Does anyone still knit?

WantAnOrange

I knit. I'm 25! Tell your bloke that knitting is cool now. :-)

Drachenfach

I'm not a knitter, as more than a row or two sets off my RSI in my wrists, but at 32 I am a prolific crocheter.

I like making charity stuff best - baby clothes, catnip mice (snapped up by my colleagues at work) and brooches and fascinators to sell at craft fairs.

meritaten

I am teaching my granddaughters to knit, they are 10. its a lovely craft to learn. and the scarves which cost a fortune to buy in the shops lately are much cheaper to knit yourself. and quite honestly in the upmarket shops, hand knitted items are at a 'premium' price. and the satisfaction you get from creating your own babies clothes ............priceless!
(oh and you also have the bonus of being able to sit quietly, knitting, and not get accused of being 'lazy'!)

and there are some brilliant tutorials on Youtube - just be careful as the American ones use different 'technical terms', and this can be problematic when reading a British pattern.

mioliere

Seakay - thanks for linking to our thread!

I've knitted for as long as I can remember. Sadly, I now have tendonitis in both hands so find knitting painful, but I can crochet with no pain at all; I couldn't bear to have to give the woolly stuff up altogether. Besides finding it a great way to make things for charity (see Seakay's link!), it's ideal for making presents, and it is so soothing to do, especially if you have a stressful life. I live in France where it's difficult to find good quality value-for-money wool. I've used up the huge stash I bought on my last visit to the UK but I'm due back there at the end of the month, and one of the highlights of my trip will be a visit to my favourite wool shop. I've been saving my pennies for a massive spend-up, and I can hardly wait!

dawn_rose

Me im a knitter, crocheter and jewellery maker plus I sell what I make on my online shop and hopefully soon at craft fairs. P.s. I'm 32 x

Tamara_2

I'm a knitter, always have been, even when it was unfashionable. The range of yarns out there now is astounding! You'll be spoilt for choice.

pollypenny

Tried a bit of knitting again last night, did the rib and started one Aran section.

Didn't want to push it, so I'll try a bit more tonight.

Lilyplonk

I'm another knitter who loves knitting - along with crochet, dressmaking, basic soft furnishings, embroidery. Been doing embroidery since I was 7yrs old / knitting/crochet since 16 / dressmaking since 19 / soft furnishings since first getting married at 21 ............ I'm now 63.

In my worst poverty days (70's/80's), I managed to earn money to buy presents at Christmas/Birthdays, remodelled coats/trousers for my children and often unravelled knitted garments to make other stuff for them - including crocheted blankets using unravelled sweaters that were too bad to make another item out of.

angeltreats

I'm 33 and I belong to a stitch & b1tch group It's great fun and we have all ages. I learned as a child and knit socks mostly but all sorts of stuff, and I also crochet. I'm currently pregnant and once I get past my 12 week scan soon my needles will be coming out.

Definitely not a granny pastime. Plus you can get so much beautiful wool/yarn these days in all kinds of lovely fibres like silk blends, cashmere, merino etc, you don't have to use scratchy acrylic.

angeltreats

thriftwizard wrote: »

Agreeing heartily; you can spend a fortune on lovely warm squashy stuff in delightful colourways! That's what made me learn to spin my own, because I couldn't afford £40-odd per jumper, not when there were 7 of us to make stuff for. I do use a wheel (bought my first for £50 about 5 years ago, have worked my way up to a decent one by "recycling" money from the first one, still pick up & prepare my own free fleeces from time to time) but a spindle's much cheaper, much more portable and not a whole lot slower once you've got the hang of it. It seems ridiculously extreme-OS, until you realise a) it's not rocket science, 100 years ago just about everyone did it, b) after the initial expense, it's waaaay cheaper, c) after a bit of practice you get exactly what you want instead of having to compromise, and d) it's extremely relaxing, creative & addictive. To cap it all, I had a leg operation a couple of years ago, and the OTs & physios were so impressed by my rapid recovery, they said spinning wheels should be made available on the NHS!

Sorry, slight thread hi-jack there, but the OP's boyfriend's statement put me in mind of all the times we've been spinning in public, and people come up to us and say what a shame it is that it's such a dying art... when there are usually at least a couple of teenaged or early 20s lasses sitting there spinning with us, and kids queueing up to have a go. Not quite dead yet, then... :rotfl:

A lady from my knitting group spins lots of her own yarns and dyes them using all sorts of methods and unconventional stuff to colour them with (like tea, beetroot etc). They are absolutely lovely. I haven't the patience or time at the moment to learn but spinning is definitely on my to-do list.

Funny she used to talk about people from spinning class and for ages I thought she meant the gym class with the exercise bikes :rotfl: