addicted to my knitting

I’m definitely hooked on knitting and a yarn addict, I always have two or three things on the go. I have knitting for when I’m reading, another lot for when watching tv and then some for when it’s quiet and I need to concentrate.

I’m not really sure about the rules regarding selling hand knitted baby clothes,it was never a problem in the charity shop I worked in prior to moving. From what I was told when I asked at a local charity shop was that it related to warnings about fire risks etc. Perhaps it is to do with selling to the public rather than donating to a registered charity. I’m quite happy knitting for Linus for now.

Every time I go to a nearby town, I go around the charity shops looking for knitting yarns (or any other craft item that might take my fancy).
Sometimes, the part-balls of yarn are way overpriced, but I have managed to find one or two bargains. The trouble is, as they are rarely labelled, I don't really know what fibre(s) I am knitting with.

Right now, I am knitting a cardigan for baby GD from a part-ball of 3-ply that cost me less than a pound. I think it is wool or at least a wool/synthetic mix. I will have to give DiL some washing instructions when I finish it, and just hope that it doesnt shrink!

A month ago I finished another cardigan for her. It was the second cardigan I made from one cone of yarn (the first was for my other GD, using a different pattern) that I think I paid £1 for.

I am usually thinking about the next thing that I want to knit before I even finish the last ?

Thank you Bathsheba. I have only every knitted charity items that will be gifted e.g. for Knit for Peace so this is new to me. You could lift the content and care details of the fibre from the ball band and have some labels made like these:

www.wovenlabelsuk.com/garment-labels/wl-05a.html

There are strict regulations governing the sale of children's clothing, one of the many reasons I have never been tempted to sew items to sell. The Charity Retail Association has produced this document for their members explaining these regulations.

Textile labelling is required by law, and the document states :

The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 require all textile products to carry a label indicating the fibre content, either on the item or the packaging. If a product consists of two or more components with different fibre contents, the content of each must be shown.
Only certain names can be used for textile fibres and these are listed in the Regulations along with a list of products that are not required to bear fibre content.
All items must carry a label indicating the fibre content, either on the item or the packaging. The label should be durable, easily legible, visible and accessible.
It is an offence to supply, or offer to supply, textile products that do not comply with the above requirements. The maximum penalty is a fine. Therefore, a charity shop selling a home-made item must ensure that a clear label - indicating that it was knitted from a certain type of wool, for example - must be included.

I know many people knit for charity, donating items directly to hospitals and so on, but certainly if they are being sold, then the regulations apply. Although, having said that, I do know our local hospital has a charity run shop selling donated hand-knitted baby clothes and I'm almost certain they aren't labelled as required! Equally, I have given hand made clothing, that my GD has outgrown, to a local charity shop and they have been delighted with it - no labels on them at all!

I’m intrigued too, FountainPen. I’m knitting matinee jackets for our local hospitals’ premature baby units, for an appeal coordinated by our nearest Tesco. They accept any style, any pattern, as long as it is in soft baby wool, close knit and with no buttons or other fasteners.

Indeed Harris27. The therapeutic benefits of knitting, crocheting and sewing have been well documented. I think it's especially important in this age of mass produced goods, buying almost everything we need, to be able to sit quietly and make something unique. Baby blankets are often treasured or at least dragged around by a toddler as a favoured "blankie" which amounts to the same thing.

I love knitting and recently started knitting blankets there's always a baby on the way at work. I love time on my own telly on and me knitting. I feel as though it's like liquid Prozac. Ha ha!!!

Thorntrees. I am intrigued. What is an approved safety mark on children's clothes? I am aware of the CE and Lion Mark on toys but was unaware of anything similar relating to clothes.

Thorntrees

I.ve always knitted baby clothes for the charity shop I worked in, they sold really well and raised much needed funds for our local hospice- then last summer we moved house and non of the local charity shops would accept them as they did not carry the approved safety marks. I was desperate to have something to knit and by chance met a lady who had contact with the Linus project which I had never heard of before. I downloaded the patterns from the website and am now happily knitting blankets and baby hats to pass on to what is a very worthwhile cause.

Love knitting and cross stitch. I've just found the Linus Project which is a very satisfying charity to knit/crochet and/or make patchwork blankets for. It's for prem babies, young children and teenagers who are in hospital, so I'm mainly knitting at the moment.

Thanks Grannyknot, yours too - gorgeous!

Bathsheba that's a lovely blanket! So many variations.

I have to have some knitting on the go at all times. It's such good therapy, especially the mindless sort where I'm so used to a pattern or shaping that I can do it almost automatically. I love knitting colourful socks, but when I've run out of people to knit them for, I turn to the very colourful woolly hats which get sent to the Seafarers' Mission.

I made one of those 'no sew' blankets Grannyknot, but the direction of the diagonal alternated with every row. This started off as a 'scrap buster', but I ended up actually buying more yarn as it went on .

I used to knit years ago for a shop and was paid a penny a gram ?.

I have had a good few years break but now love it again and it’s helping the diet ?

Here's another pattern for the blanket:

knittingsuna.blogspot.com/2011/04/mitered-square-blanket-pattern.html

I'm told it only seems complicated ...

I am a cross stitch addict. I buy the new copy of Cross Stitcher magazine most months. (We can get it here in Canada. I'm strongly considering ordering a subscription - it is possible to do that overseas, although it costs more than if I lived in the UK.)

I had a nursing student once who told me that she's a knitting addict, too. She's originally from quite a ways away, but close enough that she can visit her family periodically. She said she literally leaves her knitting needles at home (i.e. with her family) during the academic year, because she knows she won't get anything done academic-wise if she has them with her!

Thanks for that info FountainPen ...

Hi Witzend you have to search for Mitred Sock Yarn Blanket.

The pic above is of my friend's blanket, I'll ask her for the pattern she used, but I found this blog post with instructions included, in the meanwhile:

www.theknittingsquirrel.com/how-to-knit-a-mitred-square-blanket/

I plan to start mine soon.

That's a gorgeous blanket Grannyknot!

I learned how to knit join-as-you-go mitred squares in a class given by Claire Cromptom some years ago. The instructions are in her book The Knitter's Bible.

Brilliant blanket, Grannyknot! Where did you find the pattern? I've googled, but the only similar ones I've found seem to need the squares sewn together.

Yes its great Grannyknot, very colourful.