knitting and crochet, nattering and sharing

Blankets are a pain, aren’t they? I’ve made a few, and always start full of enthusiasm for easy knitting and the thought of a nice cozy end result, but they are so boring after a while, and get hot on your lap when knitting them.

knitting does get warm on the knee, I swear I felt as though I was having a hot flash at times, at age 74 , that is when I alternate to socks for a while

Socks are finished and I am now socked out. I have several decent amounts of opal left, all different colours. I shall have to be in the right mood but they will be divided into two equal mounts and I shall eventually make very stripey socks. Waste not want not. I need around 56g per sock

All I have now, on needles, is my jumper and I feel that this will be my big last knit this winter. Soon it will be seed-sowing time and I`ll be off cycling and national trust exploring, rather than sitting on my derriere.

I did buy 2 jumper amounts of my favourite yarns from a de-stash, never one to resist a bargain. Both are fully labelled and bagged and sealed and are destined for next autumn

I may well go quiet now, unless I think of something to do with knitting. If the thread drops a long way down, perhaps someone will think to resurrect the thread at the beginning of next knitting season, so that we each have company while getting into gear again

Must say I’m quite glad of my heavy length of blanket on my lap at the moment!
Obviously I must get it finished before the warm weather, assuming we get some.

Then (once my worry monster is also done and dusted) I’ll have to find something else for whittling down the stash. I’m afraid to say I can feel another Nativity Set looming already - that’ll be the 3rd for Gdcs’ school fairs - but they do go down well and do at least use up quite a lot of bits.

I can’t guarantee that I won’t be buying one or two essential colours that have run out, though! No sense in spoiling the end result for the want of a ball or two of cheap acrylic….

I’m crocheting t shirt tops for my 3 grand daughters at the moment in white chunky with size 10mm crochet hook. I have one nearly done and just 2 more to go. Must keep going as I want to make a plain and simple DK cardigan for myself.

I try to keep out of my favourite wool shop as I have plenty in my stash but oh I do love to have a look………….

I don’t have a ‘knitting season’, Karmalady, but then I don’t make socks or jumpers. I used to make jumpers for Gdcs but the other GM makes a lot of lovely ones, so I stick to things for charities, school fairs and the local hospital - twiddle muffs and knitted breasts (!)

During the first lockdown I started making Christmassy things in April! It did feel weird at first, but that wore off soon enough, and it was nice not to be in a rush to get things finished in time.

I instictively veer towards seasons for different projects witzend, I cannot bear warm knitting on my lap in the warm months and my house warms up every time the sun is out. I do need to swap crafts though, I have loads of fibres to spin and I sew all my own clothes, so yes I also have a large fabric stash. Sewing fits in well with summer for me.

I have sat on my hands a lot re buying for my crafts, yes I bought the 2 jumper amounts but nothing for any other craft. I am looking forward to taking my spinning wheel outside in spring, it is rather nice and soothing to spin in my back garden.

Re my knitting wip: I can feelthe end of skein 1 and only have 4 more skeins, I am already getting twitchy re playing yarn chicken. If the worst happens, I will add a colour to the sleeves and also to the top of the bodice but am hoping I don`t have to do that. I can do some simple measurements and estimates when I reach the end of this skein. The jumper is already 6" long and I think maybe I will have enough yarn if I get to 8" with this ball

4 ply merino, it goes a long long way and is a delight to knit. The jumper body is all purl, which is very fast and I like knitting bottom up on one circular. One 100g skein has knitted just over 10 inches, I am feeling very relieved, I shall have more than enough from the 5 skeins.

Texture is silky smooth and slightly fuzzy, it is a woollen spin ie the aim is to get air into the yarn and to be warm. I will wash this very gently by hand in eucalan, which will help strengthen the short merino staples. Being pure wool and the colour it is, slightly tweedy, it will scarecly need washing. Pure wool only need airing to retain freshness

I have reached bust shaping and the cable pattern, I am looking forward to that section

Re being ‘yarn chicken’, my current big blanket was intended to use up a lot of small oddments as well as bigger leftovers - it’s a multicoloured rainbow job, with 2 random strands of DK per very long row.

But how to be absolutely sure that this or that mini oddment would be just enough?

I actually ended up knitting just one very long row and unraveling it, then laying it along the sofa. If it’d go 4 times, that was enough (including ends that will eventually be tassels) so I’ve had to repeat that exercise several times.
(I dare say there’s an easier method that I’m too thick to think of, but heigh ho.)

Very annoying when one falls just a little bit short, but maybe I’ll find another use for them sometime.

I still have lots of stash to use up, some being ordered online and turning out to be the wrong colour to finish a crochet project (online colours are sometimes deceptive).
So I thought I'd continue knitting a mitred blanket started ages ago and abandoned in favour of crochet.
I had a free pattern but can I find it? It's now £5 to buy, it must be somewhere in the glory hole!

I hope you find it, Callistemon!

What I’ve lost is the first, two-foot section of my big blanket! I put it away somewhere in December (as I recall in a drawer somewhere) so now, with section 2 not far off finished and the first joining exercise coming up, I can’t find it! I’ve looked in every drawer in the house!

My Irish friend swears by praying to St Anthony - does it work if you’re not Catholic and only ever go to church for weddings, funerals, and the carol service?

Oh yes! I'll try him ? thanks for reminding me.
DD told me about St Anthony and he has helped in the past.

He'll probably tell me where your blanket piece is, if so I'll let you know.

The K and N group I belong to use left over sock wool to make mitred square blankets. They’re so pretty and each square recalls previous project.
Would posters be happy to swap tips?
I’ll start with knitting tension. If the stitch tension is correct but the row tension is too loose, use the size of needle stated for the right-side rows and one smaller size for the wrong side.

Found it, Callistemon! In the middle desk drawer of dd1’s old room - I mean, where else would it be?
Oddly enough it was almost the first place I looked - subconscious memory telling me where I’d put it?

It does make some sort of sense, I suppose, in that the wardrobe of that room is where I keep my mega-stash of yarn.,

I hope St. A will come up trumps with your pattern!

Going through all those drawers, though, has made me realise (not for the first time) just how much Stuff - never likely to be used ever again - could be got rid of.

Maybe I’ll do one drawer a week, she said hopefully. Not today, though, I’ll need to be in the mood.

I need St Jude, never mind St Anthony.

I tried to reshape the neckline on my jumper (the pattern is for a slash neck, which I don't like), and have failed dismally. It's far too shallow, and I'll have to start again, and also redo the shoulders and back neck to match. To make things worse, I have cut the yarn every few rows to make sure that the stripes match on either side, and the lengths of the cut yarn are not going to work when I finally work out the best way of sorting it out. Sadly, there is not enough left to take chances - I am going to have to reuse the cut yarn to be sure to have enough for the sleeves. Wish me luck.

Found it, Callistemon! In the middle desk drawer of dd1’s old room - I mean, where else would it be?

Thank goodness - perhaps St Anthony was too busy helping you because he hasn't helped me one iota, Witzend. Please give him a and send him here!

I've gone through every box, gone under the stairs, banged my head twice and found all kinds of patterns I didn't know I had except that one.
Now I'm wondering if I imagined it but I can clearly visualise it, just not find it!
I've gone off the whole idea anyway now.

Doodledog good luck
Someone I know in our craft group joins by knitting two strands together for a few stitches, something I never did because I always joined at the end of a row, but if you have short lengths it might work somewhere unobtrusive.

Maybe I’ll do one drawer a week, she said hopefully. Not today, though, I’ll need to be in the mood.
I started but tend to tidy it then put it all back again.

Just how much yarn does one woman want?

Thanks, Callistemon. It's more that the rows will be longer than they were, so the bits of yarn are going to run out mid row, and it's going to be tricky to keep the symmetry without breaking into the matching balls I've kept back for the sleeves or risking running out. I'm knitting with self-striping yarn, and wanted both sides of the neck to match, so have snapped it according to my first attempt at the neckline. I'm so annoyed with myself, but I've all but finished the jumper, so will persevere.

Is it more important for the neck to match than the sleeves?
Could you do the cuffs in the colour you have most of?

It's not Sirdar Colourwheel, is it?

No, it's a Noro one, and the stripes are roughly 4 rows deep on the body, which I knitted in the round. When I separated for the sleeves I cut the yarn at the end of each 4 row stripe, so that the shaping didn't alter the look of the (random) striping. Obviously the neck shaping would have different numbers of stitches on each row, and as the rows were half the width of the front anyway, the stripes would be much thicker if I hadn't intervened.

Oh dear, hope you can work it out.
I knitted a poncho, very simple, just one long length folded, in a self-striping yarn for DD. When I joined the two edges I just had to try to get the stripes matching properly.
It worked out with a bit of cutting of yarn and re-joining and I have nearly a whole 'cake' left over.

Goodness, Doodledog, all the best of luck - it all sounds so complicated - the sort of thing that’d have me cursing and giving up!
Do post a pic when it’s done - it sounds lovely!

After the last UFO a few years ago (finished except for the last very long pick up and knit bit - black yarn - which almost had me in tears of frustration) I now embark only on projects which are well within my admittedly limited powers.

Thank you everyone. I will give the suggestions a go

I've heard alot say they are addictive. Lol

You're welcome

I knit every day as I can’t just sit and watch tv and reading sends me to sleep. I make for charity mainly and am making my 8th older boys’ jumper but in between I’m knitting Easter chicks and bunnies to hold cream eggs for sale by a hospice and also hats for Innocent Smoothies/Age Uk fundraising.