The Bluestocking - holding the line and losing the thread

[lcakethereforeIam]

All women welcome, pull up a pygmy hog, the bargerbil will serve you a drink, the flying squirrels will bring you something to read and the goats will do...I'm not entirely sure.

There may be more than the usual amount of chaos as we transition to the new thread.

Tempted to look on Amazon…

This new hobby is going to bankrupt me.

I have two and two-thirds of book nook collecting dust. That’s supposed to be my something to do, but the tiny pieces will be lost.

Feeling guilty about them sitting unbuilt.

I got a mini greenhouse early this year from Aldi, I think. It was to replace one of those shelf things with the plastic cover that kept blowing over. It's truly tiny, just above waist height but I'm really pleased with it.

Life is short, if you've managed to find something that brings you joy then go for it!

Maybe pop the book nook bits in a plastic storage box so they are ready when you want them?

I guess I'm feeling self-indulgent for knitting now when it might be all I can do in a couple of weeks.

I should be getting on with booknooks.

I’ve got a ‘growhouse’ which is essentially a tall coldframe, comes just up to the windowsill of the wall it’s against. Very useful, now of course wanting something bigger but nowhere flat enough for a proper greenhouse.
I tried one of those plastic covered things, of course it blew over and I’d no way to firmly secure it anywhere sunny. But I’ve now tied it to the fence in the ‘utility corner’ where it serves well as storage for plant pots etc.

@lcakethereforeIam mine was a plastic tiny weeny flimsy one. The zip broke very quickly however Amazon refunded me so it worked out very good for just a few months.

I would love to have one of those wooden mini greenhouses in my garden, only it's shared so the landlord wouldn't approve. I've an allotment elsewhere.

There are also useful for growing fresh greens over winter.

I've still got the plastic thing, it was about £15 reduced at Tesco. I'm just using it as shelves at the side of the house without the cover. It could be useful, I grew some pansies from seed. They survived being flipped upside down several times, but I've nothing to tie it to where there's sun. Tried putting gallons of water on the bottom shelf, it still tipped over. Sideways! Which I'd have thought was impossible.

Myrtle, getting into knitting is quite pricey. You lob £££ at nice needles, and stitch markers, and bags to put it in, and another pair of snips so you have some handy. And when that winds down a bit, you decide that you prefer expensive yarn and end up shelling out more £££ so that you can make yourself a jumper in alpaca.

Also, I need a greenhouse. Haven't asked DH but I suspect he will say that the current renovation works on Stourton Court are eating all our money...

Yeah, I had mine loaded with bricks at the bottom, still got flipped.

I had a plastic one but it ripped, the metal legs broke and it blew away in a Cornish gale.

I now have a cold frame. And have moved to somewhere much less windy.

You lob £££ at nice needles, and stitch markers, and bags to put it in, and another pair of snips so you have some handy. And when that winds down a bit, you decide that you prefer expensive yarn and end up shelling out more £££ so that you can make yourself a jumper in alpaca.

I already have two sets of needles, but my 5mm are quite short as I hadn’t realised they come in different lengths.

I’m eyeing up a proper wool bag and a needle kit from KnitPro. It’s my birthday at the end of September and apparently I’m difficult to buy for, so I will have to wait.

ETA and I’ve just seen a blocking toolbox…

I've been meaning to build myself a grow house, ideally self watering, on shed wall but haven't gotten around to it...

@MyrtleLion wrote " I’ve just seen a blocking toolbox…"

You might consider asking us other knitters how useful they find things in the toolbox, bearing in mind what you are likely to knit.

For the blocking surface I used to use children's foam playmats which fit together like jigsaw pieces, but now I only use similar boards marked in one inch squares: one set has circles marked on the back. They fit together like playmats do.

I've never used the special blocking pins. I just use little mapping pins. As I used to knit a lot of shawls with pointy edges I've also used blocking wires, but they are no longer straight. It would be cheaper and better to buy similar wire from a hardwear store. Sets like this are very useful when blocking squares - you can get them much cheaper from online suppliers.

It's amazing what a difference blocking makes to even up my stitches. Woolly Hugs asks us not to block squares before sending them off, but I sometimes send them whole blankets and I do block those first. I think Woolly Hugs also washes them before they are sent off.

What's a "proper wool bag", Myrtle? 😄

Further thought: I prefer short knitting needles (7" for squares, 10" for larger projects) as long ones attack the arms of my chair. Perhaps try just one longer pair, or we could swop?

Yeah, but it's worth it. 😁

I used to use shorter needles to knit squares when spending hours on trains travelling up and down to see my dad in his last years. I could keep my elbows and the needle ends away from the passenger in the next seat.

I have no idea where those needles are now - they:re certainly not in The Proper Knitting Bag (TM).

Double post

My DH suffered through my Kaffe Fassett knitting years, with bin bags full of yarn about the place & 40-60 balls of yarn per project laid out a sofa to choose from. Eventually all that disappeared.

When I learnt to crochet about 10 years ago, he encouraged me to buy a small basket 'so you can keep everything for your crochet in there'.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Things I have found.

KnitPro Zing Deluxe Interchangeable Needle Set 5" (13cm) | 8 Sizes (3.5mm to 8mm) https://amzn.eu/d/ejvfbs0

CURMIO Yarn Storage Bag, Knitting Tote Bag for Crochet Hooks, Knitting Project and Accessories, Ideal for Crochet Beginners and Knitting Lovers, Bag Only, Blue Flower https://amzn.eu/d/6LHOlwL

KnitPro KP10878 Rainbow Knit BLOCKERS PK20, Assorted https://amzn.eu/d/fdFBgjx

I blocked my Little Hug with water and pins on a folded towel. But it took ages and KnottyandPistey said she uses clips.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. I thought I didn’t want to make garments, but then I bought a knitting magazine and I’m thinking about it.

I’m currently knitting more squares with different stitches and I’ve found an anthology blanket with 30 different patterns…

I would suggest starting with a pair of fixed circular needles before you try interchangeables. I have several sets of them which I don't use any more. For me the length of the cable rarely matters. Some unscrew as you knit. There's no fun having over 300 stitches on your needle in a complicated lace pattern when the needle and the cable part company and lots of your stitches leap free.

Also, there are different needle points for knitting different sorts of yarn: opinions may vary but some are blunt, some very pointy, and so on. I like stiletto points generally but especially when knitting lace, although they can make holes in my forefinger.

Has anyone mentioned Ravelry to you? It could fill any spare time you may have when the Tribunal is over. Be warned, though: it's anti-Trump but also pro-trans so it's best to avoid the subject. Also, completely unlike MN, many people share identifying information about themselves, you can only have one username at a time and you can only name-change twice in your life on the site.

Thank you!

I joined ravelry and immediately got spammed every day for two weeks, so I’m not a fan.

I generally search for something I want to do and look at easy sites/pages doing that one thing.

I bought a Knitting for Beginners magazine which has everything in it and a lot of patterns, so I’ll see how that goes.

How did you get spammed, Myrtle? It’s never happened to me. You mean you got lots of PMs?

In the groups I belong to at least, if someone posts their email address publicly then a moderator will remove it quickly, presumably to stop people spamming them. I imagine it must have happened in the past and still, like here, there can be trolls.

Oh hello, I just popped in for a swimming-pool full of something to calm me down after The Other Thread, and it's all knitting and needles and stuff - that's very welcome.

Isn't knitting magical? I mean, it's just a long piece of wool and then x amount of time later it's a garment, or a toy animal or something..

I wonder what the process was by which someone millennia ago made a loop in a piece of fibre and then another and then another...

But then I think that kind of thing a lot - like did you ever wonder how the screw was invented? Did someone say 'yes, that 'nail' thingy is good, but hey, supposing we put a spiralling groove around it..?'
I know most innovations are cumulative, but the move from a nail to a screw is a biggie, isn't it?

Quick gerbils - I could keep on like this for hours, so the sooner I get that drink the better😁