The Knitters Thread

Happy_One

I never do very well with gloves Savy-Sue, I’ve made some fingerless mitts with just a thumb for a friend but the thumb I’ve done looks dreadful nearly reaches my thumb nail and she’s got much shorter fingers than me!! Luckily won’t be seeing her till after the holiday so I think sorting them out will be my first Christmas project, before I start on my scarf.

Savvy_Sue

Well, the good news is they knit up very quickly. I'd buy some, but I haven't seen any brown ones (apart from leather, which is not what he wants).

pattypan4

Knitting is full on now and I am glad of it, making a jumper in 4 ply is very slow going but what I wanted for winter. I cleaned john lewis out of some lovely yarn, a blue faced leicester/alpaca blend, rowan. Used my credit card and stashed up, it is dk yarn and I bought the matching pattern book somewhere else. Lovely colours which will all mix and match. I thought I had better bag properly when it arrived, I used some roll-up vacuum bags which will ensure that no moth can ever get in. I do that with all my stash. I don`t want to make things too fast right now or marie kondo will go out of the window. I want one in and two out if possible.

CAFCGirl

Looming is going well for this year so far (4 days in LOL), and I've finished one project from last year (a cowl) and created my own pattern for a yoga mat bag which came out very well (and I know now my adjustments for next time) and a unicorn/rainbow cup cosy. So a happy stitcher here.

Next projects in mind are plant pot covers and yoga socks. Just need to decide which one to start on first. Decisions decisions....

Seakay

I just wanted to let people know about a knitting and sewing opportunity to assist orphaned and injured animals in Australia - there are many more than usual this year because of the months of fires.

Please note that synthetic yarns and fabrics cannot be used

Pouches-for orphaned joeys

When juvenile kangaroos or wallabies come into care they need to be kept warm and quiet. WIRES carers are always in need of suitable pouches. The pouches are used for many different animals, at many stages of their development. Some are required for the tiny furless joeys and some for the larger joeys. This means various sized pouches are always useful. Many people, who would like to help our wildlife but are unable to commit to animal rescue or care, can help by making pouches and/or linings.

Pouches

Wool: 8 ply pure wool (we are unable to use pouches made from synthetic materials)

Knitting: Pouches should be knitted in plain (garter) stitch both sides

Needles: Size 8 needles (old UK size) or 4mm metric UK size needles

Dimensions: Two separate rectangles either: 40cm wide x 60cm long OR
50cm wide x 70cm long

Sew together on the two longer sides and at one end, and leave open along one of the shorter ends.

Alternatively, knit one long piece 40 cm wide by 120 cm long and fold, sew the two long sides, leaving the top open. This then makes a finished pouch 40 cm wide by 60 cm

Lining

Material: Pure cotton or flannelette, washable material only

Dimensions: Two separate rectangles either 40cm wide x 60cm long OR
50cm wide x 70cm long

The lining should not be attached to the pouch as it will need to be changed regularly. We generally require many more linings than pouches to allow washing and regular changes. The lining should be closed on three sides and open at the top.

Other Sized Pouches
Other sized pouches are also gratefully received. Crocheted pouches are also accepted, however a tight crochet stitch is preferred for warmth.

There is no one perfect size, these dimensions provide a guide. Finished pouches can be posted to:

WIRES
PO Box 7276
Warringah Mall NSW 2100
Australia

Please include your email address when you send pouches or liners to us so that we can thank you, send photo's of pouches in use and emails when we have other knitting/sewing projects that you may be able to help with.

https://www.wires.org.au/wildlife-info/wildlife-factsheets/making-macropod-pouches

Savvy_Sue

I saw that on a friend's FB page (she lives over there), but I wondered what the postage would be like!

What is 8 ply? not a weight I'm used to seeing, but the needle size suggests DK?

Seakay

Yes, 8 ply is what we would call double knit (twice the weight of 4 ply).

Postage varies a lot - the cheapest way is to select the slowest. My sister and b-i-l send their Christmas presents to Oz and they used surface mail which is cheaper but can take up to 3 months. Air mail isn’t usually too expensive for light items depending on weight and thickness (which determines whether it can be sent as large letter or small parcel).

https://www.royalmail.com/price-finder

WIRES were needing koala mittens (for burnt paws) too but I think they’ve enough of those now

movingon

Hi Guys,
I am returning to knitting after a thirty year absence and finding it all challenging my brain. Can anyone advise please? I bought this starter kit to give it a go. However, I am rubbish at sewing up. The answered questions in the Amazon listing indicate that the squares could be knitted as individual columns, rather than sewing each square together. But, I was wondering if that would mean the squares would be longer than they were wide, if that makes sense.
Would you knit it as columns for ease , or would you knit squares, and for squares how would you sew them up please? it says in the instructions to "over stitch" on the right side- is that mattress stitch?
Thank you

Savvy_Sue

movingon wrote: »

Hi Guys,
I am returning to knitting after a thirty year absence and finding it all challenging my brain.

Welcome back: longer than that for some of us ...

movingon wrote: »

I bought this starter kit to give it a go. However, I am rubbish at sewing up.

I find that many knitters HATE sewing up, and indeed, it's one of the things that put me off: you cut out a blouse and sew it up, and it's made far quicker than if you were knitting it - you knit a cardigan and then spend almost as long sewing the thing together!

movingon wrote: »

The answered questions in the Amazon listing indicate that the squares could be knitted as individual columns, rather than sewing each square together. But, I was wondering if that would mean the squares would be longer than they were wide, if that makes sense.

Yes. You'd knit (say) 30 rows in colour A, and then CHANGE COLOUR and knit another 30 rows in colour B, then back to colour A and so on. So you'd need to master joining a new ball in (which isn't hard).

Your next column, you'd start with colour B, then change to colour A and so on.

movingon wrote: »

Would you knit it as columns for ease , or would you knit squares, and for squares how would you sew them up please? it says in the instructions to "over stitch" on the right side- is that mattress stitch?

I would knit columns for ease, because it would cut by at least half the amount of sewing up needed (and did I mention we tend to hate sewing up?)

On one level, it doesn't matter what stitch you use, as long as you consistently pick up the same part of the stitch and you're happy with the finished result. I'd google mattress stitch and see what it looks like. Some people like the seam to not show, I quite like the effect of it showing in some places.

Savvy_Sue

Actually, thinking about it, I'd see if I could master changing colour part way along the row, so there'd be no sewing up at all ... but I'd have several balls on the go so that I wasn't running the thread along the back, and I don't know how you'd 'join' the two colours together along a row.