Knitting!

First a hi-there to everyone - I have posted for years in this community under my other journal, resurgam, but I started this journal, paperdollygirl about six months ago to be strictly for crafts and hobbies (and public!), so I've been participating since then under this name.

Two recent baby gifts for new moms.

Stuffed Bear
Pattern: Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton
Stuffing: Cotton fleece, wool scraps, and buckwheat hulls
Modifications: I used DPNs instead of two circulars as the pattern suggests because for me it's easier. I am thinking of adding a mouth - maybe he looks a little pensive without it? I also used the recommended needle size, which I got gauge on, but I think I'd like it better a little tighter. The stuffing peaks through just a little bit. The first time I did this pattern, I made the bunny, and the bear was definitely easier. I would recommend both the yarn and the pattern. And it's machine washable!

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Baby Bolero
Pattern: One Skein
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton
Modifications: One - the pattern called for an extremely high number of stitches to be picked up on the edge for the ribbed border. I don't know if it was meant to ruffle or what, but I just picked up the amount of stitches I had. In the future, I would definitely use DPNs for the sleeves and pick them up along the sides. Knitting them flat and seaming (as the pattern suggested) added bulk that I don't think needs to be there. Also, this is supposedly a newborn pattern. You can tell from the little dime I added that it's very large. I also was right on with my gauge swatch, so I'm not sure what the problem was. It was also BARELY one skein. I had to cannibalize my cast on tail to get enough yarn to seam it. I did really like the back eyelet detail though. All in all, I would make it again, with smaller needles and with the DPNs for sleeves.

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So, I was thinking of starting a Christmas tree skirt in Plymouth Encore Chunky, using the Flickering Flames Skirt pattern from Elann. My plan was to start earler in the the increase sequence (maybe at row 6) to make a smaller opening and to knit it back-and-forth rather than in the round. I'll still knit a complete circle, but my plan is that if I knit it flat, there will be a slit up the back for putting it around the Christmas tree.

I have a few questions:

1) This is stockinette-based lace pattern. Will it curl like plain stockinette would? Should I put a border around the edges to try to keep it from curling?

2) A few of the rows in the pattern sequence end with a YO. Knitting in the round, that's not a problem. Knitting flat, you then have to turn the work around and purl into that YO. Is this even possible? How should it be done? (Experimentation suggests that merely making the YO and turning doesn't produce anything you can purl into.) Or should I go ahead and put at least a small border on it (if not to control curling, than at least to take prevent ending a row with a YO).

3) The increase rows, done on the wrong side, are k1 yf (by which I assume they mean yo) in the original pattern. I was planning on doing them on the wrong side using p1 yo. I'm assuming this will produce essentially the same result. Am I wrong?

4) If I knit an extra row before doubling the number of sitches in the pi formula, will the world explode?

5) Are there any other reasons this sounds like it might be a bad idea? I realize that the Encore will not block like wool would, but this is primarily a stash-busting exercise (secondarily because I need a Christmas Tree skirt, thirdly to see if trying to knit the Flickering Flames skirt would drive me mad) and that's what's in my stash.

I started the pattern last night, decided it needed a border, frogged the little bit I did, cast on again, and now am questioning whether I really want a big honking seed stitch border on my hypothetical pretty lace, unless it turns out to be necessary to prevent curling. Hence, my question. :-)

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edit: thank you! now i have the confidence to knit the second sleeve...

I used the Google search tool on the community info page and got scant results, and none of them really answered my question. I would like to make Knitty's Katja (baby halter top, for those that don't feel like clicking the link). I know that my local AC Moore carries Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn, and from what I see online, it appears to be the correct yarn weight/gauge for the project in question.

I've only ever knitted one item in cotton before, and I believe it was in Bernat's Cotton Tots, which I loathed. Can anyone tell me how Sugar'n Cream holds up for knitted garments? The search results I got had people mostly using it for dish clothes and such, so I wasn't sure how well it would lend itself to actual clothing.

Thoughts and/or advice? I'd like to start knitting this soon, so I'm hoping to go with something that's available at the big craft stores as opposed to ordering from KnitPicks or something like that.

TIA!

Lots of friends seem to be having babies these days, so between new baby gifts and things older siblings, most of my knitting projects lately have been small and (relatively) quick.

I previously posted about making the Bunny Blanket Buddies here. You can see them with finished faces here. One of them has been sent off in the mail, along with some of MagKnits Sushi. The other one will get mailed later this summer.
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I'm knitting MagKnits Slinky Socks http://www.magknits.com/Apr06/patterns/slinky.htm and I'm confused at the following directions:

"On the next round knit the wrap into the stitch"

I have no idea what this means. Here are the proceeding directions in case they help:

"W&T: The method used in this pattern is different that usual. With yarn in back, slip the next stitch without knitting it. Bring yarn to front and slip stitch back to left needle. Bring your knitting up through your needles (turn inside out). This will keep the correct orientation when knitting with double points. On the next round knit the wrap into the stitch."

Any help would be appreciated.

I'm at work and had a bit more time to knit than I thought I would, and finished the heel flap and the heel on my FIber Trends Raindrop Lace socks, and I picked up 16 stitches up one side of the heel flap, but now I don't know what to do! Could someone please tell me where I go from here? for the top of the foot and for the instep decreases. I just need the instep part, not the toe, i won't get that far today :P
Thanks in Advance!

I am teaching a kids' knitting workshop next Monday, nominally about Harry Potter scarves, but I don't expect anyone to actually get much beyond the basics. I'm planning to put together a hand out with basic instructions, URLs for help (e.g. knittinghelp.com), and at least one HP scarf pattern. I think I can cover the links and pattern, but I've not seen much I really liked in the way of knitting instructions -- specifically, really clear pictures. (I prefer line drawings, personally, but anything clear.) Anyone have resources they recommend?

I love this yarn - it is selfstriping in amazing colours, very woolly but yet not as thick as Kureyon, soft after washing and comes with an affordable price tag. (From Wollsucht.de among other places)
I was craving a quick project after knitting a Heirloom Shawl for a long time, so I charted out some lace cables and got knitting. Less than a day since starting knitting = 13,7" / 35cm! (Hem will be added later).

Pictures Here

I want to encourage any and all to design their own sweater and make their own charts. It looks a lot harder than it really is, and now that I FINALLY dropped down from a size 52" to a 40", I am also giving it a try... Before it would always take a month to knit a sweater, so designing was tedious and just no fun.

Edited to link instead of the broken cut :)

As a sock knitter, I am always on the look out for new needles. Pointy is good. Flexible cables are good. The join between cable and needle must be practically imperceptible. When I saw that Knitpicks was offering their own line of needles I had to try some out...

Here is a scan of four different brands needle tips.( Collapse )


And here is one of the join between needle and cable.
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I find the cables to be wonderfully flexible and the cat only chased the new purple mini-snakes for a few seconds before growing bored of the newest knit-alien to enter her sphere of influence.

The larger size needle cables have a nice long screw barrel (longer than the ones on my Boye set). The join there is almost invisible. I'll try them out this evening when the temperatures drop below the current 95°. I can try a scan of them too if anyone really needs one, but for now they seem to offer a very secure, smooth join with a remarkably pliable cable.

Would I change anything? I might make the pointy part of the needle, er, rather I guess I mean the taper portion of the needle a bit longer than its 1/2" ... maybe make that 3/4". I'm pleased I decided to try them out.

By the way, was anyone else aware that Addi Turbos (and now Knitpicks) use a different size for their needles? Most needle conversion charts list a US size 2 as 2.75 mm. Addi Tubos' and Knitpicks' size 2s are 3.0 mm. In size 1, most charts have size 1 as 2.25 mm. Addis and Knitpicks size 1s are 2.5 mm (which is a size 1 1/2 on conversion charts.) I know, I know ... Knit to GAUGE, but still, it's something to take into account when fiddling with stitches that are so small to begin with. (Is this FINALLY where I'm forced to move to the metric system like my fourth grade teacher warned me I'd have to some 40+ years ago?)

Mods - please feel free to let me know what I'm doing wrong as far as trying to do an lj cut. (So sorry everyone else for the extra click required. Hey I don't do metric, how on earth can I be expected to be fluent in LJ and HTML?)

I've been on a bit of a quest to visit every knitting shop I can find in the Los Angeles area. Just today I found myself with a bit of spare time on my hands, and so decided to visit the closest knitting shop that caught my fancy, Wildfiber.

Turns out Wildfiber is closed on Mondays. Bummer.

I went to Knit Cafe instead. The person who helped me on the phone was very chipper and gave me clear directions and didn't sound annoyed at my lack of directional sense at all.

Knit Cafe is situated on Melrose between La Cienega and Orlando in one of the posher corners of Hollywood. It's on the smaller side since real estate on that street ain't cheap, but it's also very... sparse. I guess what I mean to say is that though the space is small, there is quite a bit of empty space to hang out and knit, and I think the bright colors on the walls helps to "open it up" a bit.

This can be seen either as a good thing or a bad thing. It's lovely to be able to move around freely, not semi-claustrophobic in a tiny aisle between towering walls of yarn, squishing yourself up against the yarn as someone tries to pass you, a la La Knitterie Parisienne. However, I think they might have gotten extra space at the cost of yarn. There was one wall of cubbies and a few baskets here and there, but nothing you could really "browse." Also, you have to kind of step through the circle of "regulars" to get from one half of the shop to the other, which always makes me feel like I'm intruding. However, this group of regulars seemed pretty cool compared to the rather aloof group at Knitterie. I felt that, if I had the compulsion, I could join their group without very much nose-upturning at all, which is always nice.

However, I probably won't be going back again, and here's where the questions come in: to other SoCal knitters or those in a similarly warm climate, do you have trouble finding anything but cottons, acrylics, and novelty wools in your LYS? I've been to three yarn shops in LA and four in Long Beach, and none of them carried what I think of as essentials, the yarns that every LYS should have: a 4-6 ply worsted weight wool that is good for cables and felting (such as Cascade 220), a high-quality sock yarn (such as Koigu KPPPM or Lorna's Laces), fingering weight wool suitable for fair isle, and a wool or silk laceweight. You know, just to cover most of the bases.

Is there a noticeable lack of the "plain" stuff just because it's LA and the new trend, and everyone's gravitating toward flashy novelty? Is it the climate that has people shying away from the noble wools? Or is knitting just not at that level yet here, and within a few years our brand-spankin'-new yarn shops with catch up with you east coasters?

Another one: if you had to stock your own yarn shop with the fewest kinds of yarn, but were still trying to appeal to the largest number of people, what would you have? What are your essentials?

Hi! I just joined the community. I am not much of a knitter myself, I have made a few scarves n such, but my sister needs help on a hat shes making.

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If anyone has any patterns with detailed instructions on starting and finishing this hat that would be great! Thanks!

Hey all, I'm on holiday around Los Angeles and San Diego for the next week, does anyone have any suggestions for somewhere an obsessed knitter can go? (You know, the type that sits on a beach and knits gloves in June)

ok, so this is technically an unfinished object. but with all the kitty lovers, i HAD to share these pictures.

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Hey guys, I got this pattern from Jimmy Beans and I e-mailed them and have no responce so far.

The pattern came with two pieces of paper, it APPEARS that the second peice is a correction, but its odd because it's HALF of the pattern and a bunch of parts are different.

Anyone else run into this? I am on a row and one instructions say to knit it and one says to purl it. My good sense says to knit it but I just want to use the correct dang pattern and not have to stress this the whole time!

I search a bunch on google and did find some FO's but they all said the pattern was easy as pie. I would agree except that I seem to have two sets of directions, or a set and a half! Both peices of paper are orange too.

I'm pretty sure some people have done the Saturday Market Bag in the round, but I haven't been able to see if modifications have been posted. So I kind of bungled through the pattern (I don't modify much) and I think I have it re-written properly, but I'm asking for guidance just in case! And hey, if I've got it right, all the better for the community.

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Hello! I posted a week or so ago asking about good books for beginners. Thank you all for your replies!

A few days after I posted, I went to a bookstore and flipped through, paying special attention to the ones that were recommended. I also checked out a bunch from the libary.

From the Library I got:

Knitting Basics - which I really loved. It builds on skills at a really great speed so I'm adding new skills in no time! The patterns look nice and it looks like I could actually do this stuff!
Stitch and Bitch - I adore the patterns and I've gone back to this book for its explanation on binding off. The cutesie puns are a bit much, but I do like the info on magazines and books and stuff in addition to the patterns.
The Big Book of Knitting - I haven't gone through this book enough to know, but it definately looks good.
Vogue Knitting - wow, this looks like a classic! Mostly reference, but looks really really informative.

Basically, all of them had really great qualities and I'd consider any of them for me to buy later on.

What I purchased (it arrived today):

The Knitter's Bible - this one I'm quite excited about. It has lots of sections on different things like skills, a stitch reference section, and patterns. The patterns look good and this book will definately come in handy.
The Knit Stitch and The Purl Stitch - I love how these books build on skills nice and slow so before I know it, I'm knitting a sweater! I feel like I could really do it! The instructions look nice and clear.

I finished my first knitted thing. It is a hotpad, all done in a garter stitch (knit). I'm working on a second one right now, and it will be in garter stitch (purl). I know they will look the same, but I just want some practice making the stitches. When I finish that, I'll do one more in a seed or moss stitch.

After that, my husband has asked for a black scarf for this winter, and I have a new baby cousin that I'd like to knit something for while he is still a baby! :) And finally, something for myself.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what I got and how I'm doing since you have all been so helpful. :)

I just recieved some Sport & Strumpfwolle Marathon yarn. The only problem is in addition to the label being in German, it seems all of the searches that google brings up are also in German and I don't speak German. I've managed to figure out with the help of babel fish that it is a cotton/wool/nylon blend and it's machine washable. Other than that, I'm lost and I was wondering if anybody who has worked with this yarn could let me know anything else about it and/or their opinion of it - durability, comfort, that sort of thing.