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Drei, those are so cute! I love Olivia. I also had two questions for you all. One, what's the problem with doing intarsia in the round? I've never tried it so I don't understand what would make it different to doing it flat. Also, my uni has a knitting group in which I am now the noob liason officer. So I'm writing up a small info sheet of things which might be helpful for knitters who are just starting out. It's got needle conversions, an explanation of a yarn label, how to knit and purl, some common knitting abbreviations, and a list of online resources (mainly ravelry and knitty) as well as a list of LYSs. Can you all think of anything else you found you needed help with when you were starting out knitting? We'll be doing some knitting classes at our meetings but I want them to have this for when they get home and realise they forgot everything that happened at the meeting. More generally, can you remember anything in particular you would have liked someone to do for you when you were just starting out, or anything you found really helpful when you were learning to knit? Thanks a lot in advance everyone!
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Aug 13, 2010 23:54
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Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like the monsters! When you knit blocks of color with intarsia, when you switch colors you're leaving the tail of the previous color on the left hand side. If you're knitting flat that means you come back to the where you left off when you dropped that color (since you turn the work) and can pick up that tail no problem. But when you're knitting in the round you're coming around to the right hand side of the block every time, but your tail is on the wrong side. I hope that makes sense. It's definitely easy to visualize than explain in text. As for your info sheet, what you have sounds pretty good. Only other things I might recommend is an explanation of gauge (which a lot of newbies have trouble grasping - the relationship between yarn weight and needle, etc), and maybe a suggestion for a basic knitter's toolbox (scissors, darning needle and so forth) and possibly some good beginner's books.
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Aug 14, 2010 00:07
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Maybe some info about different types of yarn and what they will and won't do? I had a friend who decided to start knitting and picked out a pattern for a felted bag...and then bought ribbon yarn to make it with. I really hated having to break it to her that it was never, ever, ever going to work that way.
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Aug 14, 2010 00:15
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Those monsters are amazing! Great work Did you come up with the designs? On the beginning knitter info, Drei's suggestion about suggested needle size and yarn weight was what I was going to say. It can be hard starting out, knowing what needles to grab... but at the same time you may want to keep this as short as possible because it sounds like you could easily end up with a novel. If you're running short of space, you could just make it a sentence rather than a full list of weights and suggested needles. Something like "Thicker yarn generally requires bigger needles. Check your yarn label for needle size suggestions as a starting point." I guess it depends how much detail you want or can go into. I also second the ideas of very basic fiber type information (and approve fully of the story involving the ribbon felt bag. The thing that really vexed me starting out, was trying to read the drat yarn labels and their hieroglyphics. If someone wants an easy care yarn, and the label has that little no washing machine or no dryer symbol, it can be hard to figure out. Hell I still get confused on those.
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Aug 14, 2010 01:13
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Probably a mention of knittinghelp.com ? That site is brilliant, for both continental and english knitters, so if they can't wait to get help they can at least look at a decent video that explains what to do. I used that site all the time when I finally decided I needed to advance beyond knit and purl.
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Aug 14, 2010 03:02
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Yeah, instead of trying to explain with words or pictures how to knit/purl/increase/whatever, I would just link to YouTube videos. It's seriously five million times easier, and presumably everyone at least has internet access at the library if nowhere else.
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Aug 14, 2010 03:32
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i like nice words
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Update on the Patons SWS yarn Doomsday!  I've checked with another AC Moore and yup, looks like they're getting rid of it all and never getting anymore.  I was able to grab what I could (apparently someone had the same idea, one store was completely sold out) so I have enough to last a few more batches of kittens in the future. After that? A scary new world of non-soy kittens. 
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Aug 14, 2010 03:57
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Wandering Knitter posted:Update on the Patons SWS yarn Doomsday! http://www.shopatron.com/products/category/630.0.1.1.25198.0.0.0.0 Karaoke from SWTC? I dunno.
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Aug 14, 2010 05:43
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Captain Stinkybutt posted:http://www.shopatron.com/products/category/630.0.1.1.25198.0.0.0.0 Not at that price  I'm hitting up the last AC Moore in my area just to check to see what they have left. I can't believe I'm getting depressed over yarn. 
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Aug 14, 2010 07:32
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Wandering Knitter posted:Not at that price Welp your options at this point are either to mark up the kittens a little or switch to straight wool.
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Aug 14, 2010 09:26
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concreteelephant posted:More generally, can you remember anything in particular you would have liked someone to do for you when you were just starting out, or anything you found really helpful when you were learning to knit? Thanks a lot in advance everyone! Reassurance about making mistakes and how it's not the end of the world until you've snipped your yarn into confetti. I went from being a supremely carefree 13 year old knitter making exceptionally ugly things, to following patterns and freaking out the moment I forgot to increase in one alternate row. Oh, Wandering Knitter, do you now realise that your soy kittens are LIMITED EDITION?!  AKA now you can charge $40 a piece as a collectors item.
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Aug 14, 2010 11:54
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Is this the same stuff? http://www.marymaxim.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10054_3074457345616708054_-1_15019_15020 It looks like it's on sale.
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Aug 14, 2010 13:43
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Captain Stinkybutt posted:Welp your options at this point are either to mark up the kittens a little or switch to straight wool. madlilnerd posted:Oh, Wandering Knitter, do you now realise that your soy kittens are LIMITED EDITION?! I might have to swing something where I keep my soy kittens on etsy and just move to wool kittens on Something Awful. I just need someone to help edit a banner someone else made for me. I hit the last AC Moore in my area and found two abandoned balls stuck behind some terrible brand new "fancy" scarf yarn. It's 2003 all over again. guaranteed posted:Is this the same stuff? Aww jeez, there goes my money.
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Aug 15, 2010 06:40
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Anyone ever attempt any Bohus knitting? I just discovered it and holy crap, it's like my dreamland. I love colorwork, I think it makes knitting super fast. Must try it when I get the cash.
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Aug 15, 2010 17:08
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Wandering Knitter posted:Aww jeez, there goes my money. Who needs money when you are rich in yarn? We can all live on the streets together. We'll set up our cardboard and carry garbage bags full of our knitting supplies. We'll call it "knit row".
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Aug 15, 2010 17:49
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Soo.. just realized I've been purling the wrong way for about a year and a half. Go me!
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Aug 15, 2010 21:35
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Robin Sparkles posted:Soo.. just realized I've been purling the wrong way for about a year and a half. Go me! Don't feel bad. I knit through back of loop for a literal dozen years before I found out that was not knit. I was always so confused when it said "knit through back of loop" in instructions.
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Aug 16, 2010 01:19
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Shnooks posted:Anyone ever attempt any Bohus knitting? I haven't yet but I've had my eye on one of the kits for oh...over a year now. I'm obsessed with the "Wild Apple" one - so many pretty colors, omg.
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Aug 16, 2010 02:39
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ZAUBERBALL GET Think I'll make a lacey scarf with it. It's too pretty to be socks.
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Aug 18, 2010 08:03
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Oh poo poo that's awesome! I have one in purples, maybe I'll make a scarf too. I keep looking at it and going...yeah, that's not going to hold up in a pair of socks. It does that scary untwisting thing when I knit with it. Do you have any pattern ideas already?
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Aug 18, 2010 12:45
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:Oh poo poo that's awesome! I just got a pretty simple one in a spam from Knitting Daily: (Fingering-weight on 7s) CO 24 stitches. Row 1: K1, *YO, K2tog; rep from * to last st, K1. Row 2: K1, *YO, P2tog; rep from * to last st, K1. Repeat rows 1 and 2 until scarf is the desired length
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Aug 18, 2010 15:21
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Those things are the pretty, but I can't justify the price to myself. So jealous! One lady I know made a scarf holding two different Zauberballs together; it was so pretty!
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Aug 18, 2010 16:09
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Has anybody tried one of the silk blend yarns from Knit Picks? Any that you'd recommend?
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Aug 18, 2010 22:11
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Aardvarklet posted:Has anybody tried one of the silk blend yarns from Knit Picks? Any that you'd recommend? Knit Picks in general is pretty awesome, only thing I've tried that I don't like is the Felici fingering weight yarn. I haven't used any wool/silk blends, but one of my earliest projects was made out of Elegance (DK alpaca/silk). I like natural yarns with some bounce and stretch, hate cotton... but I loved this stuff! Alapaca tends to stretch and sag, but my mom's shawl is holding up fairly well, and it's incredibly soft and sleek. The color practically glows, it's really quite beautiful. And I made a huge shawl out of it on size 5 needles for only $35! It looks like they might be discontinuing it as there's only 3 colors left, which is a shame... I wanted to make one for me! XD
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Aug 20, 2010 01:47
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Aardvarklet posted:Has anybody tried one of the silk blend yarns from Knit Picks? Any that you'd recommend? Just got my order from there, I got three skeins of Gloss fingering weight. It's beautiful! Very, very subtle sheen and feels wonderful. I haven't started on the (crochet) scarf it is for, but it seems to be quality stuff. I got the "Kenai" shade of blue, and it's beautiful and rich. Can't beat a natural fiber, handmade gift for $13.
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Aug 20, 2010 17:39
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Halp guys I feel too dumb to post on Ravelry with my question. I have half a skein probably of some madeleinetosh sock that I was going to use for a fair isle hat I'm designing. I wasn't going to buy another full skein of madeleinetosh because A) they don't have the color I want and B) It's more yarn than I need. I am buying a skein of knit picks palette instead, but what are the consequences of mixing yarn brands? The gauges are listed as fairly similar (MT at 6-7 per 1" and KP Palette at 7-8 per 1"), but I'm still scared I'm going to knit it up and one will be significantly smaller than the other or something
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Aug 22, 2010 03:01
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The only things I can think of: 1. the thickness will be slightly different. Maybe not gauge alteringly different, but they will be. I find KnitPicks is usually the thin side of the gauge they list. 2. Palette is a 2-ply yarn, whereas Tosh sock looks like a multiple ply. So that's going to be different. See if you like how they look together, with a little swatch you can frog for yarn if necessary. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
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Aug 22, 2010 04:25
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Hooray! Just finished my first pair of socks!  Excuse the mirror glare. It really wasn't as hard as I thought. Next I'd like to tackle longer socks. Here's a question for all the sock experts: If I wanted to make knee-high socks, would I have to start out with more stitches? This one was total of 64 but it only had to stretch around my ankle. I figure, in order to fit around the calf, would it have to be more stitches and then decrease as it goes down to the ankle? Also, my stripes got off kilter...how do you guys get the stripes even?
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Aug 22, 2010 08:17
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Nice socks! If you want knee highs yeah, you gotta start out with more stitches. Most patterns that I've seen with decreases in the leg do them in along a 'seam' down the back of the leg. I suppose you could put them anywhere you want though. There's at least one knitty pattern for knee-highs out there and it's free obviously so check that out maybe. As to the stripes - that looks like self-striping yarn. If you want your socks to match up perfectly you'd have to make sure you started each one at the same exact point in the color sequence and you can't knit one sock from each end of the ball like some people like to do. Shnooks posted:Halp guys God Madelinetosh is so awesome. I'm knitting myself a beret out of it right now and I swear that poo poo glows. I can definitely tell you there's going to be a thickness difference. You might be able to hold the pallette doubled even. Pallette may also be a touch fuzzier but that could be a feature, not a bug. I actually quite like fair isle that's a bit fuzzy.
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Aug 22, 2010 11:31
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Thanks for the help guys. Maybe I'll just go into work and see what yarn matches best with my madeleinetosh.
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Aug 22, 2010 15:09
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I went out to a yarn shop aways off my beaten path and they had worsted madelinetosh. It took all my strength not to buy it. There's something very exciting about seeing yarn in person that you've only ever cooed over online.
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Aug 22, 2010 18:08
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A couple questions about this pattern(which I think someone has posted here before and that's how I found it...) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/francis-revisited Has anyone else made this, and what yarn did you use? My lys has berocco ultra alpaca which I really liked, but if there's something that would lay better I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!
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Aug 22, 2010 18:41
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I made Frances Revisted (and posted it a few pages back). I used Misti Alpaca Worsted, which looks like it's pretty comparable to the Berroco (both worsted, 50/50 alpaca/wool blends). So if you like the yarn, I say go for it! It's a pretty quick pattern and easy to add additional shaping if needed. One thing is that even though the pattern uses 6mm needles, I ended up going up to an 8mm (and I'm usually a loose knitter) to get gauge. I think since it is alpaca you definitely want this to be a loose knit so you don't swelter.
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Aug 22, 2010 19:48
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Drei posted:I made Frances Revisted (and posted it a few pages back). I used Misti Alpaca Worsted, which looks like it's pretty comparable to the Berroco (both worsted, 50/50 alpaca/wool blends). So if you like the yarn, I say go for it! It's a pretty quick pattern and easy to add additional shaping if needed. That turned out great! Thanks for the info, I knit pretty eclectically; sometimes loose sometimes tight. If it's just a straight stitch thought I'll be pretty consistent. I'm just glad I discovered it later in the summer so hopefully I can get it done while it's still cold out.
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Aug 22, 2010 19:55
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I made some totoros for my boyfriend's birthday yesterday.
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Aug 23, 2010 15:40
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I love those. Aaaaand I'm on the hunt for the perfect cardigan pattern, which is eluding me. At work we've got two new colors in Rowan Lima, a dark red and a purple, and I'm infatuated with the two together. I really want a little cardigan to incorporate both colors together, but my hours on Ravelry have yielded nothing. I'm thinking either something with small cables, or with a one color fair isle on the yoke. So far I'm thinking of doing this one in purple, with the sleeves and bottom in red, but I'm not convinced. Anyone have any recommendations? Lima's a 20 st gauge. Drei fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Aug 23, 2010 |
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Aug 23, 2010 18:34
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I just queued this yesterday, though I like it best with high-contrast colors. e: of course it's not actually a cardigan, sorry. I'm undecided about this one: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/16-button-yoke-cardigan
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Aug 23, 2010 19:21
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guaranteed posted:I just queued this yesterday, though I like it best with high-contrast colors. e: of course it's not actually a cardigan, sorry. Hmm, that huntinton castle one is great, would be damned easy to make it into a cardigan I think. I'm in love with this one, but I would make it all in black/gray/white with a pink heart. Gauge is slightly smaller though. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/03-heart-yoke-cardigan
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Aug 23, 2010 19:47
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http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fairly-easy-fair-isle I still 100% want to make this before it gets lovely cold here, but I'm honestly not sure about doing it in Lamb's Pride Bulky, much as I love it. Anyone have other suggestions? I'd prefer it to be superwash, but if it isn't, I guess my problem with Lamb's Pride is that it seems to shed tons and is scratchy. I'm sure some of the scratchy might go away with blocking in Eucalan or something but... yeah.
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Aug 23, 2010 21:17
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It is scratchy, I made a pullover with it. I never wear it. I really should frog it and reclaim the yarn. Unfortunately, I don't know of a replacement. See what others have used for the project? Surely not everyone has used Lamb's Pride Bulky.
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Aug 23, 2010 22:19
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