! )Sympathies on the sewing together though - I hate that. I'm already worrying about sewing up dd's jumper (though that will probably be in about 3 years' time at the rate I'm going ) as I will have to match up the different cables at the shoulders .

Probably around the time I'll finish my blanket @Fairislefandango . I've spotted another error right near the beginning. I'm going to carry on and maybe deal with it when I've finished. In the meantime I'm going to start something quicker and I've treated myself to some Wool and the Gang dark red. I'll post a picture when it comes.

Sorry meant to say that butterfly is gorgeous @lucysmam and so are those squares @bruffin

Does anybody feel happy about sewing up? I'm ok at it but I'm terrified of doing it on a jumper.

I love the butterfly@lucysmam

Just started sewing and already had the blossom one upside down!

@MerylSqueak I wouldn’t say I’m happy about it, but it doesn’t bother me. I don’t do mattress stitch that we’re always told is invisible (pfft not when I do it, it isn’t). The only bit of sewing up jumpers that really bothers me is the sleeve when it’s a set-in sleeve, but I dislike knitting those anyway and stick to drop shoulders, so it’s all straight lines. I just do back stitch on the inside, or if I want a contrasting seam, blanket stitch in a different colour on the outside.

I didn't know it was allowed to abandon mattress stitch! I might try that myself. I have done it when it has been invisible but it's often not, memorably on a cushion that had four squares to put together where three went well and the fourth just wouldn't do it.

I do like the figure 8 way of starting off mattress stitch though. Randomly, it was one of the first things I learned.

Sod it, I’m having a ceremonial bonfire with my cardigan. I can read my knitting now which I couldn’t when I tried to knit it when DS was wee but it’s still a massive PITA. Any mistakes are so visible and I’ve made a few of them since I reknit this section. I’ve knit it about 4 times with the amount of ripping out I’ve done so I’m going to find something with a chart instead and do that. Probably. It’s too wet for a bonfire.

Your butterfly is lovely @lucysmam

That butterfly life cycle is fantastic, @lucysmam !

We are off to London for a few days to do a bit of touristy stuff and meet up with family and some old colleagues from my and dh's London teaching days. Sadly no space to take any knitting, but I doubt I'll have time anyway! Maybe I'll stumble across a cool yarn shop somewhere though...

We are sadly short of cool yarn shops, at least in my bit of London, @Fairislefandango. Although it makes me sad, on balance it is a good thing for my bank account!

I did the gauge swatch for my Maria top yesterday. Pattern says 4mm. I was two stitches short with that, and 1 stitch with 4.5mm, so I am going to start with a 5mm hook.

However, I am deeply skeptical - this always happens to me! My gauge swatches are way off, but when I get started, whatever I am doing is wildly too big. So I'm putting money on much swearing, frogging, and ending up with a 4mm hook in about a week's time. It'll be super annoying this time though, because I'm working in striped rows, so I'll end up having to join all the bits, or I'll likely run our of yarn (which I am half expecting to do anyway).

How do join granny squares? Is there a right and wrong way up when I do join?

@Mumtothreeandadog there is no right way or wrong way to join granny squares. Different joins have different looks and so you pick whichever you think will make your blanket look nicer and the look you are hoping to achieve, You just want to keep to the same join in one blanket/jumper but other than that - try them all.

https://www.craftpassion.com/12-ways-to-join-granny-squares/

@Mumtothreeandadog sorry I misread your question. With your granny squares you will have a right side and wrong side. You might not notice the difference, it’ll be very subtle on a granny square but the wrong side or the back will be a bit more bumpy on the stitches.
https://bluestarcrochet.com/how-to-tell-right-side-crochet/

Ideally you would have all your wrong side facing the same way. The difference is subtle if you don’t get all of them facing the same way. Then depending on the join you use, some will work from the back (wrong side) of the squares and some will work from the right side (front of the squares). You would want to join from the same side because otherwise you’ll see quite a difference. Joining on one side and then the other is easily done. I did it with my mum’s blanket and I was so annoyed when I did it. I’d already sewn my ends on the join in too! So I had to gently unpick the ends, then take the join out to put it back in.

@lucysmam that butterfly its gorgeous!

@Mumtothreeandadog did you turn your granny squares between rounds? If you did then both sides will look the same. If you didn't then there is a 'wrong' side and a right side.

My favourite way to join granny square squares is with a flat slip stitch join.

@CrochetBug by turning your squares, do you mean turning them over as obviously I had to turn them when working on the next side? If this is what you mean then no, I didn't turn them over. I shall google the joining method you suggest. Thank you

You don't have to turn them between rounds, although most patterns tell you too.
If you turned them between rounds then yes, you've turned them. That means they don't have a wrong side and a right side. If you look closely, each round will look different on both sides. If you're fussy about it you might want to make sure the inner round of each square is the same way. Or alternate them to make a pattern.

@CrochetBug no I didn't turn them between rounds. Do I have a wrong side and a right side? How many squares for a good sized baby blanket? And how should I edge the blanket? I don't have a pattern!

@Mumtothreeandadog then yes you have a wrong side and a right side. This is the easiest way to tell which is which.

In terms of how many you need, it depends how big they are. If they are 4" squares you'll need a lot more than if they are 12" squares. Google standard blanket sizes, and then see how many you need for the size you want to make.

My favourite border for a granny square blanket is a V stitch border. It's really pretty and lacy. It's the border in this pattern https://jonnamartinez.com/2018/01/29/call-the-midwife-inspired-blanket/

Hello I'm still here and still knitting, just not mumsnetting much. I really wish we had a "like" button, I've been admiring everyone's work, especially @lucysmam 's butterfly and @bruffin 's squares!

Oh no @SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound what a shame about having rip back. I had three false starts on this sleeve today. First a mistake in the cast-on row, then an error in the ribbing, and finally an error in the pattern start requiring me to take two rows back. But very often I ignore mistakes. I'm now on the first sleeve of this cardigan but have a big error in the back ribbing which I decided to ignore, and a couple of minor things in the cable pattern. Current sleeve pic attached.

Spot the deliberate mistakes continued: the cabled ribbing went the wrong way but I decided not to start over. And I have occasionally forgotten to start the moss stitch inside the chevrons...

Spent a lot of money on this yarn. It wasn't easy to knit with (Rowan Brushed Fleece) and even harder to tink.

I didn't have a circular needle for the border/button band so did a join on the centre back neck.

Not happy with this one.

Maybe one of the many that get to this stage and remain unfinished/buttonless.

Im going back to grandchild garments for now - seem to have lost some of my previous 'knack'. Used to be able to remember quite complicated patterns. This one had me tinking back constantly - my menopausal brain.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche that is stunning!

I finished a jumper, well the body of it. 3rd version. 1st I didn't like the colour. 2nd the gauge was off and I realised I'd lost weight and needed to go down a size. Well either I've gained weight again, or my gauge is off (it measured perfectly) but its doesn't feel like its going to fit when I sew the panels together. So it's going in the bag of shame. Hopefully I'll have shrunk enough by autumn to finish and wear it.

My monochrome/rainbow secret project has had the same 8 rows done 3 times now. But I finally think its right so will hopefully finish it this week.

Hello I'm still here and still knitting, just not mumsnetting much. I really wish we had a "like" button, I've been admiring everyone's work, especially  @lucysmam's butterfly and @bruffin 's squares!

@GlowWine I so agree!

I’ve been largely offline the last few days finishing my jumper. I’m very pleased with it and Daisy approves, which is the important thing.