The Knitters Thread

jetbag

Hi jascrawf you must live near me, I am also in Kempston.
I bought some large 400g balls of aran wool in QD in Bedford for about £5 a ball. (75% acrylic / 25% wool)
I got them to crochet some blankets for snuggling under on the sofas.
I do like the knitted patchwork type blankets on your links so might just do some of these as well.

NualaBuala

That is so cute Orkney, really lovely! :T

Keiss, good luck setting a price! Very tricky but the others are right not undervalue yourself and your time. But the main thing is that you feel ok with the price as you're the one going to be knitting it!

cuddles123

Very cute Orkney - love the eyes :rotfl:

Bet he loves it

mioliere

That's a great price for Aran wool - too far for me, sadly, because I live in France at the moment but, Jascrawf, you'd need bigger needles for Aran because it's chunkier, say 5mm or 6mm. It would make a great blanket, especially as it is a wool mix.

euronorris

Soooo adorable Orkney!

[Deleted User]

I make knitted square blankets for a charity and use size 4mm and cast on 32 stitches I knit five rows then a purl row then knit and purl until there are 9 counted ridges on the side the first two stitches of every row I knit, this gives a sort of framework with the stocking stitch inside I knit different colours for 8 squares joining the new colour in as one square is finished Then I stitch the 8 squares together in rows of four across so I end up with a square of 32 panels I then pick up down one side starting on the right side and rib !Knit 1 purl for five rows then cast off .I do this all the way around with usually white wool so you end up with 32 squares surrounded by a white band These complete squares are given to my friend who sews 24 squares together and sews a small label on saying a gift from the Linus project and these 'blankies' are sent all over the world to deprived children.She has a group of about 8 of us ladies throughout north Kent knitting different squares for her In the past 6 years I have made around 70 odd 'blankies' and manage four squares a day usually whilst watching t.v. or in a spare moment .Most of the wool I have found from charity shops or boot sales or sometimes its been donated by people. I have seven healthy warm well fed grandchildren and I like to think that somewhere in the world there is a child who keeps warm at night with one of the Linus blankets My friend does patchwork quilts and also crochets blankets for the charity.There are kids living on rubbish tips in South America and in the eastern bloc countries who have virtually nothing.When the big Tsunami hit a couple of years ago the Linus project donated 68 tonnes of blankets as there were children and adults who only had the clothes they stood up in It makes you glad that you can help in a practical way and know that the stuff is going to those who need it the most All of my grandchildren have had their own Blankets made for them my eldest DGS is almost 21 and his is in West ham colouurs and he has had it since he was 9 and still wraps it around himself when he's feeling a bit chilly or down.One of my other DGS Jack I nmade one in Chelsea colours for him and even mikey(7 ) has his own blankie which he has had since he was a baby,I lined his with clown patterned cotton fabric to make it a bit cosier when he was in his cot.I am not only a compulsive reader but a complusive knitter as well as I find just sitting watching t.v. a bit boring unless I have something to keep my hands mobile (keeps my fingers agile as well, and arthritis at bay hopefully.Great hobby and something you can do almost anywhere

VJsmum

Hi Guys

I am not a regular (if at all) contributor to this thread because, although i can knit, I wouldn't say i'm a knitter. I am just about to finish a jacket for myself, and now DD (15) wants a jumper doing. Now, except for babies, i've never knitted for anyone else so that in itself is a challenge.

I have a question if someone would be able to answer it - she wants a "click chunky" Pattern jumper knitted with "click Aran" wool. Does anyone know if I can do this - before I click pay!

Thanks

moo2moo

VJsmum wrote: »

I have a question if someone would be able to answer it - she wants a "click chunky" Pattern jumper knitted with "click Aran" wool. Does anyone know if I can do this - before I click pay!

Thanks

You might find this link helpful. They suggest doubling aran to knit a chunky pattern but thats going to work out rather expensive and quite dense.

Careful_with_that_Axe

I started learning to knit with blanket squares 2 years ago and, despite still knitting the odd square, by knitting knowledge and inspiration has come from www.ravelry.com. It's a fantastic free site where knitters love to share knowledge of yarns, patterns and anything about knitting and crocheting.
The search function is a little clunky until you get used to it, but there shlould be plenty there to keep you happy and inspire you. Happy knitting; it's a fabulous hobby.

meritaten

I too, used to find that my casting off caused my knitting to distort! I now cast off with a larger gauge needle to knit the last row (eg. if I knit with 4mm needles, I knit the last row with 5mm needles and cast off using both 5mm needles)! I dont know why I cast off so tightly, but find that using larger needles compenstates and my casting on and casting off are more even!