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_

@lucysmam I love the coloured yarn from Poundland. I don’t think there is one near me though. And I’m still not buying yarn.

Apparently prym hooks make for good teething toys 🙄

@lucysmam I want a merino/bamboo mix which is blush pink, grey, a kind of antique rose mix. With ochre speckles. But it doesn't exist, hence I was going to commission it.

Then another dyer posted a pic of that exact colour mix. But she doesn't offer that base. And the postage from Canada is insane. So I'm going to message my original choice and describe it and hope she can make something I love.

I finished the 6 day kid blanket this weekend minus sewing the ends in, obviously. I don’t know whether my crojo funk is making me doubt it, it looks fine but it is quite holey and I usually try to give less holey makes for baby blankets. The 3 babies on the way are all going to be summer babies so won’t be using the blanket until they’re 4m+ and I assume they would be used on prams and not to sleep with, then the next time the blanket comes out the babies are going to be toddlers so maybe it’ll be ok. I’ve not decided the recipient anyway and I’m hoping it’s owner will speak to me when these babies start turning up. I’ve also started another baby blanket, this is panels of penguins from the Ira Rott Book.

I've finished DS housewarming blanket. I am going to line it with brushed cotton but everything else is finished.

Wow @lucysmam! that’s gorgeous!

and wow @bruffin , I love to see how all your squares come together! I’ve been looking at it trying to pick my favourite square it’s too difficult to pick! I love the argyle colourwork ones. I hope your son loves it, it’s a beautiful gift.

I’ve put a shawl in for sale in the guild stall at an event this weekend, it was a rather hasty decision and if I was doing it again I’d look at properly labelling it, but I don’t think it’ll sell anyway so we’ll see.

That's fantastic, @bruffin ! I think I like the snowflake squares best. Lovely projects, everyone. I'm working away at dd's dark green cable jumper to the exclusion of my other projects. I'm really enjoying the mixture of different cables, even though it's slow work!

Thank you @SpinMeRightRoundBabyRightRound and @Fairislefandango
I think the argyll is my favourite. The snow flake was supposed to be duplicate knitting but i hate sewing so i did it in fairisle instead

I hate sewing too. I'm really not looking forward to sewing up dd's jumper, especially matching the cable patterns at the shoulders!

Right, what would you do?

I can't bring myself to start the Maria top, because I'm so worried about the gauge.

It's worked top down in granny stripes. The pattern says to use a 4mm hook, but when I gauge swatched, I made gauge with 5mm.

The last 2 things I've made the exact same thing has happened - my gauge swatch came out suggesting I needed to go up a mm. However, when I actually started, the garment was way too big, I had to frog twice and ended up using the recommended hook anyway and was bang on sizing.

I'm really reluctant to do the same thing again - it will be very difficult to frog, because the stripes mean cutting the yarn, so if I do need to, I'll probably run out or yarn, or end up with lots of knots from joining. I don't want to float the yarn, it looked really messy last time I tried when I was doing a granny go round jumper.

I've considered:
Trusting my swatch and going with the 5mm, switch to a smaller size if it comes out too big - but could be too 'holey'
Trusting the pattern and going with 4mm because of my proven issues with swatching, and switching to a bigger size of its too small - but could lose the drape and softness.

Any thoughts? Other ideas welcome!

@LancreWowhawk I would probably go with the 4mm hook but probably accept that it’s a bit like USB slots and it’ll take 3 attempts to get it right regardless!

Here is my 6 day kid blanket and 1 of 3 baby blankets done.

For beginners, is the magic circle the easiest method for round one of a granny square? Or is it personal preference?

@Mumtothreeandadog I find it easier than crocheting into a small chain to make a ring but I have fat fingers and low patience. The advantage of a MC is that you can pull it closed so you don’t have a hole, not super important for granny squares but most amigurumi start with a MC because the idea is to have small holes. If using a MC you need to remember to crochet over the tail end otherwise it can sometimes undo from the middle at a later stage. If you were doing a granny square, I would crochet over the tail end and then sew it in as you would with another end.

Morning all

Three beautiful blankets from @bruffin @lucysmam and @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally . Congratulations.

I haven't been around because DD has mocks and she's needed a lot of support. Three of her teachers have been away most of the year and another one has said they don't have time for a large part of the syllabus and she's not going to teach it 😮Thankfully I am in the school so can pick up the pieces but it's taking all my time. Last exam today.

Has anyone ever knit with Wool and the Gang Crazy Sexy Wool? I bought myself some as a treat but I really don't like it. I tried some chunky lace but it doesn't look good. Anyone had success with it?

@WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally yes, my gut says to go with the 4mm. I think it will be easier to add more rounds if the yoke is too small, plus (with it being a top), I'd rather have smaller gaps between the granny clusters to make it less see through.

Wow @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally - that blanket is gorgeous, I love the colour scheme!

Thanks @Fairislefandango I can’t actually take credit for the colour scheme as it’s Lion Brand Mandela yarn cake so it does the change for me!

They are such pretty blankets @WeCanLiveLikeJackAndSally @lucysmam

I hope people are getting time to do some knitting and crochet on the Bank Holiday weekend . I was up early working on the cable jumper. I think I've got a little bit less slow at doing the cables now!

This week I'm taking my spinning wheel into school again to do another demo (by popular request). Also I've decided I'm finally going to get around to going to my local guild of weavers, spinners and dyers. I've got a horrible feeling I'll end up tempted to try weaving and/or dyeing though, and I really don't have time for another hobby!

I like the idea of dyeing my own yarn but I haven't managed to do anything beyond using my stash for granny squares for the last few months.

We are in florida at the moment with our adult DCs and DD2 is feeling unwell today so I volunteered to stay behind while the others have gone to a theme park. I don't have any crafty things with me unfortunately or I could make use of them today!

As suggested by @Fairislefandango this weekend is perfect for knitting, I'm nearly finished with the second sleeve now, so I think my cardigan will be wearable post-coronation weekend if i can face the making up, my least favourite activity... I'm already eyeing up the next completely new project when really I should assess my yarn stash! And what does one do to use up all the small bits of sock yarn? Mixed up socks?

That's a lovely cable pattern, @GlowWine - subtle and stylish!

@bruffin I love your blanket and may have just ordered one of those Icelandic kits for a cardigan

I agree. That's lovely @GlowWine

What is the easiest way of edging my granny square blanket?

Blanket so far