Support thread 2 - new blankets

[tribpot]

This is a continuation of our thread supporting MNers creating blanket squares for Woolly Hugs. All are welcome and I'm hoping to post a link soon to a collection of our fave patterns, pics and links to keep them all in one place. In the meantime, this new thread will allow phone-based MNers like RedRosie to return from Special Phone Exile where she goes whenever the thread has too many messages on.

This is a thread of peace where knitters and crocheters, donors and crafters are all equally welcome.

I'm originally from Aberdeen which is practically the arctic circle to some!

Miserable weather here so it'll be house based activities for us today.

I remember being shocked when I found out that the Watford Gap was not that far out of London

Grotty weather here too - but I've got to go to Kilmarnock and stand on the touch line supporting ds at a rugby festival. The things we do for weans.

I think your line's about right Trib. I grew up (and my Mum still lives) in Mold which is just under the line for The North. Nearer to Flint/Rhyl etc there are definitely dragons.

I'm now living in Cambridge if I can be of any use in the Pidj relay team. Happy to meet Minnie half way between Cambridge and Oxford?

And Pitsey might be able to help - she's west of me and I'm sure you have her whereabouts ... Barbara could relay Pidj to Pitsey, and Pitsey relay her to me?

Although we are zig-zagging about a bit now :o

I can pick Pidj up in Glasgow if she's going to refuse my kind offer to kidnap her in July and take her across to West Lothian.

I think that line's about right too, I was brought up to think that North started at Yorkshire, but where does that leave Cheshire?

I'm sure I told this anecdote on one of these threads before, but I had a boyfriend when I was younger whose family lived in Tamworth (I live on the South coast). The first time I went to visit his mum asked if I'd ever been up North before and it was one of the few times in my life that I have been completely unable to answer. It was a very long silence. I ended up blurting out that yes, as my grandparents live in Yorkshire and Scotland but that I hadn't really thought of Tamworth as being North. Bloody woman spent the rest of the weekend making Yorkshire jokes at me. The relationship didn't last.

Cheshire is in the very North of the Mid-Lands or the very South of the North-Lands ...

Probably.

I thought the softies in the South Southern English thought all civilisation stopped north of the Watford Gap?!

Pretty - I think some of my fellow Londoners feel that The North begins at the M25 ... Which is in fact far south of Watford Gap, which is absolutely in the Mid-Lands.

Back to knitting (just v briefly). Does anyone have a pattern - very, very simple, beginner level - for a knitted mouse?

Bird, it turns out most of us don't even know where the Watford Gap is!

I'm on the train to the National Railway Museum in York - just what the doctor ordered for my foot - but will be updating the map this avo with approximate relay points for the future kidnap/torch extravaganza.

True

When I first moved to the South East (Welwyn), the M25 hadn't even been completed - now it's a real symbol of where the "hinterland" starts!

Knitting related question

This is probably for the hookers amoungst us. I'm making a patchwork blanket for my friend who's having a baby. I'm doing 3 inch squares, is it better to crochet them together rather than sew? If so, how do I do it?

Fizzog, rather biased here but I like hooking them together. Double crochet starting with the horizontals.

New blanket project for Matilda

if anyone is interested - please don't feel you must. x

Glaikit, my first question is whether you've gone completely mad - how many of these 3 inch squares are you going to be doing? I would sew them .. as I was going along, to avoid a nervous breakdown at the end.

Rosie, this mouse is super-cute but I assume you were looking for a free pattern? This one is adorable, as is this one.

Rated on Ravelry as 'very easy' (1) are catnip mouse, a whale toy (I kid you not, this came under a search for mouse - the designer also has a not-free mouse pattern!), knit mice for your cats and chamomile the mouse, who looks lovely but I'm not sure should have been rated 'very easy'.

I've updated the map with everyone except WhoKnows as I figured choosing a random spot on the south coast might not be completely helpful!

Trib - if you mark me up as being between Guildford and Winchester you will be about right (I'm not quite on the coast). The South coast is a big place, I remember having a conversation with someone in Scotland once who thought Plymouth and Portsmouth were right next to each other. Wrong!

Lots of mices. Thank you Trib.

The map is looking good.

Hope you had a good time at the NRM. I attended a conference dinner there last year and it was magical in the evening ... Silver service and everything.

Another vote for double crochet to join squares, it is certainly neater than sewing it when I'm doing it.

WhoKnows, I've put you in Bognor just for larfs and to make the 'bugger bognor' remark.

Rosie, I bet the conference dinners are amazing. Today was the last day of Trainfest - at 15 quid a ticket I thought I'd take a peek round the museum first and actually it was delightfully quiet so we got the better end of the deal (plus Trainfest meant there was no disabled parking at the NRM, which I wasn't pleased about, not that DH was with us). We went on the simulator pod thing twice - first for a time travel starting with dinosaurs, then a shuttle ride to the International Space Station. After charging about in there, plus the obligatory trip to see the sign for Platform 9 3/4 we realised that 'the Spinning Wheel' as ds used to call it when he was little has returned to York - the fabulously expensive big wheel we used to go on at every visit to NRM. Thank god the museum is free!

After that we thought we'd wander over to Jorvik to see how busy it was because we've never been - there was no queue and furthermore, the tickets last for a year, so we can go back with DH booked in at no extra cost - awesomes.

Main disappointment was hardly getting any crafting done on the train there and back I had prepared for the longer but more direct train that goes from my local station all the way to York on a Sunday but we left before the first one and the returns are only every 2 hours. So we came back via Leeds instead.

Yes I may be slightly mad, but it's only a pram blanket, not huge. I'm doing it in the 100% cotton patrons dk, because I thought that would wash well and doesn't cost a fortune. I really dislike the baby wool that goes all fuzzy after a couple of washes, but don't want to spend £££££. Is that logical?? I've done 11 squares already but only I one colour, so I'll crack on with the other colours and then start sewing/crocheting.

Your day sounded fab! Btw :)

I've tried sewing squares together before and end up with it warping because it's too tight! Which is why i did the Woolly Hugs as crochet - plus it adapts better to the varied tensions!

My pram blanket is the complete opposite - 4 panels 11x12" :) (pic of first on profile)

My friend picked 4 colours I thought smaller squares would suit it better. I'll see how it goes. If I google double crochet will I find a you tube tutorial? Crochet virgin here!

Pidj, Glaikit doesn't have to cope with too much variable tension, however! (Well, hopefully ). I think the Patons will wash well but will probably take a while to dry, Glaikit. Could be a bit of a bugger if it's being washed quite a lot - but will be able to take a tumble dry.

Try googling single crochet (the American term)

Crochet Geek/TheArtOfCrochetByTheresa is very good :)

No, but sewing for me caused warping of my own stuff, which is why I didn't risk it on the hugs!