How To Make My Nephew Stop Sending Us Cards?

[NotQuiteCockney]

We got another card from our nephew today, thanking us for the little board book we gave him, at his recent 21-day party. He is not yet 6 weeks old. Shouldn't he have better things to do than write us cards?

Seriously, how do I get my SIL and BIL to stop writing letters "from" a tiny baby? I could cope if the note was from a child old enough to speak, but this is ridiculous.

LOL @:

"I haven't yet braved sweaters, I always have too many hats to make. "

1,000 sweaters??? bloomin heck

I want to do a hat - so spose this is for you NQC - in Rowan chunky print, but the pattern I'd like to use is Big Wool (ie massive)..and the difference between the needles is say 8 or 9mm ones as opposed to 15mm ones...how do I work it out without scrambling the little brains I have left?

bundle, what's the hat like? Ribbing all over? Or what?

All you need to do is, make a sample swatch in the appropriate pattern, and then work out the rest to suit that size.

(This is all stuff tamum can do, too, obviously.)

You might need to fiddle with the reduction bit, too.

NQC have lovely pixie-style hat in one of my books (older children sizes, say from 4-10 yrs) which has little bits that come over the ears and gently curve. they did it in fairisle, looks fabulous.

no, it's stocking stitch so pretty basic, i'm just so hopeless at maths

Oooh, tamum, is that the kind with sort of ear flaps? A friend's DD has one like that, and I wanted to just take it apart when I saw it. Well, not take it apart, but peer at it a lot. (I think I may have offended a woman in the playground today, as she was wearing a hat that would have taken 15 minutes to knit, and then was sewed up very badly. And I almost said as much. Apparently it cost £60!!! Ok, it was cashmere, but still!)

bundle, that's not bad. Just give us the measurements for the head and the sample swatch, and it will be fine.

What's the brim like? Roll? And what's the crown like? Is it knitted in the round?

Right, just got the book- child sizes from 66-86.5 cm (26-34"), adult 91.5- 137cm (36-54"). Gauges from 3-7 sts per inch, so about 12- 28 sts per 10 cm. Quite comprehensive.

Off to get the hats book now, but I think it's fairly plain....

will look later & find out re: whether it's in the round. I've lent the book to someone, but will copy the flap hat for you once i get it back.

The hats in the Ann Budd book are just basic bobble hat shapes and tams, but she gives extra instructions for modifications like tassles. No ear flaps though. My guess is it's too basic for you, NQC.

Yeah, that probably won't teach me anything I don't know. There's a folk hats book on Amazon, that I think I've asked DH to buy me, that's got a hat with a bird on top. Should give me more ideas.

I keep thinking of doing a hat where, instead of reducing, you make i-cords off. So you end up with a hat with lots of almost dreadlocks coming off it. I'll have to try making that ... Also, I want to make a sort of jester's hat.

But am currently making DS2 a simple winter hat from weird cheap wool. But with a funky rib.

My favourite rib, I've found, is one that's a 2x3 with a slip stitch (wyib) on the middle of the three. It's much deeper than a normal rib, much more ribby.

Is it sad that I'm pleased to have found my favourite rib?

a knitted bird?? or just a picture in the texture?

This reminds me of one of my pet hates about Brighton. I don't know if this happens elsewhere but in Brighton, when a bus is going back to the garage it says in the window on the front 'I'm not in service'. I'm FFS! We are grown ups. We don't need to pretend the bus is talking.

maybe it's bertie the bus

No, I would like to congratulate you on having found your favourite rib. I am probably alone in this, but there you are. I know the book you mean, I've seen it.

spidermama

bundle, here . A knitted bird.

Do you have a favourite rib, tamum?

My moms is a 1x1 twisted. Seems a bit stiff to me, but I guess it depends on the garment.

Oh, spidermama, lots of "things" talk now. Forms. Computers. Whatever.

I think it's meant to make them seem friendly and personable, rather than creepy and weird.

I write down ds's random thoughts on presents on a card as a thank you and get him to draw a picture as well.

tamum! Look, a great list of books on knitting: here .

And this looks great, particularly the seamfree bit!

bobbybob, that kind of thing is entirely fine! I'm always writing special messages on birthday cards, like "this is a map of the death star, let's destroy it together". Complete with a map. Well, he says it's a map.

OOh weird bird hat! I got a new Rowan book recent (from Handknit tamum) which is very sweet. Uses soft baby which is fairly cheap (for Rowan) and really long so you don't need much. KNitting a v cut hat from dd...

jumpers are easy peasy NQC, the second thing I knitted was a cardi! You big wuss.

Like the look of that Ann Budd book, wish I wasn't so broke. Gaaah.

To original question. Awful, naff and twee!! I would never thank someone saying lurrrveeee dd (slurp slurp), yuck.

By all means say thank you, I do. But say, thank you very much for your present to CHILDS NAME, it was lovely. Or similar!!

No all this 'tank qu vewy much aunty wanty' crap.

I like that list, particularly as I only have 5 of them already. That's not bad, is it? I hardly dare admit that I have the seamfree one already. It's good, and well-written, but it is slightly limited- dunno if that's Because they're all in the round, or what.

I prefer not having rib on the bottom of sweaters if I can get away with it. My favourite technique is a ribbed hem like on Rogue, and the jumper I designed (I use the term loosely) for dd. Your rib sounds as though it would be really good for hats and things though, I'd like to try it.

The first thing I knitted was a hat, then a sweater.

But they both sucked.

And I never assembled the sweater as I hate sewing up, and anyway, the measurements weren't right.

I will have another go at sweaters, but I'm enjoying hats at the moment. I don't use patterns. Makes it more interesting.

Like on Rogue = ??

I like rolled hems, too.

I think that no-seams book is the one for me, I hate hate hate sewing up (funny, me hosting a sewing-up party ...).

I hate sewing up too. Still got a jumper for my mum waiting... everytime I see her.. have you done it? Have you done it?? Blah.

I don't mind doing it for my dd so much as all her things are fairly small!

There was a lovely one in a Debbie Bliss, simple raglan, beautiful. I think I might try and size it up for her now!

Rogue , my favourite pattern, and coincidentally the one I am wearing right now.

weesaidie, you must come round again and have a browse Haven't been able to bring myself to go into Handknit since Julie died, but I will soon, I'm sure. I'd love to see that hat!

Oh, yes, you've linked to that before, very pretty. Haven't you knitted more than one?

What are the edges on there, though? It calls them a self-facing?

I tend not to like rib hems on hats, as then you have to worry about the hat being all bulgy over the hem, unless you're doing a fairly cably one. So they're either roll brim, or rib all over.