Support thread - new blankets

[tribpot]

I'm starting to pull together some ideas for our new blankets, very sadly knit for MNers who have both lost a beloved baby recently :(

You will have instructions from Pistey about wool colours and some suggested shops to buy from - personally I buy mine from McA Direct and have found their service excellent, but there are lots of alternatives out there. Warning: Hobbycraft do not generally stock the required yarns.

The question of how many stitches to cast on comes down to the question of gauge; how tight or loose your knitting is with the yarn in question. Best way is to knit a sample (or a plain square); just measuring how wide it is once you've cast on won't be a very reliable measure because it stretches out once you start knitting. Equally, if it's already more than 6" wide you're on a hiding to nothing. For most people, on 4mm needles, 33-ish stitches and about 45-ish rows should give you a 6" x 6" square but don't do a whole one if you're not sure or a slow knitter, as it's mega-frustrating to have to pull it all back down again.

What follows is mostly links to patterns that we've done or revised in earlier blankets, or ideas for things you might want to try. I know there are some specific pattern requests for these two blankets and I'm looking those out. Warning: many of these are links to patterns on Ravelry, which is like the Facebook of knitting. Registering is free and 100% worth it, although it may mean you start sending your salary direct to your yarn shop of choice at the start of each month as you discover more and more amazing things to knit.

If you want to start with something more adventurous than garter stitch (knit every row) or stockinette (knit one row, purl the next, and so on) why not try the Chinese waves pattern? (Non-Ravelry link). Or maybe stars - this is a bit more difficult - (Non-Ravelry link).

Birds have been specifically requested so we're starting with this lovely Owl pattern - this involves cables and ends up looking a bit like this.

Note, though - before having a go at these patterns you need to know what your gauge is, so you can modify the pattern (so in the case of the owl, cast on fewer stitches / chop out a few rows in terms of length for example) or change needles to get it close to the 6" size.

If you want to follow our adventures in trying to get a particularly devilish heart pattern right, please see the support thread in which Team Heart did battle with hearts, trees and elephants.

More to follow ...

I have loaded some picture onto fb (for those that know me) of my most recent squares, including my not bad if I say so myself attempt at intarsia technique on the back of my bird square.

Need to get back onto a computer to be able to load them onto my MN profile.

Have now taught myself to k1b and am currently knitting a fisherman's rib square. I'm using cream Rowan wool - first time I've used the Rowan and I have to say, I prefer the Debbie Bliss - which is also cheaper

Oh, funnily enough, bird - I prefer the Rowan. I think I like the colours better, and it feels like a nicer yarn. Which is mad when they are made out of exactly the same blend of stuff.

Good work on the intarsia, I shall be prepared to be envious.

Evening! Hoping to finish my first square today. It is only rice stitch, nothing fancy (and I made a teeny mistake so I may stitch a knitted butterfly over that!)
I thought I may start a heart motif next, in one colour. I have no idea how to knit with two colours beyond a couple of stripes.
I also have no idea about yarn over and slip stitch. It looks complicated and I am scared of mucking something up.
May do some hearts and then try a fancier something on square after that after a practice on my usual wool (which I used to love, by the way, until I go this lovely yarn through, now my usual merino stash seems crappy in comparison!)

Rice stitch is lovely, tickler. And design features simply add to that don't they - I had to stitch a wee heart over a bit of the Team Heart that I'd done wrong (I adapted the pattern myself and still couldn't follow it properly!).

Plenty of one-colour heart patterns to have a bash at though!

Maybe you just get used to feel of the one you started with. I had to get the Rowan as its cream was better than the Debbie Bliss one, which was practically white.

Evening

Such thoughtful and beautiful squares are being made for these blankets, everyone is so utterly amazing.

Replying to PMs, well trying to, am not sure it is behaving this evening But thank you, we will get there

Made a minor mistake in my fisherman's rib (dropped a stitch and made a right fankle of picking it up). Fortunately, it's not visible on the "right" side and barely visible on the "wrong" side.

Knitting these squares is a great way of practising new techniques!

Morning Off to work as usual this morning. Back at lunchtime

Morning

Morning

Done! Morning all.

I'm impressed with that square tribopot ! I started trying to do a square on 4 (+1) needles and gave up: I couldn't work out which needle was which when there were only two stiches on each as they kept on getting twisted.

I have now added my latest efforts, plus the back of my intarsia bird, to my profile.

will crack on with pockets, also have some 4ply brown cashsoft left over from baby jacket, so may use that for mouse
Gorgeous square trib

Bird - it certainly isn't easy with just 8 stitches, I had to have a couple of goes at it. Still not convinced it's quite right but Knotty and Pistey can always reject it if it fails to meet quality criteria . I had to keep the needles in order between my fingers, which isn't too bad with the very short ones I was using.

What I should have done in hindsight is the good old Emily Ocker's cast on to make it easier to manage the very few stitches and then you can pull it tight later on, it is genius.

Love the intarsia - much neater than the back of my fairisle peanut-based design (I don't have a pic of it but will do one this evening!). My ds is a fan, anyway - he has requested a piece of 'Isle of Peanut' to keep.

My needles aren't that short (except for the 5th one) so that was maybe the problem. I had least 4 attempts before giving up (or should that be ?)

I might try again, using that cast-on (I do like diagrams and pictures - find them easier to follow than videos) and sitting at a table to keep the needles in order.

Yes, I think if you couldn't comfortably hold all the needles that will have been v tricky. Ideally for something this small they would have handy '1', '2', '3' markers on but ho hum. Unless you happen to have a set that are all different colours just for such purposes you can only do the best you can.

And it does get much easier after only a few rows, the middle bit of mine doesn't look quite like in the pattern but I think that's cos you're meant to turn it over or summat before joining up and starting the first row - it says 'turn needle as if to iCord or something, I decided to ignore that

I was thinking of putting stickers on the needles, at least for the first few rows.

I've done two bears, one patterned square, a square with a star on it and am currently working on a square with a heart in the middle - which should get easier now I've done the tricky row of getting the heart in a square!

^^

Mornin' all ...

The double-moss stitch square is almost done. Am ploughing on with the sheepy sheep although something doesn't look right ... It won't be down to Trib if that's the case, it will be down to me.

There is some lovely crafting going on

^^

Afternoon! Lots of exciting knitting going on. Please can someone reassure me that it's okay to knit when the house isnt completely tidy? Struggling to allow myself time these last few days.

Mole, it is imperative to knit when the house isn't completely tidy. In fact it's practically mandatory.

Will knotty and Pistey tell me off if I don't?

If you don't what? Mole

If I only crocheted when this house was tidy, I would never crochet.

What she said ^^

Lunchtime, hooray!

My house isn't completely tidy BECAUSE I knit. And MN. Sleep. Eat. Play Plants vs Zombies. Go to work. Drink wine. Drink tea. Because I don't clean or tidy, in short.