KnitWit - the ultimate knitting thread

Still awaiting yr address! :-) Do you prefer multiple skeins (or whatever you call'em in the US) or single (and thus more) ones?

Oh sorry: WOOHOO on new cat! :-)))) How old/young is s/he? NEED PICS of purring kitty. :-D

Me? I'm doing this lacy type shawl (straight, yarn is for 4 mm needles but doing it with 9 mm ones so it looks lacy). Visited another yarn shop which was a MAJOR dud. :-(

I'm doing this raglan cardigan. Probably finish it in a week or so. I do need to start using yarn that's meant for the pattern instead of trying something that *sort of* matches. I'm not that advanced yet and won't be for another DECADE or so. :-)

I'm fascinated with those knitting machines (for kids, but aren't we all). Looked for one but only found french ones which seemed @$$. I want something that goes faster yo. :-)

Bought a Marie Claire Knitting Stitches book (just under 10 euros) and tried some last night only to discover/have reaffirmed: I'm stupid (figured out that multiples of 7 + 1 + 2 means mult of only 7) and that I have all thise nice MULTIcoloured yarn that doesn't work when you want to do *fancy sts*.

I'm SO READY for that Lana Grossa sweatah. I wanna make something for me me me. :-)

Also trying to finish scarf for husband but I ph34r working on order is not my thang, baby.

I emailed you a few min. ago, Nath. Send whatever you want, I'm putting some things aside for you.

you are all over cardigans/sweaters. I need to attempt another big project like that soon. starting on my malcolm x tote now, v. excited.

I really don't understand knitting machines.

no kitty yet, we're going to get him/her next weekend. I'm just arranging my room for new litterbox, condos, etc. I threw all of qtip's old stuff away.

my xmas crafts:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misery/tags/xmas/

Sam, so industrious are you! Your xmas gifts (including pajama pants!) look GREAT!

While trying to avoid my family, I knit a bunch of dish cloths to give to people, one including my 84 year old grandma. She loved it!

A while back, I knit one of the ball band dishcloths for some friends, and they have yet to use it. They said it's too pretty to be used. While that's flattering, I kept thinking, "dudes, you will not understand its full potential until you experience its cleaning glory!" Oh well.

This is crochet but hey, I want to get in on the season of gifts as well...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61998082@N00/336485887/

that is completely wonderful!

I want to do another one but with another animal - I can't help it, those sock monkeys are STILL SCARY LITTLE BUGGERS.

granny square + scary sock monkey = best blanket one could hope for.

goldfish would be neat!

starry, that blanket is awesome. especially the monkey faces.

boy gave me a stack of various knitting/sewing books for xmas and said "I don't think one of those is what you do. I wasn't sure." It was a crochet book but still welcome.

He also gave me a $100 gift certificate to the LYS which I used to buy an assload of Cascade 220 for my felted Malcom X tote. hurrah!

so sweet! awesome present!

Oh jesus guys, I just got thee stitch 'n' bitch book & knitty supplies for the xmas. And I would love to knit but I am TERRIFIED I will suck ass at it! You have no idea how terrified I am. I've always had developmental problems re: corrdination and it's kind of stuck with me, the FEAR has. It took me five years to get the manual dexterity to TYPE decently. I have no manual dexterity at all! I am seriously far more nervous about this than public speech or any usual bugbear.

Someone plz tell me that if I suck and it takes 3 years to figure out, that I am not a Bad Person.

Abbott, knitting will increase one's coordination skills, if anything! Ok, I'm not entirely sure about that, but it sounded nice. Don't even worry about it! I taught my mom how to knit at that woman has TERRIBLE manual dexterity skillz. The Stitch'n'Bitch books (mainly the 1st one) give GREAT instructions which are really easy to follow (for the most part). As long as you keep at it, it'll get easier. Learning to knit can be a bit frustrating ("why are my stitches so tight?" or "Why do I keep gaining stitches!?"). It's totally normal. "Practice makes perfect" really does apply here, so if your first attempts are nightmare-ish, that's completely normal.

practice will improve you abbott, don't give up. When I started I often threw my needles across the room b/c I just couldn't get the hang of holding them. you can learn it.

Abbott, I thought just like you but then my husband said: why bother worrying and getting headaches, this is a HOBBY! if you don't like it, QUIT or start enjoying it.
trust me, it's so much fun! you can advance as much as you like. if you prefer to knit shawls until the next century, do so. or try this:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/341362410_9179752d04.jpg?v=1167688573

i just started knitting *properly* in july or something. :-)

I finished the scarf in time to give it to Stet for Christmas, and he actually wears it! I've begun this scarf three times and keep having to unravel it because I keep lose my place. Should I just fudge it the next time it happens and just carry on? I'm getting fed up.

are you using a row counter? I have to when i use complicated patterns.

No, but I remember OK which row I'm on. It's all the k3 ssk yo k5 [yo k1] 5 times stuff that I get lost in and the chart isn't helping. I'm thinking about making my own little chart that'll make more sense and keep me in the right place, but if I have to try and unpick anything I might as well unravel to the bottom and start again, it's so confusing. Ah well, I'll get there, with perseverence and faith!

ok, that post sounded so arrogant, like i was bragging. abbott, i just wanted to say: knitting is fun! :-)

i have always been and continue to be completely unco but i'm quite good at knitting. so i don't think the two things rely upon each other.

stitch markers help with doing lacework or any sort of repeating patterns

Ah, that's an idea I could try. Thanks!

i've never used stitch markers actually. i've wondered vaguely exactly how they work a few times... do they just stay on the needle to help you with the next row, or do they stay in the actual fabric and you pull them out later? i've never even looked at them even, can't picture what they look like.

I think knitting ones stay on the needles, but crochet ones are more like hooks so you can slip them on and off the yarn.

you can get solid rings, or ones that can open and close, so you can put them in the yarn (or you could use safety pins.)

they're also good if you have to cast on 200 stitches and don't want to have to recount 5 million times.

mine are shit: they always fall off. :-(

wow i never thought of the casting on thing though it seems dead obvious now you say it. i DO recount 5 million times as a rule. which is naturally extremely frustrating.

I like any excuse to buy more knitting accessories, really, especially Clover's. they are so cute.

I just registered at elann.com, oh dear.

I've gotten to where I just use bits of yarn for stitch counters. I tie on a bit of different yarn and then just slip it as I knit. Other stitch counters always seemed to jump or fall off in transit.

Lucy! The thing you need for lace is LIFELINES! Stick one in after each repeat and if you go wrong you only need to go back to the last place you're "safe" - here's a guide. Ripping back all of it = big bottom pain!

Have never really successfully worked with stitch markers either, they always end up falling off. Whilst I was finishing the clapotis which admittedly is fairly straightforward, I just purled the stitches where the pattern calls for you to add stitch markers but this probably wouldn't work so well in proper lace! I'd like to have a go at a lace thing too. I tried a lace pattern before but it was with regular dk weight with only 6mm needles so it only came out textured - should have gone really oversized but I have got un-used to those massive needles.

Speaking of massive needles I saw a jumper calling for 25mm needles - argh! However how fast must that knit up - cast on 30 sts to start :)

My friend made this cobweb shawl and it's fab! It only used 2 balls of Kidsilk Haze and none of us could stop cuddling it. Although it DID take her two years so I'm not going to attempt it for my first lace project!

Oh dear god, yes, that shawl is LOVELY. I'm partial to the shaped tube one in the far left picture, though, just as an office/meeting-room sort of torso warmer.

This seems like the worst idea ever though! I can imagine the spillages and the ridicule from here...

Still wrapping up the end of xmas knitting due to the last minute addition of some cousins to the list! Pictures will be up as soon as I get the better of my new year death flu :( I've heard from the folks who did get their stuff that for the most part it worked. One hat that was too short and another that was too small are the only casualties of my ignorance (and the too small one was snatched up by my sister with much glee).

I've got plans to do some lace shawls for family, and right now I've got a skein of that sari silk stuff that I've matched up with a part silk part merino yarn and am knitting them at a huge gauge. It lets the random ends of the silk really blossom and be soft, plus the thing is still warm.

Learning to cable is next on the list.

I've used little rubbery stitch markers from Clover and they have functioned very well--no matter what I've been making, either the bright green or bright purple stands out well enough.

Sam, perhaps we can start getting together next week? As far as I know Zoe is still in. Would Maureen like to continue?

I would like to get together too. haven't talked to mo in awhile but I can check with her.

sorry for the death flu! I'm still struggling with this death bronchitis I've had ever since Stitch! ugh. . .

Miss Starry, *you* have been my lifeline today! That is a super tip, thanks! If you want a go at a lace thing, I do recommend Branching Out from Knitty because it's super easy, as long as you can remember where you are at. I'm using Kidsilk (not Haze, the one with the little sparkles -- or is that Haze?) instead of the one recommended in the pattern and it's a perfect switch. I'll begin again tomorrow.

I bought two books online yesterday in a rush of compulsiveness: Knitting with Balls (could I get boy to knit? prolly not but maybe he can pick out something nice) and Naughty Needles.

the latter was written by a girl whom I replaced at a previous job. Had no idea she knitted. am envious. I want to write a book. :(

I want to check out Naughty Needles. I think it looks funny, but apparently there are knitting people out there who hate fun.

I bouight some Lana Grossa yarn. I wanna knit that sweatah BADLY. But started - last night after going out with my cousin - on that charm bag which is featured in that Stitch'n'Bitch book. It's a completely different (sort of yucky looking) yarn. But hey I bght in a sale and figured I might as well use it. :-D

xpost: I'll send you that yarn THIS WEEK. Promise! :-)

:)

what sweater are you working on?

Just one hat left for the massive xmas knitfest! I've got a bunch of sock yarn on its way to me, plus enough for two sweaters. With any luck I can finish the hat tonight.

Finishing that cardigan up above, I needed to buy some more yarn for the borders. And will start that Lana Grossa sweater next week.

http://www.lanagrossa.com/journale/filati_32/15.jpg

In charcoal grey colour. HURRAH!

Still need to finish hubby's shawl though. :-D Will do once I quit having migraines. Gawd headaches are a f*cking b*tch. :-(

I want to do this:
http://www.needleartsmentoring.org/guide/start.html

Has anyone set up and Etsy account? All of the sudden (like, within the past 3 minutes) I've entertained the idea of selling stuff, i.e. dishcloths, mittens, etc. Would anyone buy my stuff? Or is the internet crafty market saturated with People Just Like Me?

I'm still obsessed with knitting but I haven't done so much. Maybe because of my holiday, during which I only knitted a few rows? Yesterday I did manage to do some work on my lacy shawl.

I also bought a ton of pattern magazines (Lana Grossa) and fell in love with a gazillion things I want to knit. And I also bought that pattern book which seemed too difficult for me at first, but now I understand it and I think it'll be GREBT when I want to knit something simple (and maybe, in the future, sth with a fancy stitch).

I also cleared some records in a cupboard so I can have my collection of books and mags in one place. HURRAH.

Bought some jumbo sized crochet hook (?) and want to crochet a blanket. But I don't know how to *turn* in crochet. Bummer.

The lesson was EXTREMELY hard this week. We have to do a V-collar with dpns. Urgh! I think I messed it up. :-) I found out that the one who's most crap at knitting is a bit... I don't know how to say this... I think I overheard saying she lives in a community (for people with slight mental disabilities). :-( She doesn't really follow the difficult parts anymore, the teacher just guides her a bit doing her sweater.

My husband bought me this book for v-day
http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0600609243.02._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
so now I need to learn to knit! I have a book from the library, and that knittinghelp site looks useful but what equipment do I need? What are the best needles to start with? Maybe I should start with a scarf rather than an elaborate child's jumper?

I think a scarf is the easiest project you can begin with, but I quickly got bored with it and I had also enrolled in a rather demanding course which demanded I knit a sweater! (If I had known, I would have thought twice about enrolling.) I think what helped me was doing *small* projects, like doing a combination of knit'n'purl to learn following a pattern (and create a heart) and doing a mini-sized triangle shaped shawl so that I learned how to knit together...

What equipment? Hmm, yarn, needles (I prefer bamboo or plastic), a sewing needle (if you cant to do a sweater), scissors, something to measure,... I would also suggest some notebook so you can write down your progress. I should follow my own advice, cause I'm quite lax when it comes to writing everything down. :-(

Do they have the Stitch'n'Bitch book from Debbie Stoller in yr library? If so GET THAT ONE PRONTO! It's ACE! Debbie Bliss also does good (beginner) books for baby garments. There's also the Vogue KNitting book which is great but will come more in handy as reference (once you're a bit more experienced IMO!).

YAY, a new knitter! :-)

DEF do a scarf first. I would recommend getting some thick, bulky yarn and starting with needles 8.0mm or higher (when you buy the yarn the label should suggest a good needle size. For beginning projects, bigger is better.)

yay knitting talk!

Let me know what you decide about Etsy Molly. I'm curious too. I like looking but have never bought anything, more inspiration really. Does anyone besides other crafters know about it?

Here's my latest knitting (and crocheting and sewing) pic posts. Finishing a second pair of mittens before I post them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/misery/

I went to the charity shop at lunch and got three pairs of needles (only slightly bent...) and a ball of wool for £4 so I am on my way! A notebook is a good idea too, thanks.

I don't think my yarn is very bulky so maybe I had better just do a small scarf - or a belt!

you can double the yarn to make it bulkier (use two strands at once.) The only reason I suggested bulky is b/c A. it knits quicker B. it's easier to see your stitches c. using big needles when you start is kind of like using big pencils in kindergarten - it's just easier for your muscles to learn. what type (material) of needles?