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Source: (consider it) Thread: Heaven: Knitting and all things crafty
Roseofsharon
Shipmate
# 9657

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quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
I don't see too much indication that they sell mail order to individuals outside of North America.

If you click on the 'company policies' on the Dana Marie site you'll see they say that they ship to 'anywhere on the planet' (at a price, of course)

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Posts: 3060 | From: Sussex By The Sea | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged
birdie

fowl
# 2173

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quote:
Originally posted by Auntie Doris:
I have just bought this bag pattern and I am going to make my Mum and my sister one each for Christmas.

In my experience Amy Butler has a habit of making things far more complicated than they need to be in her bag patterns. I bought one last year and found I spent half the time reading it, muttering 'but that is just doing X the hard way' and then doing it my way. It's worth reading, re-reading, then re-reading the pattern a few times before starting, so as to decide whether you actually want to do it her way or not.

(This was at the point I was churning out bags by the busload, mainly to my own designs, so I was fairly confident about what would work and what wouldn't.)


The knitting is going okay - thanks for the earlier advice. I am knitting what the pattern describes as a wrap but I think is more likely to end up being a throw over the end of the bed/back of the settee. Mysteriously, there are considerably more stitches on my needles than when I cast on, but I'm living with that. I am determined to master knitting as it's been so nice to have something portable to do - several days over the last week or so have been spent sitting with the youngest birdie chick in hospital and it's been wonderful to have something to do with my hands. I do think though that the chances of me ever successfully knitting something which fits on a human body are quite small.

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"Gentlemen, I wash my hands of this weirdness."
Captain Jack Sparrow

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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quote:
Originally posted by Otter:
I forgot to check where you are vs. the vendor. I really should know better, let's see what invoking my Google-Fu turns up...looks like Dana Marie Designs Co. has been sold under the names PawPrints and Purrfection in the recent past, and here's a US vendor that says they will ship outside the US. And another one. And a third.

Thanks, Otter. The third outlet looks particularly inviting.

I am beginning to see my discarded linen skirts morphing into a patchwork/applique kimono style jacket, and the tops into a dress.

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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I'm definitely beginning to see...

If find I have potential jacket-fodder in a rather appealing colourway of navy, apple green and acid yellow, with perhaps a touch of torquoise/green/white floral.

Has anyone any tips to offer on making patchwork/applique clothing?

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Mamacita

Lakefront liberal
# 3659

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Have you ever been disappointed in how a beautiful yarn worked up? I love to use variegated yarns for some of the preemie hats that I make for charity, and the skeins of Bernat baby jaquard in "berries and cream" were just gorgeous sitting there in the bin at the store. Well, I started a hat-and-booties project during a long car ride this past weekend, and the results are hilarious. The strands of color on this yarn are particularly long, while the width of the piece being knitted is small -- a cap for a preemie measures maybe 4 or 5 inches wide. So, instead of cute little stripes or waves, I've ended up with these big blocks of color. The baby hat worked up into a mottled yellow-and-white, no shades of pink at all ... until I got to the last couple of rows when the pink appeared, leaving the crown of the hat in a deep shade of rose. The poor babe who wears this hat is going to look scalped. Then I switched to the booties. One bootie worked up entirely in pink-and-white. Fine. The second bootie came out pink and white... on the bottom. Then it switches to yellow for the top half. I tell you, this is going to be one interesting ensemble. With the yarn I have left, I'm definitely switching to something wider, like a baby blanket.

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Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

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Otter
Shipmate
# 12020

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quote:
Originally posted by Mamacita:
Have you ever been disappointed in how a beautiful yarn worked up?

Not usually, but I've probably just been lucky. I did start a pair of socks in a rainbow yarn that I decided to frog, asthe texture or lace pattern (I forget which), was getting lost in the color. I'd only got an inch or so in, though.

The other problem I encounter more often is that my color choices (I do a lot of color work) are too subtle when I actually start knitting. And I get a bit grumbly sometimes because the hand-dyed yarns have too many colors in them, so I can't pick a contrasting yarn and use them in color work. Luckily, a friend of mine has started dyeing and selling yarn, and she takes requests. [Yipee]

And just to meander around the yarn topic some more, I got a weaving catalog over the weekend that showed a scarf made with self-patterning sock yarn as the weft. Very cool effect, and another project for my growing backlog! (Yeah, sharing the loom with Mr. Otter does indeed have drawbacks...).

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The plural of "anecdote" is not "data", YMMV, limited-time offer, IANAL, no purchase required, and the state of CA has found this substance to cause cancer in laboratory aminals

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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quote:
Originally posted by Otter:

The other problem I encounter more often is that my color choices (I do a lot of color work) are too subtle when I actually start knitting.

I usually have the opposite problem. In my current heroic effort to reduce my stash, I am doing a large intarsia piece with pinks, blues, navy, torquoise (light and dark) dark blue-green, variegated red and purples. I think I am getting away with it. Just.

The other (totally self-inflicted) problem is the width/number of simultaneous colours. I thought, as I was motoring up the back with about 160 stitches and 12 colours, that, instead of sleeves, I would increase a stitch either end of each row (in line with the intarsia, which is all vertical blocks, interspersed with diagonals) making a kind of batwinged kimono shape. So now I have about 200 sts and 15 colours. It may be a rather stubby-winged bat.

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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716

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[Axe murder] little knitted Day of the Dead figures [Axe murder]

(sent to us by a very kind Shipmate)

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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity

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beachpsalms
Shipmate
# 4979

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Re: disappointing yarn.

It's taken me years to understand that some of the variegated yarn I lovelovelovelovelove on the skein, I don't like at all knitted up. Most variegated yarn, actually. If it's monochromatic, I'm more content, or some kind of self striping (Noro!), but I find it really hard to keep my hands off it in the yarn store.

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"You willing to die for that belief?"
"I am. 'Course, that ain't exactly Plan A."

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TraineeChristian
Shipmate
# 12972

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My sister wants me to knit two Christmas stockings...does anyone have any suggestions for a simple pattern please? I'm not a very experienced knitter!

Thanks [Big Grin]

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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34

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quote:
Originally posted by beachpsalms:
It's taken me years to understand that some of the variegated yarn I lovelovelovelovelove on the skein, I don't like at all knitted up.

I have posted about this before, but I have recently started work on it again...

Back in May last year I started knitting with some beautiful 'sock yarn' in soft pastel rainbow colours. It was a disaster; it looked like a clown had thrown up.

I switched to crochet, making Granny Squares. I used undyed yarn to keep the multi-coloured rounds apart, and this is the effect that I got.

A certain shipmate said it was beautiful, and if she was ever expecting a baby she would love a blanked made from those squares. That shipmate is now indeed pregnant, and I have only about 12 more squares to crochet. [Big Grin]

Posts: 13287 | From: Cottage of the 3 Bears (and The Gremlin) | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Mamacita

Lakefront liberal
# 3659

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That's really pretty, bb. You must have been pleased how it all turned out!

BTW, I switched to a different baby hat pattern (basically, K2P2 in ribbing for 4 inches, then taper down over a few rows and bind off) and this one is coming out in mottled yellow and then raspberry stripes like it should be.

[ 01. November 2008, 21:21: Message edited by: Mamacita ]

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Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34

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quote:
Originally posted by Mamacita:
That's really pretty, bb. You must have been pleased how it all turned out!

Oh yes. There is no contest between 'clown barf' and beautiful little squares. [Big Grin]
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frin

Drinking coffee for Jesus
# 9

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I made a beanie hat yesterday, in a multicoloured red to orange wool, to go with an autumnal orange coat. I hope I can follow up with a photo soon. A friend liked my hat and wondered if I could make a beret. I was googling hat patterns and found a flying spaghetti monster hat. If only I were ever bored enough to make such a thing...

'frin

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"Even the crocodile looks after her young" - Lamentations 4, remembering Erin.

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daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167

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Wow! I am about to knit a hat to replace the one that I lost last weekend, and wish I could carry that one off [Big Grin]
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Earwig

Pincered Beastie
# 12057

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Omigosh omigosh!

That is amazing. I think I've fallen in love... [Axe murder]

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Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433

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I would love to turn up to Mass wearing that!

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shameless self promotion - because I think it's worth it
and mayhap this too: http://broken-moments.blogspot.co.nz/

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Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927

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I'm looking for some help finding a free pattern for a Faroese shawl for my mum 88 years old, who's now in nursing home after a stroke and other problems. She can use left arm and right hand can move up to elbow but right shoulder movement is almost nil.

I've spent ages looking on net and Ravelry have heaps, almost all to be purchased.

I want to use what down here we call 10 (Aran) or 12 ply. Probably what is known in USA as worsted or bulky.

I suppose I could try to make pattern myself but have little experience with the shoulder shaping. Now if it were socks, I could knit a new design in my sleep.

Staff get her out of bed to sit in a chair most days. Even though summer is coming in, she feels the cold and such a shawl would stay on her shoulders without help.

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Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.

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Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927

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Left it far too late to edit. If not a Faroese pattern, then perhaps something with short row shaping might work. I want it to stay on her shoulders and not slip.

Thanks.

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Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.

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daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167

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Would this one help as a basis? I found it on the "traditional knitting" yahoo group which is a mine of information.
Posts: 3184 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006  |  IP: Logged
Suzywoozy
Shipmate
# 6259

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Following ecumaniac's suggestion I am making these arm warmers:

quote:
Originally posted by ecumaniac:
This pattern

I have knitted the first one but am unsure how the best way to sew them up is. Is there a particular way to sew up two edges of knitting? When they are still attached to the needles at the toes of my socks I use Kitchener stitch (I think that's what it's called) but I don't know how to stitch it up with something that's cast off.

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My life.

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Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927

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quote:
Originally posted by daisydaisy:
Would this one help as a basis? I found it on the "traditional knitting" yahoo group which is a mine of information.

Indeed it would. [Smile] Thank you very much.

I could put something lacy around the edge too from one of my stitch dictionaries. Gothic arches perhaps or flowers or interlocking diamonds.

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Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.

Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
Cranmer's baggage

Ship's Opinionated Dame
# 1662

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quote:
Originally posted by Suzywoozy:
Following ecumaniac's suggestion I am making these arm warmers:

quote:
Originally posted by ecumaniac:
This pattern

I have knitted the first one but am unsure how the best way to sew them up is. Is there a particular way to sew up two edges of knitting? When they are still attached to the needles at the toes of my socks I use Kitchener stitch (I think that's what it's called) but I don't know how to stitch it up with something that's cast off.
You can use backstitch or whipstitch for seaming, but most people find that mattress stitch gives the neatest finish. This article provides a good introduction. If you prefer to learn from a video, then this may be helpful.

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Eschew obfuscation!

Posts: 1537 | From: the apple isle | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged
Auntie Doris

Screen Goddess
# 9433

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I found this amazing place near me. You pay £15 a year for membership and then you can take whatever you want for free (within readon I think!). So, I collected quite a bit of fabric, some buttons etc. They also have lots of stuff for card-making and craft work. It truly was an Aladdin's Cave for someone like me!

Auntie Doris x

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"And you don't get to pronounce that I am not a Christian. Nope. Not in your remit nor power." - iGeek in response to a gay-hater :)

The life and times of a Guernsey cow

Posts: 6019 | From: The Rock at the Centre of the Universe | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged
Suzywoozy
Shipmate
# 6259

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Thanks Cranmer's Baggage that's really useful, I wouldn't have even know what to search for.

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My life.

Posts: 658 | From: Ambridge | Registered: May 2004  |  IP: Logged
daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167

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Have you seen this short film?
Posts: 3184 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006  |  IP: Logged
climbgirl
Shipmate
# 5855

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is there a 'all things crafty' thread for those of us who do paper crafts as opposed to knitting, etc?

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nj

Posts: 206 | From: Seattle | Registered: May 2004  |  IP: Logged
Suzywoozy
Shipmate
# 6259

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Climbgirl, I'm sure that card making etc. have been discussed here before.

Daisydaisy - brilliant link.

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My life.

Posts: 658 | From: Ambridge | Registered: May 2004  |  IP: Logged
Jengie jon

Semper Reformanda
# 273

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Actually Climbgirl do a quick diversion into Christmas Preparations and it should give you a hint to another card maker on this board.

Basically all things crafty can be discussed here but it needn't be solely here.

Jengie

[ 22. November 2008, 21:43: Message edited by: Jengie Jon ]

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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge

Back to my blog

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daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167

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sorry to go back to knitting, but today I think I've got the hang of short row wrap - it's taken me several days of trying it and undoing my attempt, but I think I'm there !
Posts: 3184 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006  |  IP: Logged
Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927

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quote:
Originally posted by daisydaisy:
sorry to go back to knitting, but today I think I've got the hang of short row wrap - it's taken me several days of trying it and undoing my attempt, but I think I'm there !

Just love short row heels on socks. They suit my feet and are quicker than heel flap and gusset decreases, although sometimes I do something like that just for variety.

For those of you who knit socks - have you seen this site? Lots of different heels here. The whole socknitters site is a good resource too.

Cardmaking? There are quite a few who make their own cards on the Ship and post here and on other threads. It's not my scene, I'm not skilled that way at all, but I greatly admire the beautiful cards I've seen posted. The ones I've done never seem to turn out to my liking. Much like my attempts at drawing, painting etc.

This thread is called knitting and all things crafty. It's not just knitting.

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Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.

Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927

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Not exactly a double post. The previous one was a week ago.

Garn studios has repeated their knitting Advent calendar. Last year's had some good patterns in it.

It's well and truly December 1 down here, the first day of summer and shaping up to be a pleasant 27°. However I'll have to wait till tomorrow to open their first day. [Frown]

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Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.

Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
mrs whibley
Shipmate
# 4798

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Well, Lothlorien, you nearly killed the thread stone-dead with your talk of Summer! I hope the weather is still being kind to you as you finish opening the Advent calendar.

I'm so excited that I have taught myself to knit! I found a £1 book (printed in 1968) in the local wool shop and messed around for a bit. Then I bought a pattern for hats/scarves/gloves using straight needles - all the free internet ones seem to use round or double-ended, and I wanted something small to get used to patterns. I have just got the thumb shaped on my first glove!

So, everyone, what are your current projects to fill any spare time during the holidays? And what have you made your loved ones for Christmas?

Posts: 942 | From: North Lincolnshire | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
Eigon
Shipmate
# 4917

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I finished my rug!
Something like 18 months ago, I sat for a day minding a stall at a re-enactment fair. It was a quiet day, and I spent most of my time there making a loose lucetted cord. Then I had to think of something to do with it.
So I lucetted some more (lots more) and then plaited the cords, and then wove them on my peg loom. It's all in shades of pink and cream, and I put it next to my bed, where it feels very nice under my bare feet first thing in the morning.

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Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.

Posts: 3710 | From: Hay-on-Wye, town of books | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433

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Though I wouldn't know which end of a knitting needle to hold (or which has the hole in it [Biased] ) I reckon finishing something like that much be beyond-words satisfying. Well done!

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shameless self promotion - because I think it's worth it
and mayhap this too: http://broken-moments.blogspot.co.nz/

Posts: 18917 | From: "Central" is all they call it | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged
Huia
Shipmate
# 3473

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Mrs Whibley - deepest [Overused] . i hve never got the hang of knitting, but the relatively instant gratification of cardmaking suits me.

Eigon, any chance of a photo? It sounds fascinating.

My project for the next month or so is to back-stitch a celtic blessing onto linen for a couple who are getting married sometime in January. I've almost charted the design and hope to begin stitching later today or tomorrow. Making the first stitch is always the most difficult part as it's a while since I've done anything this size (around 8"x10" if I don't have a border).

Zappa, i'm sure the expertise would be here to teach you hand-knit a quilt or thread a knitting needle if you so desired [Razz] .

Huia

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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.

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mrs whibley
Shipmate
# 4798

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Thanks Zappa and Huia

I have now done the second finger of the right glove - there is still time for it to come crashing down around my ears as at some point today I have had to assume that the pattern meant what I decided it should mean rather than what it said ...

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I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous - Mike Yaconelli

Posts: 942 | From: North Lincolnshire | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
Eigon
Shipmate
# 4917

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Thanks for asking, Huia, but my digital camera died a messy death and I haven't got round to replacing it yet.

Soon, I'll have finished a tabard in some lovely mohair wool I was given. Only about three inches to go. I started off by following a pattern of k2, p2 for two rows and then p2, k2 for two rows, repeated - but I soon got lost, and had little ribs stopping and starting at random all over the first side.
By the time I got to the second side, I was getting much better at following the pattern - but then it wouldn't match side one, so I started rolling a dice at the beginning of each row to decide whether to start with knit or purl. It actually looks quite good, as long as you forget about the original pattern.

Then I can get to grips with the mounds of afghan hound fur I want to spin, and the sari silk yarn that I want as a snood.

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Posts: 3710 | From: Hay-on-Wye, town of books | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
Roseofsharon
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# 9657

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I'm delighted to report that my family members liked the knitted gifts I had made them.

The grandsons wore their snake scarves for the rest of the afternoon, and our sons were impressed with their Moebius scarves. Their other halves professed pleasure in their alpaca neckwarmers, although I was far from delighted with the way they had turned out. I'd not used alpaca before, and although it feels gorgeously soft and warm, I hadn't realised how floppy, and flat it knits up.
Most surprising of all was the pleased reaction of DiL to the dress, cardigan and slippers I had made for the baby. I look forward to seeing if she actually wears them.

[ 26. December 2008, 11:22: Message edited by: Roseofsharon ]

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Talk about books -any books- on our rejuvenatedforum http://www.bookgrouponline.com/index.php?

Posts: 3060 | From: Sussex By The Sea | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged
Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927

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Well, Mrs Whibley, it's still summer down here and quite hot today. Probably well over 30°C by the way it's going here now at 9:00 am.

I actually knit all summer. Usually socks which aren't hot to hold. However, a group of us decided we were going to have a Long Lacy Summer.

I like lace and have done a couple of shawls but in a thicker wool than laceweight. I've now done several very fine scarves and a couple of other lace items. Am just getting pins etc together to block a long scarf done in a cashmino blend - pure merino, cashmere and a bit of microfibre. Scalloped up both sides and very lacy for the body of the scarf.

Gave one lacy scarf to DIL's mother. She sews but is not a knitter and exclaimed over the pattern where to her, every stitch was part of the lace. In a way it was, and more purl 2 together and yarn overs on the wrong side too.

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Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
mrs whibley
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# 4798

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Oh well, could you send the summer up here when you have finished with it? I'm sure temperatures of 30°C get wearing quite quickly!

I have finished my right glove. As mr whibley put it 'it looks like a proper glove'. This is most satisfying and I think I'm hooked.

Posts: 942 | From: North Lincolnshire | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged
Huia
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# 3473

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Mrs Whibley your husband's comment reminded me of a friend who took up weaving. He said it wasn't until he saw the material he had woven cut out and ready to sew that he really though of it as fabric.

Hope the matching glove goes well too.

Huia

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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.

Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Celtic Knotweed
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# 13008

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I'm about to try and knit something for the first time in about 16 years. I've just been doing a test bit with some spare wool, and I can still cast on, knit plain stitch, and knit a stripe in (and get back to the original colour). Haven't tried to cast off yet, but have a useful crib sheet (and a kind and helpful Mum!), when I do try.

What I'm going to try and do is make a scarf for Sandemaniac, using silk yarn (his neck doesn't seem to like wool or fleece scarves). All the knitting I've done before has been with wool. So, can anyone advise as to a sensible needle size for knitting with silk? Do I need to go larger or smaller? What I'm planning on using is like the recycled sari yarn shown here, but single colour rather than multi-colour.

Thanks!

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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34

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This is going to get technical right from the start...

Wool has an in-built 'sproing-iness'. This means that when you knit it into a scarf the scarf will stay pretty much the same shape over time. It might sag a bit, but when it is washed and smoothed out, it will pretty much return to its original state.

It is different for silk. Silk has no such 'sproing-iness' and will distort over time. It will appear to grow with every few wearings. This doesn't make too many difficulties for a scarf, simply knit the scarf on the slightly shorter side of the desired length. It does pose a problem for sweaters and other garments.

I have never knitted with sari silk, but I have heard that it can be very rough. It might be an idea to knit a square of the silk and then get Sandemaniac to wear it tucked into the collar of a shirt. The people I know who have used sari silk have used it for bags, not for clothing.

As for needle size, I would suggest that you swatch and try a few different needle sizes and see which piece of fabric you like the best.

I am unable to wear most wools, but I am able to wear merino. It is incredibly soft. There are a fair number of people who can't wear the majority of wools, but find merino to be wonderful. Also there are a huge number of beautifully soft acrylics that are excellent for people with sensitive skins.

If you would like, I would be very happy to send you some samples of different types of yarn and wool that might meet Sandemaniac's needs.

Posts: 13287 | From: Cottage of the 3 Bears (and The Gremlin) | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Huia
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# 3473

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I don't know whether it's available over there, but merino and possum is really soft. It may not suit vegetarian/animal lovers as the fur is taken from dead possums. Here they are an introduced pest and predate on our native bird population, many of which are making a comeback since possums are being eradicated. [Yipee]

Huia

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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.

Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Celtic Knotweed
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# 13008

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Thanks babybear. It was the 'sproing-iness' (lovely word!), or lack thereof of silk that was concerning me most in trying to do this. I'll definitely start with a couple of test strips using different needles and see how they feel/look/stretch.

Hadn't thought about using merino, probably because I'm lucky enough not to have problems with wool 99% of the time. I may well take you up on that lovely offer of samples once the chaos of New Year is dealt with. [Smile]

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My little sister is riding 100k round London at night to raise money for cancer research donations here if you feel so inclined.

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Mamacita

Lakefront liberal
# 3659

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Digging this up from page four (I guess we all got just a little busy over the holidays) to ask if anyone on board does needlepoint? I'm thinking of getting started on a project and have a bunch of questions. So please post if there are any experienced needlepointers out there....

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Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

Posts: 20761 | From: where the purple line ends | Registered: Dec 2002  |  IP: Logged
Huia
Shipmate
# 3473

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Mamacita - I've done some needlepoint in the past, but I'm mainly self taught. Are you working on canvas?

Huia

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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.

Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Mamacita

Lakefront liberal
# 3659

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Huia, I've not done needlepoint before but have done a lot of counted cross-stitch and crewel embroidery. I'm considering a needlepoint project based on a surprise: Years ago, my mother-in-law was into needlepoint, and at a needlework show we attended together she purchased a printed canvas that I had admired, based on one of Marc Chagall's Jerusalem Windows. (It's the "Levi" window -- scroll down. And it's much more simplified than the real thing!) It was her intention to make it for me, but time went by, she got back into knitting.... and anyway, when going through a box of things from her house (she passed away a few years ago), I discovered the canvas. I'd like to try to tackle it. I have two basic questions:

1) With something with so many colors and such a random pattern, would it be best to just stick with one very basic stitch like half-cross, rather than trying to get fancy and vary the stitches? And
2) Am I stark, raving loony to try something like this the first time out?

All advice appreciated.

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Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

Posts: 20761 | From: where the purple line ends | Registered: Dec 2002  |  IP: Logged
babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34

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Yes, you are a stark raving looney, but that is just your normal state of being. [Smile]

If you weren't a craft-y person I would suggest something smaller and less complicated to starts with. However, you are perfectly capable of doing this project and your cross stitch skills will transfer over beautifully.

I can't tell from your posts if any work has started on the canvas. If it has, then I would suggest you keep to the style that has been set up already. If you are tackling it afresh then do what you fancy. [Big Grin]

You did say the canvas was a simplified version of the window. Might it be appropriate to work on a textural stitch(es) on the clothing of the angels, and use petit point for the angels hands, feet, and faces, then use half cross stitch for the backgrounds. Perhaps you might use some back stitch on top, or couched work to indicate the panels in the window.

There are a couple of general rules. The more complicated the design, the simpler the stitching should be. Textural stitches help to make that area 'pop out'.

Now, of course, these are guidelines for people starting out to enable them to create good looking pieces. When you understand the reasons for the rules then you can choose to ignore them.

[ 19. January 2009, 07:23: Message edited by: babybear ]

Posts: 13287 | From: Cottage of the 3 Bears (and The Gremlin) | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged



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