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I bought this set (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006R9JGMG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) of needles and I'm loving the cubics- I'm working on a sample swatch for a sweater and they feel really nice. The variety of sizes and the different cables are really convenient for beginners.
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Sep 26, 2013 18:27
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My Knit Picks order arrived! I am ready to try my hand at knitting with circular needles. However, I forgot to order a new set of needles, so the only ones I have are a pair of US 6 4mm ones. Can anyone recommend a good sock pattern for this needle size + fingering weight wool that would be suitable for a first time trying socks/circular needles/knitting in the round?
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Sep 26, 2013 19:15
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Fionnoula posted:For me, knitting groups are more about finding the right mix of personalities (and politics - I lasted about 5 minutes at one before it became the Insane Right Wing Talking Hour and I just stood up and walked out). I met up with one group and it turns out one woman and I had a mutual acquaintance, so the whole convo turned into "let me talk about how hosed up Lisa is". Lisa is indeed hosed up, but I enjoy the fact that I can get away from her. We were in a Panera bread place and there was a little kid happily playing under his parent's table at the other end of the restaurant. He was being A GEM. Cute little happy squeals, the whole deal. The kid giggled, and one of the ladies said, "oh my gods, shut IT up". Then they all started talking about how annoying kids in public are. I texted my husband to come get me, and had to wait it out for him. There is a local group as well, but most of the women are very well off, retired, stay at home types and we don't really 'mesh' that well. It's still nice to go when someone can watch my kid, though.
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Sep 26, 2013 21:43
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Nione posted:
Oofta, quite a first sweater! I would personally pick a pattern that is a little easier to read, but it's a really gorgeous pattern. It looks like the yoke shaping is different between men and women (maybe? hard to tell if it isn't just stitch count...the pattern is def prettier for the women's IMHO) but the sleeve increases are done differently as far as I can tell - the men's sleeves are more billowy. As a fellow tall lady, I would recommend doing the women's version and just knitting a few extra inches...the pattern doesn't have any waist shaping so it would be super easy to lengthen the sleeves and body without making any real modifications. You can just measure yourself from where you want the bottom of the sweater to fall up to your armpit, and just substitute that number in the pattern instead of the number printed when it says "When patt is complete cont with A until body measures [insert your own number here] cm from cast on edge" for the body. For sleeves, I usually knit the extra inch or so (determined by measuring from wrist to armpit) after I do the specified increases (aka "Work until sleeve measures [insert measurement here] cm from cast on edge.") Anyway, good luck! I have a few sweaters under my belt, but still haven't tackled colorwork...so brave!
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Sep 26, 2013 23:53
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Amykinz posted:I met up with one group and it turns out one woman and I had a mutual acquaintance, so the whole convo turned into "let me talk about how hosed up Lisa is". Lisa is indeed hosed up, but I enjoy the fact that I can get away from her. We were in a Panera bread place and there was a little kid happily playing under his parent's table at the other end of the restaurant. He was being A GEM. Cute little happy squeals, the whole deal. The kid giggled, and one of the ladies said, "oh my gods, shut IT up". Then they all started talking about how annoying kids in public are. I texted my husband to come get me, and had to wait it out for him. There is a local group as well, but most of the women are very well off, retired, stay at home types and we don't really 'mesh' that well. It's still nice to go when someone can watch my kid, though. One of the issues I've run into in my area is similar-- there are a lot of retirees and empty nesters, and they like to meet at, say, noon on Friday to knit and have a bite to eat. Sounds great, except, uh, I can never do that. I've been contemplating starting a Stitch n' Bitch myself that meets on the weekend, so people who work or are stay-at-home parents can come out and have some knit time, too.
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Sep 27, 2013 01:35
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I stopped going to my knitting group because the entire group was made of middle aged women who would talk about how much they hate their 20-something children and how disappointed they are in them. The final straw was one of the woman going on and on about how dare her son not become an honest door-to-door salesmen like that nice boy who sold her $500 worth of cutco knives! 
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Sep 27, 2013 01:44
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Amelia Song posted:One of the issues I've run into in my area is similar-- there are a lot of retirees and empty nesters, and they like to meet at, say, noon on Friday to knit and have a bite to eat. Sounds great, except, uh, I can never do that. I've been contemplating starting a Stitch n' Bitch myself that meets on the weekend, so people who work or are stay-at-home parents can come out and have some knit time, too. The one I go to is pretty good. I'm pretty much the only guy but everyone there is ~40 so there isn't a HUGE gap. Politics can get generally a little iffy but it rarely comes up. Now the one at the library here, I only went once because it was your stereotypical group of old grannies. They were nice and all, but I felt out of place.
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Sep 27, 2013 01:49
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The old grannies at the ones near me want to buy overpriced bland food and get lovely about my tattoos. They also seem to enjoy telling me that I'm "doing it wrong" constantly and trying to give me remedial classes. I'm 3/4s of the way through a sweater, lady, I'm not doing it wrong I'm just knitting LEFT-HANDED. >
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Sep 27, 2013 03:13
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My mother thinks I should start a knitting class aimed at men. In unrelated news, I tried to hand-wind a hank of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and I hosed it up somehow and spent most of my evening trying to untangle 400 yards of yarn. I have a ball little bigger than a golf ball untangled and wound after at least two hours of work. I just wanted to make a sock! 
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Sep 27, 2013 03:30
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If you haven't looked yet, see if there are any local groups on Ravelry. That can be a good way to get a feel for a group, too. When a new person posts in our group, we'll tell them a bit about ourselves to let them know what to expect. On the one hand, we have definitely scared off some older ladies. On the other, we've gotten people who had bad experiences with other groups and are now regulars. First time I went, I'd been crocheting for maybe a month. I didn't want to go until I kind of knew what I was doing. Now I know that's silly and I could have shown up with a hook, yarn, and instructions. Even if there was no one there to help, they would have all been cool with me learning. They waited until I was more experienced for giving me poo poo about crocheting  I was seriously worried that my choice of craft would be a problem. It wasn't and at times more than half of us were crocheting. Now that I'm knitting, most of them are gloating and I think one woman may kill me in my sleep for defecting.If it wasn't for my group, I don't know if I'd have tried knitting. I learned on my own but I know someone there can help me if I need it. We also share supplies when we can. When I'm ready to try socks, there will probably be one or two people who have already done the pattern I want to use and can probably knit it in their sleep. This is assuming I ever finish the shawl I'm working on and the cowl I'd like to have before it gets cold.
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Sep 27, 2013 04:36
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So I'm swatching for a sweater I want to make (Chic Knits hoodie). The pattern specifies that the gauge as 19sts / 24rows per 4" using #7 (3.5mm) needless. One the 7s, I was 21 stitches (or something close to that) per inch and 25 rows per 4. I'm re-doing the swatch on 8s, but what if that doesn't work either? I honestly have no idea what to do. I've never really had to swatch before and its becoming a real bugaboo.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:02
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If your gauge is that close and the size 8s are too far, you can block the rest into shape.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:33
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Safari Disco Lion posted:If your gauge is that close and the size 8s are too far, you can block the rest into shape. I just worry about it as this is my first ever sweater. I don't want to make the whole thing then have to frog it because I hosed it up. Also, should I just pin the piece when measuring it or should I get it damp or something?
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Sep 27, 2013 16:35
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My main group meets Tuesday evenings and is mostly 20-40 year olds. They're all pretty cool and we don't have many problems with politics discussion. There is one older lady who is kind of...overbearing and will shove her way into any conversation to lecture you, but she doesn't show up every time. She's about the only person I have a problem with. Everyone else is super chill. There used to be another group around a different yarn store that was very much the retired grandma model, and they were perfectly nice but man I was out of place. I used to go there anyway because they were right down the street from my apartment and they had a really great selection of spinning supplies, but then they moved and eventually went out of business so whatever.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:37
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Welp. Still no luck getting more than 30 out of 100g of yarn untangled.  On the next episode of Bert Hates Himself, I teach myself magic loop on #10 metal needles with Lopi and a 12" cable.
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Sep 27, 2013 23:36
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I've come to realize that trying to knit while also trying to prevent a 4-month-old kitten from destroying my knitting is a fruitless endeavor. I guess I'm going to have to work on Christmas gifts in 30-minute bursts while the little demon naps. 
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Sep 27, 2013 23:45
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aghastly posted:I've come to realize that trying to knit while also trying to prevent a 4-month-old kitten from destroying my knitting is a fruitless endeavor. I guess I'm going to have to work on Christmas gifts in 30-minute bursts while the little demon naps. My kitten is only a little older than that and she finds the needles more interesting than the yarn. 
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Sep 27, 2013 23:55
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Bertrand Hustle posted:Welp. Still no luck getting more than 30 out of 100g of yarn untangled. You have no idea how badly I want you to mail me that yarn so that I can untangle it for you. I live to untangle yarn in ways that are probably not healthy.
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Sep 28, 2013 01:01
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Pucklynn posted:You have no idea how badly I want you to mail me that yarn so that I can untangle it for you. I live to untangle yarn in ways that are probably not healthy. There's a group on ravelry for people like you! http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knot-a-problem Oh hey Bert you can find people in your area to detangle stuff for you http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knot-a-problem/pages/Detanglers-by-Location Dead Cow fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Sep 28, 2013 |
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Sep 28, 2013 01:57
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Bertrand Hustle posted:My kitten is only a little older than that and she finds the needles more interesting than the yarn. Toast doesn't care about the needles, sadly. He bolts over, snatches the working yarn faster than I can blink and tries to take off with the entire project. I should get an airhorn or something.
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Sep 28, 2013 02:04
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Bertrand Hustle posted:On the next episode of Bert Hates Himself, I teach myself magic loop on #10 metal needles with Lopi and a 12" cable. I wouldn't do that if I were you.  12" is just not long enough for magic loop, you'll have no slack for the turn-around.
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Sep 28, 2013 03:00
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Pucklynn posted:You have no idea how badly I want you to mail me that yarn so that I can untangle it for you. I live to untangle yarn in ways that are probably not healthy. Oh jesus I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I spent a good chunk of a 17-hour train ride happily disentangling and balling up a huge skein. I thought there was something wrong with me, doesn't stuff like that make you a witch or something?
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Sep 28, 2013 03:16
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Pucklynn posted:You have no idea how badly I want you to mail me that yarn so that I can untangle it for you. I live to untangle yarn in ways that are probably not healthy. That is totally weird. And I SO GET IT! There's something so satisfying about untangling a massive knot into a lovely useable skein of yarn! ...Although that doesn't stop me from railing at my kids and my cat for creating said knotting my yarn to begin with! 
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Sep 28, 2013 03:18
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I broke it off once or twice but the majority of it is still intact. I would totally mail it to someone who could untangle it if I didn't think postage would probably be as much as buying a new skein. E: or am I totally overestimating the cost of mailing 100g of yarn?
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Sep 28, 2013 05:19
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Usually when I mail skeins for exchanges on Ravelry it's around $5, depending on where the other person lives. You'd probably have better luck meeting someone near you at a Stitch'n'Bitch or something though.
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Sep 28, 2013 14:01
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Earlier, I posted that I was getting circulars for my bday and asked for recommendations. Well, my birthday came early this year, and apparently I was a good boy.  I got the Chiaogoo bamboo and the Chiaogoo metal/Red Lace interchangeable circular sets. Also, I finished my first 2 scarves. In addition to being the first scarves that I ever knit, they are also my first attempts at knitting Continental style (I'm a continental convert now). The red one is for my fiancee. It looks short because it is very wide, but it is actually as long as she is tall. Straight knit/garter stitches. Nothing fancy.  I made this for the daughter of one of my friends back in Japan.She's 5, so it is small. Also decided to sew the ends together to make it a cowl or infinity scarf.  I am considering trying to either knit or crochet an afghan/blanket (full sized, not a baby blanket or a throw). Anybody know of an easy pattern that somebody at my skill level might be able to handle? I'm not looking for it to be fancy or have intricate designs-just something to stay warm and cozy during the winter. Even the "easy" or "beginner" afghans on ravelry seemed a bit above my skill level.
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Sep 29, 2013 02:27
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wodan22 posted:I am considering trying to either knit or crochet an afghan/blanket (full sized, not a baby blanket or a throw). Anybody know of an easy pattern that somebody at my skill level might be able to handle? I'm not looking for it to be fancy or have intricate designs-just something to stay warm and cozy during the winter. Even the "easy" or "beginner" afghans on ravelry seemed a bit above my skill level. I have this one queued for Christmas gifts — I'm going to be using my brother's university colors instead, though. Don't need to know anything aside from knit and purl and how to change colors. 
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Sep 29, 2013 02:35
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My mother bought me three 150yd skeins of this amazingly soft, gorgeous alpaca yarn in a light worsted weight. It's undyed, but dark gray because it's a mix of black and white fibers. It even has a picture of the alpacas it came from!  So my question to you, knittin' goons, is what should I make from this fantastic yarn? Can I do socks in worsted weight yarn? Is 450 yards enough for a pair of large men's socks, probably with some cabling?
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Sep 29, 2013 02:59
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Bertrand Hustle posted:My mother bought me three 150yd skeins of this amazingly soft, gorgeous alpaca yarn in a light worsted weight. It's undyed, but dark gray because it's a mix of black and white fibers. It even has a picture of the alpacas it came from! Ravelry is your best friend! This is the search results for knitting, socks, adult AND male, cables, worsted weight, 150-450 yards. :-) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sea...t=best&pc=socks
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Sep 29, 2013 03:12
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450 ought to be more than enough, I'm doing some socks in fingering and it takes 350yds of that. Those are gonna be some comfy loving socks you should use the extra yarn to make a 3rd one in case one gets a hole!
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Sep 29, 2013 04:30
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Although I'm sure it has been done, it wouldn't be a good idea to knit socks with yarn like that. Alpaca has no memory so they would just turn into floppy baggy slouchy crap. Alpaca also grows a ton. And it's not durable, it'll wear through soon. Worsted-weight is very thick for socks, too. With yarn like that, it'd be a good idea to make a fuzzy cowl, scarf, maybe a hat, something like that. Cables still won't be very defined, but it'll add some texture if you'd like.
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Sep 29, 2013 04:32
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i like nice words
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I am a fan of worsted weight socks for those really cold days outside, or wearing around the house (I keep the thermostat pretty low) but I agree with Anne Whately, 100 % alpaca would be a bad idea for socks. You could probably eke a cowl/hat set out of it if you kept to slim fitting stuff. Then your really sensitive skin will get to enjoy the softness!
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Sep 29, 2013 08:13
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aghastly posted:I have this one queued for Christmas gifts — I'm going to be using my brother's university colors instead, though. Don't need to know anything aside from knit and purl and how to change colors. That is perfect! It is in my queue now, as well. Thanks! djinndarc fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Sep 29, 2013 |
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Sep 29, 2013 18:36
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Have made progress on untangling the Ultra Alpaca, which is 30%/50%/20% nylon/peruvian wool/alpaca, respectively. So once I get that sorted I'll make my socks out of that. A hat and scarf of 100% alpaca won't wear out or get baggy like socks would, right?
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Sep 29, 2013 19:05
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Scarf definitely will--it stretches like anything actually. This does not make it less warm or comfy.
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Sep 29, 2013 19:18
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Bertrand Hustle posted:Have made progress on untangling the Ultra Alpaca, which is 30%/50%/20% nylon/peruvian wool/alpaca, respectively. So once I get that sorted I'll make my socks out of that. Just sew a bit of elastic into the hat band if it stretches out too much. Or use a less stretchy bind off. I crocheted the bind off on a cotton tam for my little sister because at the time it was the only one I knew. Fits a little snug at first, but the longer she (or I) wears the hat, the looser it gets until it's almost baggy. That too-tight bind off ended up being a lifesaver, and should anyone ask, I totally meant to do it. 
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Sep 30, 2013 17:15
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In March I decided to start working on the One Ring scarf. I'd never double-knitted before. Seven restarts and several months later, and I'm halfway done:  The yarn I'm using was way too think, so now it's more of a banner than a scarf, which I've been assured that my Tolkien-loving in-laws will appreciate more. Hopefully I'll have it done by Christmas.
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Sep 30, 2013 17:21
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 That is beautiful. I need to have another go at double knitting. How do you keep tension while holding two yarns/how do you hold two yarns? I have trouble holding on to both so I found myself switching constantly which was just annoying.ETA: I'm attempting to convince myself that instead of starting a third project, I should finish one or both of my current WIPs first. On the other hand, starting the new project would mean I've started on my Christmas knitting. Ah, knitting dilemmas. left_unattended fucked around with this message at 11:05 on Oct 1, 2013 |
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Sep 30, 2013 22:47
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left_unattended posted:
Thank you! I do American/English whatever knitting, so I have no idea how this works for Continental knitting. It took me ages to figure out something that worked for me, and I'm not sure I'll be able to explain very well, but I'll try. I arrange the yarn so that the color that I want in front is on top when I'm knitting, and the color that I want in back seems to come around in front naturally when I'm purling. When I switch colors, I try not to switch out the yarns. I keep holding it with the same fingers I have been and just kind of twist it around so that when I switch sides it stays the way I had it (see? I'm bad at explaining). And I give a little tug of the yarn I'm about to knit/purl just before I start, which seems to make the previous stitch in that color snug. I hope this helped at least a little, and I apologize because I really am awful at explaining things. I tried to teach someone to knit once, and it came out as "You do the thing, then thing with the thing, and somehow it works."
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Oct 1, 2013 15:47
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| # ? May 31, 2024 01:19 |
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left_unattended posted:
I'm working on a doubleknit scarf right now:  I only hold one yarn at a time though. You basically just knit or purl whichever stitches you want to be that color, and slip all the ones you don't want to be that color (when you slip a purl you bring the yarn to the front first, and when you slip a knit you bring the yarn to the back first, that way the floats go inside the two layers). I've done it the other way, holding both yarns at once, and found that pretty slow too. I don't know for sure if every doubleknit project can be done one yarn at a time (this is only my second doubleknit project) but I like it better this way I think.
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Oct 1, 2013 17:22
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