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_

Oh but @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche that is amazing! Please please don't consign it to your unworn pile, it looks great, and all that work...
And @Catsmere that is very cool, did you design the pattern?

@GlowWine thank you! No, I got it from Ravelry, but modified it to fit me better (it only goes up to a 40” bust and I wasn’t keen on the shaping). My version is for 50” hips and bum and has no shaping anywhere except the sleeves!

Love the cat sweater @Catsmere. I appear to be making a very long and thin blanket as don’t have enough yarn to make it fatter. It has got rid of quite a lot of stash though. I’m looking for a new project to start and am lacking in inspiration at the moment.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche - that cardigan is amazing - can't believe you're not happy with it! I know exactly what you mean about the turning back / tinking though. I'm having the same trouble with the jumper I'm making. I've so far got two mistakes I've decided to live with too!

I have made an exciting discovery - I can knit in the car . I always assumed it would make me feel queasy, but I'm all right in the motorway as long as I look up occasionally! This was an invaluable discovery yesterday, as our usual 4hr car journey home from Milton Keynes turned into 8 hours due to a massive accident on the M6. Tons of emergency vehicles, helicopter, the works . In the end they had to evacuate everyone off backwards to the previous exit!

@StillNiceCardigan thank you!

Your journey sounds terrible @Fairislefandango (apart from the knitting!)

Beautiful cables @GlowWine and @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche!

That’s such a pity you’re not happy with it @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche, what’s bothering you about it?

Your darker contrast is working so well @GlowWine, it looks great with your pattern. I can’t see the mistakes you circled so they’re pretty invisible! I didn’t actually rip my cardigan out all the way in the end, just back to before the mistakes then put it away for a bit.

Your jumper looks great @Catsmere! it’s lovely on you and I think it looks much better in your colours than the patterns!

That’s frustrating for you @CrochetBug, I really regret ripping out a jumper when I lost weight because it would fit me now!

That sounds awful @Fairislefandango. Did you have to stay in the car or could you get out to stretch your legs?

I’ve been given another fleece so I’ve went from none to three bags full 🐑🐑🐑 Luckily I was able to borrow the guilds drum carder and I’ve been carding like mad to get them done before I have to return it! I’m really liking spinning the black fleece.

Thank you,@SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound ! Honestly I like everything about the way mine turned out much better than the original. (Immodest but true, lol.)

Your black fleece looks very cool, have you plans for it?

"That’s such a pity you’re not happy with it @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche, what’s bothering you about it?"

It's for MIL - I love her, she's a brilliant friend, just a wonderful woman.

I have to admit that I don't like the pattern (she wanted an Aran cardigan). She looked through my patterns and chose this. The yarn suggested is discontinued and this was the same gauge/alternative.

It was done on 6mm and 7mm needles - I prefer finer yarn/smaller needles. The yarn is felted/meshes together and is difficult to tink. I made more than enough mistakes - probably every time I worked on it. This is possibly due to menopause - but it was a 'battle' to knit. I haven't told her it's finished because I don't feel as if it's good enough for her.

Saying all this - there's another thread which I'm following, can't remember title but it's about support/solidarity for autistic women. My older daughter is autistic and her young children are going through diagnosis. My younger daughter is convinced she's autistic. I'm beginning to realise I've got to be autistic - it would explain my whole personality/life. It's nothing to be upset about as we've all muddled along and we're accepting and find we laugh about our eccentricities.

It's dawning on me that my finished projects which never see the light of day are possibly due to my traits. My writing style can be taken as formal/boring/serious but it certainly is not me. I'm usually self deprecating and find humour where others don't - it gets me in trouble. I laugh at my idiosyncrasies.

This project is just 'crap' and will be confined to the 'crap bag'. (Apologies for language.) I'll convince her to have a more conventional 'Aran cardigan'. (Which means knitted on needles no bigger than 5mm.). It feels like a chunky cardigan rather than an Aran cardigan - even though it's as light as a feather due to the brushed fleece yarn.

I do realise how mad this sounds.

I've already started another project on my favourite sized needles 🤣 I'm on 2 and three quarter mm at the moment and using Rowan Haze. Again, difficult to tink but this pattern is basic 3/2 rib and stocking stitch so hopefully one of 'those' that you can watch tv at the same time and actually take in the plot without fear of cabling in the wrong side of the work.

Sorry for epic post - you probably didn't even want/need an explanation.

Current cardigan.

I love that cardigan @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche

My Icelandic jumper kit arrived today

https://icelandicstore.is/products/uppstytta-turquoise-knitting-kit?_pos=2&_sid=853ce0699&_ss=r Hopefully will be ready for next winter and i have a chunky jumper to knit as well.

I am doing the border for DS blanket now and going to line it with dark grey brushed cotton which also came today to quite happy

and that cat paw jumper is fun @Catsmere

Hi guys. I've been having some success with Wool and the Gang kits (with discounts!) and feel although I've made great progress with what I've learned I still need some hand holding. And kits are great for that. Can anyone recommend any other companies which do great kits at easy/intermediate level? I'm beyond beginner hooray!!

Thank you, yes, it is! I likothe design straight away.

i love the Icelandic sweater @bruffin I’m very tempted by those kits

Just a warning. Icelandic wool is not very soft and quite hairy. They wear it with lots of layers

Meant to say you can buy the istex wools in uk and they are not expensive if you want to try it first

https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/yarn/lopi-lettlopi-all-colours

Oh, I do get it @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche not enjoying both the yarn and the pattern really ruins all aspects of a project. My current cardigan is the same. I know it’s a nice pattern and wool, it’s just not for me! Your new project is so different from the old one, its gorgeous and so very neat on small needles.

You could look into knit a longs @faffadoodledo if you fancy something with a bit of help along the way. Some shops or designers release kits and then have a knit a long on zoom Ravelry or Facebook pages. Stephen West, Carol Feller and Tribe Yarns are the ones that spring to mind immediately. I really enjoy them, it’s interesting to see what people can make using the same pattern but different colours.

Thats an absolutely gorgeous kit @bruffin. I have a lettlopi zipped jumper I wear loads and the more I wear it, the softer it gets. DS has a baby blanket knit in it that’s been used so much it’s almost silky, which I realise sounds ridiculous but it really is…

Weirdly though I knit one in a very dark grey years ago and it was very hairy and quite different to any other colours I’ve tried even though it’s the same base wool.

I’ve had some knitty critters kits (they are crochet despite the name). They’ve been a bit hit and miss. The sloth was a real pain. I’ve had some of the smaller creatures that were fine. I think with the sloth it was partly the yarn, I prefer cotton yarn for amigurumi. Toft do some kits too but the yarn can be quite expensive. Some of the kits are harder than others but the yarn is lovely and soft.

I’m losing my crojo. Everything I do at the minute just feels rubbish. I’m going to try and finish the 6 day kid blanket over the weekend and hopefully that will give me a bit of lift. Otherwise I might need to look at a quick, fun project to kickstart my crojo again.

Black sheep and Yorkshire spinners do kits as well (i think)

I'm just quickly popping in, while I have the motivation to remove corner markers & sew some ends, to show you all my "For..." to the end of pt2. I'm so pleased with it 😊

Oh @lucysmam that's gorgeous! I was going to commission my favourite indie dyer to make a custom yarn for my "For" blanket. But I couldn't work out how to explain what I wanted.

Then another indie dyer I like has dyed exactly what I envisioned. But she's in Canada (so i can't afford the postage), and doesn't do the base I want. But I don't think my preferred dyer will copy something else. <sigh>

@CrochetBug I would use the example that you love to help work out how to explain it to your preferred dyer. You don't need to share a picture.

@lucysmam That is gorgeous!

Still not started my Maria top, or faced fixing DD's cardi sleeves. I think my crojo has gone into hiding with @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally 's!

@lucysmam that is gorgeous. What yarn are you using? I love the hooked on sunshine patterns and ‘For’ is a particularly nice one.

Thank you, I am really happy with how it's going after being intimidated by it for quite some time 😊

@CrochetBug what yarn would you like for your "For..."?

@WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally I'm using some Deramores dk in Frost that had no purpose & then if I need more white will use up the James C Brett white I have (hopefully the coloured rounds will take away from any likely difference in colour). The coloured one is a slightly thicker dk, from Poundland! I bought about 30 balls of it just because its colours spoke to me 🤣