Posts Tagged knitting

Clickety Sticks

My enthusiasms tend to wax and wane like the moon (yes, OK, so I’m a looney ;) and after stalling on DH’s Kilt Hose earlier this year, my knitting muse left me in disgust. I lost track of where I was in the pattern and had somehow ended up with a stitch short one one sock, so when I volunteered to knit Hestia a pair of new bed socks to replace those tragically murdered by Tartarus, I  decided it was easier to just frog it all back and start from scratch rather than trying to work out what was going on. I quite enjoyed making them and found myself at a loss as to what to do next when they were finished. (I haven’t sent them off yet, so no spoiler pics yet, I’m afraid. They will be in the post tomorrow, promise :)

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Titillation

I went to the library on Tuesday, primarily for the children, but I always enjoy a good browse and while I was there I popped upstairs to the non-fiction section to look at the crafty books. This is probably a bit sad and middle-aged, but I was really excited to find both this and this. (more…)

Spinning a Yarn

I must admit that I love wool, whether as yarn or fabric. It keeps you warm in winter and in comfortable in summer and can be spun to any thickness effectively. Now that I have a washing machine with a wool/handwash setting and there is Superwash, is unlikely to languish at the bottom of the washbasket after one outing. Even my sheepskins are machine washable. (more…)

Homework and Fieldwork

I don’t mind doing it in public. I quite enjoy the curiosity and sometimes admiration that doing my thing elicits and I am not ashamed. In short, I am not a secret knitter.  (more…)

Doing It Sideways

One of these days, I am going to learn to do it sideways. Yes, I admit that I have experimented with it that way  once or twice, but haven’t quite got the hang of it yet. I know it is possible and not that complicated but I think I need to be shown how to do it properly.

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Circular Delights

I’m in love! Well, actually it’s more that I’m in covet – in the worst way.

I’ve knitted with all sorts of needles – straights, DPNs and circulars, metal, plastic (urgh!) and bamboo,  but most recently my utterly lovely KnitPro Symfonie Wood needles. They are laminated Birch wood, smooth, funkily coloured and, most importantly, feel really good to use.  I can even overlook the spelling of “Symfonie” without the merest hint of a wince.

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Desiderata

There are so many projects on my wishlist that I would really like to make, but I know most are unlikely to ever be completed, if indeed they are ever cast on. I know this with certainty because I know I am not good at finishing things. I have reached a level of self-knowledge that now makes me determined to persevere with those projects that I do start, but equally determined not to start things I know I won’t finish, because I lack the huge amount of will-power to overcome the boredom “wall”. Conversely, not starting them has me gazing covetously at others’ finished objects. What’s a girl to do! (more…)

Casting On

In this first post for Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, we look at starting out.

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The Weird and Wonderful World of Knitting

I have rather been bitten by the knitting bug lately. My travels in search of intersting patterns to add to my ever-growing library have led me to some really weird, wonderful and totally bizarre knits. Just as a few examples, controversial knitter Rachael Matthews, responsible for Knitler the Knazi (though reports of a book of knitted dictators would seem to be somewhat exaggerated and just something whipped up by the media to get comments from the outraged), has also come up with such bizarre knitted objects as a penis and a grenade. Of course, there was also the recent storm about Mazz’s knitted Daleks and Ood that caused the BBC to foam at the mouth over copyright, but being highly entertained by the idea, some diligent searching on my part unearthed the Extermiknit pattern. You can also knit mushrooms, a Witch’s hat, a Vlad the Impaler hat and all manner of things limited, it seems, only by your imagination. I look forward to hearing about the strangest knitted object you have come across – post them here :)