The Knitters Thread

catherinekate

Saying Hi. I recognise some of you from other threads.

I scored 7 balls of yarn in a charity shop haul yesterday: green aran for a jumper for my toddler, self striping 4 ply for a tank top (might be hard to match the stripes front and back I suppose), and two matching and one odd balls of self striping DK that I expect will find a home eventually. 

I have knitted a toy monkey over the last week but am procrastinating about sewing it up. Hence why I am on here. I have done two legs, cleaned the kitchen, folded the washing and threaded the needle for the ears. Sadly I hate knitting in the round more than I hate sewing up though.

I'm a little bit of a yarn snob after some very bad buys, but my needles are free, inherited, charity shopped, or the cheapy bamboo ones from Amazon. Surely needles are just needles?

Savvy_Sue

catherinekate said:

self striping 4 ply for a tank top (might be hard to match the stripes front and back I suppose)

My late mother's strategy was to start 'matching' pieces with the same colour pattern on the yarn end. So, in a yarn which goes 'red, orange, yellow' she would knit one sleeve, and then start the second sleeve with a new ball with a long enough end to match the 'red, orange, yellow' on the first sleeve. Same with two fronts, or with front and back on a jumper. 

And if she didn't like the way the pattern was coming out, she'd undo and start again ... 

catherinekate said:

I have knitted a toy monkey over the last week but am procrastinating about sewing it up. Hence why I am on here. I have done two legs, cleaned the kitchen, folded the washing and threaded the needle for the ears. Sadly I hate knitting in the round more than I hate sewing up though.

  My late mother had a strategy for that too: giving it to one of us to sew up, particularly if it was FOR you! But you have my sympathy. However there are various techniques for knitting in the round which might help in future - I can't be doing with the magic loop, but think I might knit my next pair of socks on TWO circular needles, or I'm going to get some of these Crasy Trio needles. Or maybe I'm going to use a set of 6 KnitPro DPNs which I was seduced into buying (see below) - hoping that 6 will be easier than 4 to negotiate! 

Mind you, I do even straight knitting on circular needles. I find it more convenient for taking out, it will fit into my handbag, plus if I'm knitting something heavy the weight of it is in my lap not on my fingers. 

catherinekate said:

I'm a little bit of a yarn snob after some very bad buys, but my needles are free, inherited, charity shopped, or the cheapy bamboo ones from Amazon. Surely needles are just needles?

Oh my word no ... I have a full set of metal needles and a full set of bamboos which were mum's, and using them when I took up knitting (after a hate-hate affair when I was a Brownie) quickly made me decide that I liked bamboo better.

Then the hatred for sewing up led me to a set of cheap bamboo circulars from Amazon, which are OK, but ... they feel 'dry', I have to rub them in my hair to make them feel smoother, and the smaller sizes can get splintered ends. Plus I have seen the plastic tubing come off: not good if you have a lot of stitches on!

THEN I bought a KnitPro Starter Set and I have NEVER looked back. I have bought additional needle sizes as I needed them. I have tried acrilyc tips (OK, they were pink acrilyc) but one broke, whereas the wooden ones are just a dream. Yes, you do have to screw the tips on FIRMLY or they will work lose, but they slip beautifully in and out of the yarn. I love the way I can part knit and 'park' - atm I have the back and one front of a cardigan done up to the armholes, just sat on the cable while I knit the other front. I can easily check that they measure up right, and if I decide to add a few more rows I can do so. I won't have to slip the work back onto a needle, I'll just screw the tips back in. 

But Mum rarely knitted in the round, and usually used straight metal needles, and my sisters share her preferences, so - whatever suits you! 

nursemaggie

That's interesting savvy Sue. I've knitted since I was 4, nearly 70 years. never used a circular needle, first used DPNS at age 5. Still using metal needles though I do have some bamboo but only free ones with Let's Knit. I prefer short ones. My aunt taught me to knit and my mother could never figure out how I did it because even though she was mum's sister she knitted differently. I think the majority of knitters hate sewing up. 

Savvy_Sue

For your amusement in these dark times:

I am currently knitting an emergency sheep, maybe two. The lady who founded the charity I work for is being given the Freedom of the City, which gives her the right to drive her sheep across the Downs. We think this will be easier if she can fit them in her car. :rotfl: I have until next Tuesday, half a body done but they are very fiddly to assemble and stuff, I know. 

AND those of you on Facebook may have seen posts similar to one in my local Knitters group: 

Important question

Forget the toilet paper, rice, pasta etc, should I need to self isolate for a number of weeks, do I have enough wool, or should I put in an order now?!

This is accompanied by a picture of a mere 2 x 3 tray storage trolleys like THIS.

And the general concensus is that she needs more ...

wondercollie

I've decided to give knitting coworkers bits from my stash that I know they will enjoy and use.
Needles?  I use anything.  Not a needle snob.  I have some from the 40s and 50s that belonged to my Grannies.  I tend to use circular needles for heavy weights or lace.  I know you can knit lace on straights but the last shawl I made at one point there was over 700 stitches!

Has anyone knit a modular, mitred square blanket either in sock or dk weights?

stitching_witch

wondercollie said:

Has anyone knit a modular, mitred square blanket either in sock or dk weights?

 I’m doing one at the moment. I decided to use DK but quite a few squares are made from two strands of sock yarn. 

Savvy_Sue

wondercollie said:

Needles?  I use anything.  Not a needle snob.  I have some from the 40s and 50s that belonged to my Grannies. 

I wouldn't say I was a snob. I will use those I got from mum, and others, and the cheapies from Amazon. 

But given a choice, it's my KnitPros all the way, they are just So Much Nicer to knit with. 

PipneyJane

Savvy_Sue said:

wondercollie said:

Needles?  I use anything.  Not a needle snob.  I have some from the 40s and 50s that belonged to my Grannies. 

I wouldn't say I was a snob. I will use those I got from mum, and others, and the cheapies from Amazon. 

But given a choice, it's my KnitPros all the way, they are just So Much Nicer to knit with. 

They get my vote, too!  I prefer wood to metal, because it is quieter and stickier.  I use circular needles for most things, but generally DPN’s for socks.  I’ll convert a knitted-flat pattern into a knitted-in-the-round pattern to avoid seaming and I’ve been known to knit sleeves two-at-a-time-in-the-round (which is basically magic loop on a grand scale).

When you consider that it takes 16 hours of your life to knit a pair of socks and (probably)  40 hours to knit a jumper, good tools are important, but they don’t have to be expensive.  I have used cheap metal needles that lasted for years.  I’ve also used expensive, polymer-coated-wire-cored needles that knitted beautifully until the coating wore off and then cut my fingers.  (No recollection of the brand.). The thing with finding the right needles is that you will use them for everything, so the cost per use is tiny.

- Pip

Savvy_Sue

PipneyJane said:

Savvy_Sue said:

wondercollie said:

Needles?  I use anything.  Not a needle snob.  I have some from the 40s and 50s that belonged to my Grannies. 

I wouldn't say I was a snob. I will use those I got from mum, and others, and the cheapies from Amazon. 

But given a choice, it's my KnitPros all the way, they are just So Much Nicer to knit with. 

They get my vote, too!  I prefer wood to metal, because it is quieter and stickier.  I use circular needles for most things, but generally DPN’s for socks.  I’ll convert a knitted-flat pattern into a knitted-in-the-round pattern to avoid seaming and I’ve been known to knit sleeves two-at-a-time-in-the-round (which is basically magic loop on a grand scale).

When you consider that it takes 16 hours of your life to knit a pair of socks and (probably)  40 hours to knit a jumper, good tools are important, but they don’t have to be expensive.  I have used cheap metal needles that lasted for years.  I’ve also used expensive, polymer-coated-wire-cored needles that knitted beautifully until the coating wore off and then cut my fingers.  (No recollection of the brand.). The thing with finding the right needles is that you will use them for everything, so the cost per use is tiny.

- Pip

Well, I spoke too soon about my KnitPros. Last night, while we were away, one of my KnitPros snapped. :-( Fortunately I was knitting the sheep's head, so only a very few stitches. Also I had some sellotape in my case, so I cobbled an 'end' with some wool and sellotape, and managed to finish the head, two ears and a tail. Would not have liked to knit more than that. Off to sew up and stuff now ... 

It was a size 3, so very thin. Still :-(

wondercollie

I have heard that if you contact KnitPros they will replace them.  Having said that, I've heard of a lot of their needles snapping.
It's worth giving it a try