Handknitting and the cost of yarn

Winsome_2

mocolo wrote: »

oohh...what a cooincidence. What wool are you using? I have some bitds in the stash but are a bit unsure whether they would work OK. Would love to see a picture when you have finished it.

I am using some MuleSpinner yarns (bought in canada)... lovely wool produced by a small mill - only problem is that it is too itchy to use for cloting and contains small bits of "vegetation"... so making something felted out of it is perfect! Dark green, pink and purple are the colours I am using...

Littlebean_2

Thanks Kittie for these links - would love to try some socks next. I've ordered some circular needles as well as some bamboo straight needles after another posted recommended them. Must really try to keep off ebay this week - so tempting but not good for my bank balance.
Like you, my knitting seems to be taking over the living room and its only a matter of time before my two little boys get their hands on it. PLan for this week is to clear out a cupboard upstairs and organise my knitting supplies/stash out of the way of little mitts.

halia

I'm joining in. I've just started knitting again after my mum taught me as a kid. I've managed a somewhat unevenly striped scarf in gryfindor colorus for my 2 yr old and i'm working on a more carefully counted one in yr 4 slytherin colours for my partner!
So far I've spent: £5.75 from wool shop =
2x 50g oddment balls in a lovely yellow shot with gold thread. oNly used the tiniest bit for small fry's scarf
1 100g DK bottle green
1 100g DK silvery grey
1 100g red
1 pr 5mm needles

then £2 from A2Z bought me 100g of orange and 100g of mid green.

I've ordered some from http://www.knitandsew.co.uk/ - spent £18 for 3 patterns and several balls of wool

And I've bid total of £10 for a set of 15 needles + row counter + stitch holders from ebay inc postage.

I bought a knitting magazine and couldnt' believe the prices of wool! £17.50 for 50g?!?!?!? Who on earth has that kind of money?

I'm off upstairs to hunt out old jumpers and undo them for the wool and I'll be doing the charity shop/freecycle thing!

halia

miserly_mum wrote: »

I realise about stuff going for rags as I used to do volunteer work for our local Barnardos. What I meant was if I stripped the buttons off a perfectly good shirt or cardigan and it then went for rags even though it wasn't soiled or worn out i'd feel bad because someone else could have got wear from it. :T

but how about using all of the garment? ie buy a woollen thing, reuse the wool and the buttons, or if its cloth use the cloth for wipes/dusters/sewing projects.

Peem

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

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(don't laugh, I look up knitting shops on yell.com before I visit anywhere!)

Ooh! I do that too. Then I have to nonchalantly (sp? soz, brain gone) wander past and say "Oh, would you look at that, a wool shop! Why don't you and the kids go and do x, y, z and I'll catch up with you in 10 mins" (ahem) :rolleyes:

They've cottoned on to my sudden liking for a walk on Whitley Bay beach since I can go to "Ring a Rosies" so I'm gonna have to find somewhere else.

:rotfl:

meanmarie

Hester...the website for kemps is: www.kempswoolshop.com...I used it the other night to buy (including p&p) €50 worth of wool, which should finish my Christmas and baby knitting...thought that there was a wonderful selection and even though the prices are higher when converted to euros it saves me the money I would spend when visiting my nearest woolshop...can't wait for it to come although I still have lots to be getting on with.

Would second www.garnstudio.com for free patterns...I was drooling even though I won't live long enough to knit them all.

Marie

Ishtar

halia wrote: »

I bought a knitting magazine and couldnt' believe the prices of wool! £17.50 for 50g?!?!?!? Who on earth has that kind of money?

I subscribe to 'Simply Knitting' and can only agree with you about the prices of some of the yarns. Someone wrote in and asked if they could perhaps print patterns with cheaper wool - their reply was that it was easy to substitute yarn (so not much help there then...).

Whilst I agree that it's nice to treat yourself occasionally, I think it could potentially prove quite off-putting if you have only just started knitting. Personally, I wouldn't spend £50+ on yarn for a jumper - simply because I couldn't justify it - but if someone bought it for me as a gift, well I wouldn't say no!

(Just don't get me started on 'luxury' glass knitting needles....)

For info I've just placed an order with MCA Direct - I've never used them before, but they've already despatched my order. They seem to be around the same price as many other places, but they do offer free delivery if you spend over £10 (never a problem for me ).

I agree that it would be great to have a craft sub-forum - a place to hang out with like-minded people!

D.

Margaret54

Thank you Ishtar for mentioning knitwell. I had never heard of them before and i have just placed an order with them, and i was even able to order some wool in their sale at the moment which works out a real saving, so i am well pleased. I will look forward to receiving my parcel.:j best wishes Margaret

Margaret54

I agree with the poster who mentioned knitting with bamboo needles. I bought some a good while ago, and i think they are easier to knit with, and especially as i have arthritis i find them easier than the metal ones. Happy knitting everyone

Calephetos

I'm a recent knitter, and am just moving on from basics to socks! I have Knitty's Baudelaire socks going at the moment. I hope to get onto larger items, but I'm not sure I have the confidence just yet...Or the cash for dozens of balls of wool