The Knitters Thread

mardatha

Nice gloves OS ! I love knitting gloves, they are so cosy. For some reason I find them much nicer to knit than socks. I do a lot of socks but I dont really enjoy knitting them. Just wearing and giving them

mardatha

Rainbow, you can get loads of great yarn now. You could get a nice soft brushed cotton or a linen yarn...you can get bamboo yarn or even banana fibre yarn! Go onto some of the online wool shops and look

lambanana

OrkneyStar - Those gloves are lovely and the socks are looking great too

La escocesa - I am not a particularly fast knitting but have sped up considerably since starting knitting, you'll get there. Socks are not difficult at all and the worst thing that can happen with knitting is you mess up and have to start again, no big deal and no one gets hurt

rainbow_carnage - I'd just start off with one or two pairs of needles (maybe a 4mm and 5mm pair) and some cheap aran weight wool as it's a bit thicker which helps when you are starting out and also means your knitting project "grows" quicker. Have a little play around, maybe knit a hat or a scarf and see how you get on. Once you've done that decide if you want to knit more things and just buy needles in the sizes you need (or get a cheap set of bamboo ones from ebay) As for fibres there are lots out there. A lot of people who are allergic to wool find they're ok with alpaca which is soft and warm but not very cheap. Merino is a wool to try for wool allergy sufferers as this is also very soft and "anti-tickle" so may be OK? As mardatha says though there are plenty of natural fibres that aren't wool at all such as cotton and bamboo though obviously these are not as warm as wool. A lot of man made fibres are a lot nicer feeling than they used to be as well so are worth a look.

As for me...I'm 8 rounds from finishing my circle socks I will get those finished tonight. As far as my shawl is concerned it still isn't finished and I want to take it with me on our holiday in 10 days. That gives me 9 days to knit and a day for it to dry once it has been blocked (it shouldn't take too long to dry and we're travelling in the evening) I need to be knitting an average of 5 rows a day to get it finished which is all fine but it is taking me about 15-20 minutes to finish a row now as they have a lot of stitches/I'm not a very fast knitter/I have to concentrate so I don't mess up/the silk content of the yarn makes it slippery. They'll take longer to do as I increase on the final pattern repeat as well so that's going to end up being 2 hours a day of knitting time to get it done. I don't really get 2 hours a day of knitting time :undecided I am hoping that DH is understanding this weekend when I insist on knitting knitting knitting instead of watching films with him :rotfl:

mardatha

I did OH a neck warmer in Alpaca, its a joy to knit but he says its too itchy...

lambanana

That's a shame mardatha I have an alpaca/bamboo blend scarf and it's so soft and wonderful, not at all itchy...same for my 100% alpaca socks. I suppose it can just depend.

kezbabybabe

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

I have a terrible habit of picking up new hobbies, spending a fortune on supplies, getting bored and moving on to something else. I tried sewing a few years ago, but it didn't last. I've had to sell the machine, the pattern-cutting books, etc. The only thing I kept were the scissors. I don't want to repeat the same mistake. I doubt I'm ever going to get past scarves. So what should I buy? A couple needles and some wool? Is there anything else?

As a newbie to knitting myself, my plan is to work on a project at a time. My first project was a scarf kit from HobbyCraft, which included the wool, pattern and a pair of needles.

For my current project I sourced the wool and needles as the patterns from a book I already have. I expect that my next project will be done on either pair of the needles I already have.

I do this rather than go mad and buy loads of supplies. So if I 'fall out' with knitting I won't have loads of things sat around doing nothing.



Kerry

OrkneyStar

nuttywoman wrote: »

Love your gloves, :T were did you get the pattern from ?

I got it in the local wool shop but actually I notice on ebay a lot of the places that sell sock wool give away free sock patterns but say you can ask for a glove one instead.
ETA I second that if you are just learning start with the basics- often investing in a pair of 3.25mm and 4mm needles and a few balls of DK is the best way to start- make a simple scarf and practice the different stitches, then maybe move on to a simple hat (not one done on double pointed or circular needles just something basic). Although blankets can also be easy then can take a long time and you might get bored. Knitting with double pointed needles (dpn's) or circulars is harder as they are a bit more fiddly, as are cable needles. Chunkier needles, eg 6mm, and some thick wool are also a nice way to maybe do something quick like a scarf.
I do sometimes stock-pile wool but then I have knitted since I was about 8, and properly since about 21, so I know I love to knit (am a lot older than 21 now lol).
hth xxx

[Deleted User]

Does anyone know where I can get cheap felting/ roving wool from? I some for a non-knitting related project.

karmacookie

drinkupretty wrote: »

Does anyone know where I can get cheap felting/ roving wool from? I some for a non-knitting related project.

http://www.texere-yarns.co.uk/texereshop/143_Alpaca.html

lambanana

Ooooh Texere Yarns...what a wonderful place! It's like an Aladdins Cave for knitters! It's not too far from me but I don't go...too much temptation! I'm supposed to be on a yarn diet/stash down!

I finished my circle socks last night :T I did take a photo but haven't had time to put the pictures onto my computer so will do that either tonight or tomorrow and show them off