Support thread 3 - further blanketeering

[tribpot]

Oh no! The previous thread has become full and suddenly we need a new one, with no way of linking old to new. I hope people will find this one. :)

This is a continuation of our thread supporting MNers creating blanket squares for Woolly Hugs. All are welcome.

Ophelia, you're on - I've put you above the line where 'here be dragons' as otherwise it's only DAISY and me representing the North of England, with Formerly technically on the right latitude but in another country If you live just south of the line, I'm moving the line down!

I'm surprised to hear Chester is short on wool shops, I would have thought it'd have a few naice places.

I'm off today to my 'knitting with colour' workshop so I am insanely excited to learn how I've been doing it wrong all this time.

Glad you made it back from the post box unscathed this time Prettybird

Hello!
Look at this nice new shiney thread :o
I did one bull's eye square last night in 3 blues with a cream border, now to start some flowers maybe. I attempted a tiny ripple but it was much too late for that kind of initial concentration so that was frogged. I may re-attempt.

Help needed please. Got sublime extra fine merino in green/sage? colour I was going to do the tree but cant find link to pattern now and i didnt save it earlier can someone link to patterns please

nickelbabe in sittingbourne.
:)

i'm hooking.

Link to google doc guide for SoreMummy. Is the tree one of those? :)

Yes it is thanks very much for link

Just checking in

Back from knitting course with my Knitting Goddess Who Is Alive (Emma King) as opposed to my All-Time Knitting Goddess who is, of course, Her Zimmerness.

Anyway, no great shocks to discover I've been doing fairisle wrong all this time! I have learnt my lesson from doing her magnificent Professional Finishing Techniques workshop though and deliberately not done any colour work since I booked on it. Snowdrop fairisle for me!

Will be catching up with people who need placing upon the map, although I would draw SoupDragon's attention to the disclaimer on the 'here be dragons' line.

I've got half the tree square one :) Trib where do you do you course

Oh soremummy, yes I saw you were in Leeds. Did you find Debbie Bliss in town? (Not the woman, the yarn!)

The course was run at the fabuloso Baa Ram Ewe in Headingley. It actually takes place in a room above the equally fabuloso Salvos so you can - for a very reasonable fee - enjoy absolutely scrumptious sarnies and coffee during the day as well. Although as a local you are expected to explain why hordes of drunk students in fancy dress keep wandering by doing the Otley Run.

Ive finished my tree square just under 2 hrs with dd here with me. (Next time choose something easier when she's not at school:) )

Not a chance of finding any Debbie Bliss in town. I managed to get a ball of sublime from the shop on eastgate. Very limited colours eg 2 shades of green and the rest was pink red purple!

Oh dont mention the Otley Run my dd 17yrs did this end of May when they finished college she was ok couldnt get served lol but some of her friends needed help. Must try meet up sometime tribpot.

Anyone got suggestion for the next square for me?

Ha ha I've just noticed i've done "the tree of valium" it wasnt that bad

I've just got my first attempt at a cable knit square up to 6" in length. I'm sure half way up the bugger was 6" wide but now I'm at the top it's shrunk to 4.5" wide. It's very stretchy though....will that be ok? please don't say I have to pull it out and start again

I know the Head Blanketeers always say that i is stretches to 6" it's fine Eskarina

4.5" when flattened is perfect :)

Eskarina (Pratchett reader?) it will balance out my snowdrop square which might be a bit big.

eskarina - that happened to me the first time I did a cable square. . It was ok 'cos it could streeeetch to 6" wide.

What you need to do is a stabilising rib on either side of each cable bit. I've added a picture to my Flickr photo stream but can't link to it at the moment (on my iPod) but if you search my posts on Matilda's blanket thread, you'll be able to see what I mean.

My stars measured at 4.5 inches with no stretch so I frogged it, added ten stitches and it's still only 4.5 inches.
I'm determined to crack this!

droitwitchmummy yup, was reading Equal Rites when I decided to sign up.

Thanks for advice and encouragement. These squares are good for practising my knitting techniques. I have learned to do lace and cables (NOT at the same time!!!) for this project :-)

Esk I am re-reading Going Postal and have an urge to change into Adora Belle Dearheart!
I agree these projects are a great way to practice different stitches. My current square is quite lacy and the star I will do afterwards looks a bit challenging!

I'm a pants knitter ( I mean I'm rubbish at knitting, not that I knit pants) but I think I could probably applique a fabric motif on to a kniited square, if that's ever any help?

tribpot - I've knitted a number of Icelandic jumpers. Is there anything I should be aware of in the fair-isle technique, as I am totally self taught. (my mum was no longer on a condition to advise me when I re-started knitting)?

bird - the main thing I've learnt, which you probably already know, is that in any given row one colour must be dominant (the other, sadly is not called 'submissive' but rather contrast). The colour with the majority of stitches in the row is the dominant one, and the other colour must be picked up from underneath it to create the beautiful straight lines that I (now) discover are meant to exist on the back of fairisle. So in any given row, one colour must float above the other when they're carried behind stitches, they are never twisted (except at the very end of each row to bring both colours right to the end of the row). So this example looks like this on the back - they're not all perfect because on one of the rows of the hearts you have to float the dominant behind a set of 5 contrast stitches so have to change dominance mid-row.

I also learnt a technique for doing two-handed colourwork that isn't the continental style, I will post some pics in the morning if you would like? (Not quite sure how to photograph my own hands .. hmm ... )

Btw on two colour brioche - yeah. Try get out of that. There is a very limited ability to undo stitches once done.

HouseOfMirth, maybe PM KnottyLocks for a view, thank you for the offer!

I did already instinctively try to do that: a result of my mum (following on from her MIL) teaching me to try to make the back of our Danish cross-stitch embroidery as neat at the front.

Not sure the "dominant" one was always the top one, but did try to keep the order consistent within a row. Most I have ever worked with within the same row is three colours.

Fairisle is only meant to have two colours per row, even if a gazillion colours in total, so not sure how you're strictly meant to handle three per row, but of course Icelandic is a different technique again.

Carrying the colours to the end of the row is important as well - I'd starting doing something similar in terms of carrying the stitches beyond where they were being used to prevent them from skewing, but carrying them all the way does mean they are not making the fabric uneven, it's double thickness end-to-end.