2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

@enkeltliv, ooh thanks for the link - I shall investigate them... 'cause, y'know, me not having enough knitting wool at all, ahem, ahem...  

PipneyJane

enkeltliv said:

I too like Crazy Zauberballe for socks @Laura_Elsewhere I have some leftovers that I'm pairing with Drops Fabel. I was going to put them into socks but I'm now thinking wrist warmers would be very useful. I'll have a think. 😊 

Hi @PipneyJane Woolyknit sell Britiah yarn cones at 500g for £22. It comes as 4ply but I split the cone and use 2 strands for DK weight because I don't like knitting thin fingering weight type garments. They also sell acrylic though so watch what type of cone you choose. I have tried their 90% merino 10% nylon cones of sock yarn but I really didn't like the knitting process because with just a 10% nylon the merino is under a very high twist for strength. It has no give at all as a result. It was harsher than knitting with cotton. Never again.

https://www.woolyknit.com/

Thanks for the information about Woolyknit @enkeltliv.  I think I'll avoid them for now.  (I am most definitely at SABLE*.)  One of my friends is trying to persuade me to go to the Knit & Stitch Show at Ally Pally in October.  God help me!

- Pip





* Stash acquisition beyond life expectancy

PollyWollyDoodle

Ooh is Knit and Stitch on again - I used to love it ..... but that's probably why I have two crates of wool/yarn waiting for me to find a suitable use for it .... better not. 

skogar

Gem gem - Lovely poncho. :-)

Sloes - also make good jelly and cordial. For sloe jelly I use a recipe similar to this one.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/oct/12/wild-hedgerow-berries-recipes

Cordial recipe I use is here:

https://www.farmersgirlkitchen.co.uk/homemade-christmas-gifts-sloe-cordial/

Enkeltliv - Welcome. I'm covering my ears with the mention of purveyors of wool. I need to make a dent in my stash before getting any more wool. (My stash is smaller than quite a few on here I think but they knit much faster!

skogar

Pip - Please can I ask yoour opinion on a project I am thinking about.

I have not made a full size jumper before and am wondering about making the owl sweater. I have enough of a chunky blue wool (drops eskimo) that I bought years ago to make a jacket type cardigan for myself but it was a fairly fitted pattern and I decided against it for a first attempt. I then got distracted by the arrival of my nephew as smaller cardigans are quicker and it's more fun to knit a dinosaur etc. etc. Do you think he owl sweater is sensible for a first attempt? I'd rather go for a pattern with a bit more give in case of sizing issues.

It looked like I was knitted from the bottom up in the round. Knitting in the round is OK. I don't know how to cable yet but with my famously slow knitting speed by the time I get to the cabling part hopefully I'll have cracked it. Worst case I do know 2 people who could rescue me if needed on the owls and are probably daft enough to do so. (1 of them does really like owls though so I might not get it back!). Worst case I'd end up with a plain jumper. What do you think?

PipneyJane

@skogar the Owl’s sweater is quite straightforward, with lots of plain knitting involved.

 I think it would be a good first sweater for you, since it is knitted in the round and doesn’t involve any seaming.  It is knitted bottom up. You do the body, put that on a holding cable/length of wool, then knit the sleeves in the round.  Only when the sleeves are ready, do you join them to the body and knit the yoke.  

it would introduce you to several techniques but you don’t need to do a lot of them.  It involves cabling, knitting a yoke and short row shaping. It uses short rows for waist shaping and to make the back of the neck higher.. From memory, there’s only a couple of rounds of cabling in the yoke, which is a good way to get comfortable doing cables.

Also, It’s knitted in chunky/bulky yarn - 12 ply to Aussies) - and grows fast.

- Pip

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all,
@enkeltliv, welcome aboard, this is a very friendly and knowledgeable group, though you are obviously very knowledgeable yourself. I have learnt so much from following and occasionally posting , there is always someone who can help if you need it and they always share knowledge which is so generous. Looking forward to seeing what you make.
Take care everyone

TwibbleDee

New goal with my knitting stuff that I haven't touched in forever: I will figure out how to knit myself wristers (fingerless gloves with a thumb hole) before it gets cold.   

PollyWollyDoodle

@skogar I have also made the owl sweater and I agree with Pip, it's a good first project. I think it was only my second full-size garment, I'd mainly done baby clothes before. Cabling is much easier than it looks, and the pattern is really well written.

However it is a fairly fitted style as I remember (I made it for a niece) - it's designed to have 'negative ease'  so if you want to wear it over something else you might want to go up a size. 

Liverpool_Anne

@TwibbleDee, I have made fingerless gloves following Pips excellent instructions posted earlier in the thread, sorry I can't find it now. I knitted them in the round as I wanted to try using dpns and it was quite easy. They came out quite good and used very little yarn. I have given them to my sister as they were made with the left over yarn from the shawl I made her for Christmas so I don't have a photo, plus I still have to work out how to post pictures  
Take care everyone