The Knitters Thread

NualaBuala

ginnyknit wrote: »

Hiya Nuala fancy meeting you here :rotfl:

Keiss I love the beekeepers quilt, I really will have to try that - after Xmas of course - yeh right as if I am going to wait!

Cuddles am on my second hat from the pattern you kindly sent me - its so cute, did it in an evening, am on number 2 now and may just keep knitting lots and lots of them :rotfl:

Lol Ginny, I crept back in almost hoping nobody would notice it had been about half a year since I was here last and that nobody would ask me about The Sock I was knitting at the time!

Keiss_21

euronorris wrote: »

I'm in Haarlem, quite near Amsterdam and the coast at the same time!

I love it here, but still mastering the language. Improving all the time now, and can understand most post we get etc. Quite handy as I was given a flyer at the station this morning telling me all about the new station library! Woo! Apparantly, it's the first station library in Europe! I'm quite pleased, as it's so close to us, and you can pay €40 for the year, and then borrow as many books as you like, or, pay €2,50 per book and hold onto it for 3 weeks

Sounds like a great idea for a library euronorris.

Don't think we ever got to Haarlem, but I did love living in The Netherlands. The language can be a bit tricky, but I found it easier to speak than many of my English friends as I am Scottish and managed do some of the sounds (eg the soft g, like the ch in "loch") with much less difficulty.

Are you out there permanently, or just for a while?

cuddles123

ginnyknits - so pleased you like the pattern. I've knitted loads for my Grandson.

I'm feeling really chuffed as I've just finished my first sock............:j



You know I'm going to blame Orkney and NannyJanny cos I can feel the addiction starting and I know I'll spend a fortune on sock yarn now :rotfl:

Keiss_21

Well done on your first sock cuddles!! :T:T

meanmarie

Nuala....I know the sock is not finished!!

Can't help with the gansey I'm afraid....did you have a look at Drops site....can't remember details but they have lots of FairIsle patterns and you just might get a pattern there even if you want to use the snowflake motif.

PipneyJane...I agree with you 110% about the lack of value placed on hand made stuff in this part of the world, shame!

Happy knitting everyone

Marie

jascrawf

Hi

I am starting to feel the cold weather creeping in and it wreaks havoc with my joints. Even if I maxed out the heating I don't think I'd feel the benefit of it, I find it better to wrap blankets around me as I suffer with ice cold legs at the best of times. I would also like to have some blankets for the sofa after having watched Kirstie's Homemade Home and falling in love with the ideas she has.

I know how to cast on and knit basic stitches so I could probably get away with simple squares which I could put together to create a kind of patchwork blanket. What I don't know is, what type of yarn should I go for, where can I get it reasonably cheap, and what size needles would I need?

I like the idea of this and this, maybe with fewer colours than the first to save on money and without the knit patterns as they're out of my league at the moment. I would also like to be able to wash the blankets as my dog is instantly attracted to anything snuggly, so I wouldn't be looking to use a delicate yarn....if there is such a thing.

I had a look at some yarn online but felt overwhelmed by all the different types, I just don't know where to start. :eek:

I would really appreciate some advice and/or tips on where to start.

Thank you!

OrkneyStar

cuddles123 wrote: »

ginnyknits - so pleased you like the pattern. I've knitted loads for my Grandson.

I'm feeling really chuffed as I've just finished my first sock............:j



You know I'm going to blame Orkney and NannyJanny cos I can feel the addiction starting and I know I'll spend a fortune on sock yarn now :rotfl:

If you want to see sock madness visit the sock knitters anonymous (SKA) group on ravelry- many of them would put my stash, needle number, sock knitting etc to SHAME!!!! Actually socks are ok, the main drawback I find is sore hands compared to other larger knitting as you are holding them more tightly/smaller shape.

mioliere

Hi there

The blankets in your link look as if they're knitted with double-knitting (DK) wool on size 4mm needles. If you can afford it, go for pure wool or a wool mixed with something else, but the acrylic yarns you can buy today are also good and a lot cheaper; I use the acrylics for most things these days because the colour choice is great, and you can just chuck the finished article in the washing machine. Check in your area for your nearest wool shop or, failing that, a lot of the pound-type stores sell acrylic yarn. Hobbycraft sell it too, but are likely to be more expensive. It's up to you how many different colours you use; a blanket would just as good in two colours as it would with several.

A good size square to make is 6" x 6". When you cast on using Dk yarn and size 4mm needles, every five stitches you cast on equals an inch wide of knitting so, depending on your tension (how loose or tight your knitting is), 30 stitches should be enough. It won't look wide enough when you first cast on but, once you've knitted a few rows, it will. Then just knit until it measures 6" in length.

There are loads of tutorials and links online for learning techniques and different stitches; this one has loads of patterns for knitted squares http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/motifs_squares.php and this one http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/dishcloths.php has patterns for knitted dishcloths which would do just as well as patterns for squares.

Hope this helps; there's nothing like a homemade blanket to keep you warm in the evenings!

PipneyJane

NualaBuala wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I haven't been on this thread in aaaaages and haven't a hope of catching up so am going to just jump in here, hope you don't mind!

I'm looking for any advice you clever knitters can offer. I want to make this jumper (not sure if you have discussed it - it's the famous Sara Lund jumper from The Killing). Anyway, I could buy it for here €280 :eek:-interesting to see how much a handknit is worth!

But a) I haven't got that to spend and b) I am looking for a new knitting challenge so I want to try to make it myself. I've drawn out my version of the star motif but before I even figure out how to add that into a pattern I need to find one. It seems from looking at those who made it on Ravelry that I need to make a raglan crew neck jumper. And it seems these can be knitted bottom up or top down. I want to make it slightly fitted (negative ease I'm told!) and plan to use Sirri yarn

So can anyone offer any advice on getting a basic raglan pattern - couldn't find anything in the wool shop, they were all fancy. And should I knit from the neck down or from the bottom up? What difference would it make?

Hello Nuala

You've already mentioned Ravelry. Browsing someone's version there led me to a chart for the star. Unfortunately, I now can't find it! Thought I saved it in my favourites but it isn't there. It might be linked from this discussion thread, though.

However, more importantly, I've found a couple of suggestions for you for free patterns you could use. This one uses worsted weight (Aran) and comes from Lionbrand.



Whereas, this one is more of a sweater recipe and might be better in the long run.



Both links are to the Ravelry pattern pages. (Oohhhh I love Ravelry!!!)

Forgot to add: having knitted both ways, I think top down is better if you are working something out for yourself because you avoid the problems of "is it long enough to break for the sleeves or will the yoke be too big/small?" and "do I have enough yarn?". Since you can measure on your own body before you break for the sleeves, you'll be the best judge to work out if you've made the yoke big enough without having to rip out too many rows if you've made it too long. And, if you're worried about yarn quantities, I'd do the body first then the sleeves because you can always say that 3/4 sleeves were a design feature.

Good luck.

Pam

jascrawf

Oh wow, thank you so much!

I used to knit quite tightly but it's been over 10 years so I'll have to pratice plenty. I've checked through lots of the patterns you linked me to, I love the look of them and would like to have a go. Most of the tutorials have good examples of each step so I should be ok. I think if I buy the stuff and practice the basic knit for a while, I should be able to start dabbling with the patterns shortly.

I remember knitting squares when I was younger and they would always curl up on the sides, was that because I was doing something wrong? Is there a way to avoid it or fix it?

Thanks for your time and advice, I appreciate it!