Any knitters in the house?

[K1P1]

Originally Posted by crazynance

Should I pick an off colour from the tweed (one of the contrast threads)? Or go with a navy tweed? It's parked under my table until the decision is made.

Hard to tell without seeing it. I'd carry the sweater to a yarn shop and hold the colors together to see how they work.

[AZ_Dawn]

Last night one of my aunts called and, among other things, mentioned that two of my cousins recently got small dogs. My first thought was OMG SQUEE DOGGIES! My second thought was OMG SQUEE I'M GONNA KNIT SOME DOGGIE SWEATERS ON MY NEXT VISIT!

Dog sweaters are the most complicated thing I've done on my Knifty Knitters. I have no dog and keep looking at the kid's stuffed toys for suitable sweater subjects. I'm even tempted to ask the pastor to measure his dog for a sweater. I feel kind of pathetic about that.

[K1P1]

Originally Posted by AZ_Dawn

Dog sweaters are the most complicated thing I've done on my Knifty Knitters. I have no dog and keep looking at the kid's stuffed toys for suitable sweater subjects. I'm even tempted to ask the pastor to measure his dog for a sweater. I feel kind of pathetic about that.

The problem is that different breeds of dog are shaped entirely differently, so it can be hard to fit them.

[justbishop]

I knit and crochet! I actually meet with other knitters twice a week. I'm like an elderly woman, lol. My UN is the same on Ravelry, and I welcome new friends over there too

The only thing I've done from a book/movie was Bella's mittens from the first Twilight movie. I'm not the biggest fan of the series, but the horseshoe cabled mittens were gorgeous and made a great Xmas gift for my SIL who lives in NY.

The MC in my current WIP is a knitter, so there are a couple of fun knitting jargony pieces in it here and there. I hadn't thought of actually making the projects in my own story, but it could be interesting. She was working on a grey cabled alpaca scarf, an ear flap hat out of merino in a charcoal and jewel tone colorway (a yarn that I have actually purchased from Marigoldjen on Etsy), and then a pair of black fingerless gloves.

Anyone else addicted to hand painted yarns? I have bins full, but can rarely bring myself to actually use them for anything. I always end up getting $3.00/skein acrylic for my projects, while my nice yarn sits there looking beautiful in hanks. I've dabbled in dying my own, as well.

[Kadeira]

I knit a lot. I have a knitting blog that I share with my younger sister and it also hosts my designs...

Brigid's Knits

I don't do a lot of knitting based on characters, but I did design a sweater for my daughter based on young Amy Pond's sweater in Doctor Who

[Artifex]

And here is another knitter. I always have to have a knitting project going on. I need something to do with my hands while I watch telly.

I like to knit lace shawls, scarves, socks, gloves, berets and such. I think light-weight woolly shawls are my favorite at the moment. I recently got a book on Estonian lace, and I want to knit just about everything in the book!

[Summerwriter]

Hi!
I am a Finnish woman, who loves knitting. Yes, I am on Ravelry as well, even I maily speak Finnish there. I'd like to believe my knitting skills are more advanced than my English writing skills, even I have heard others saying I speak English very well.
Right now I hope, that my current knitting WIP will turn into a FO in the future. It should become a sweater for myself. I hope it works. Usually I stay quiet about my WIPs on public, just in case something goes wrong and I have no choice but to rip the WIP apart.

[Graphite]

Ahhhh, so happy to see a knitting community within a writing community.

[Summerwriter]

Originally Posted by Graphite

Ahhhh, so happy to see a knitting community within a writing community.

I like both, but sometimes I wonder, if my knitting skills are better than my writing skills. It seems they are, at least in English.

[Graphite]

Heh, I know my knitting skills are better. Hopefully, someday, I'll be able to make intricate fair isle with words.

[shayla.mist]

how come there's no thread for crocheters? I'm good at knitting, but I'm a master crocheter. and my skills are definitely better than my writing skills unfortunately

[Graphite]

Because crochet is black magic. It is known.

I kid, I kid.

[crazynance]

this is really all needley, this thread is. Welcome crocheter, welcome. many of us do both.

[Cranky]

Hey, I've got a quick question for some of the more experienced knitters/crocheters, if y'all don't mind.

I'm getting ready to start knitting a baby blanket for my soon-to-be here daughter. I was going to use a soft acrylic yarn for it's washability, but IME, most acrylic yarns tend to pill rather badly. Also, I'm a snob. I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good non-pilling acrylic yarn that's also soft, or a good, soft washable natural fiber yarn? I've thought about bamboo, but I find that the skeins are really small and the yarn a bit slippery for my taste. Any recommendations are welcome! Thanks, folks!

[justbishop]

Why not use a superwash merino wool? If you're dead set on acrylic, Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn" is nice and soft, though I can't speak to whether or not pilling is an issue.

[Cranky]

No, actually, acrylic is probably my last choice! ETA: Which is not a knock on acrylic per se...I just really want this blanket to be something special, you know? I could go with a superwash, I suppose, but I haven't used it yet myself, so I am unfamiliar with it. Not a lot of yarn shops here that carry natural fibers, so I can't get a feel for the hand, which is the part I'm most concerned with aside from the washability.

[justbishop]

I will ask my knitting group about this tonight. I'm sure I can get some good suggestions on soft superwash that is available online (and for a decent price) from them.

I will say, though, that I've ordered quite a bit of hand painted super wash merino from different dyers on Etsy, and have always found it soft

[Cranky]

Oh, Etsy. Etsy, etsy etsy. I cannot be allowed there! I'll spend an afternoon just drooling. Good suggestion, though, and I'll check that out as well. Thanks for asking for me, I appreciate it.

[Graphite]

Plymouth Encore is a nice acrylic/wool blend. I HATE working with acrylic but this isn't bad. Nice hand. Good quality. If you kill it a bit with an iron it's even better.

AND! You don't have to worry about your supposedly superwash blanket felting after washing it a bazillion times.

[justbishop]

I have several skeins of Encore, and I can't say that I would use it for anything to be used against skin. The 100% acrylic Hobby Lobby ILTW I mentioned earlier is much softer, IMO.

Anyway, I didn't make it to knitting tonight, but I meet with a knitting friend from the group on Fridays as well. She quite the yarn-ista, so I will ask her

[justbishop]

Everyone I know that knows anything is agreeing with my suggestion of HL's ILTY. It's soft, cheap, machine washable, and comes in loads of colors. Hope that helps!

[nicolethegeek]

Originally Posted by Jamiekswriter

Nicole, how is the voice recorder working out?

WOW! Has it been *that* long since I've posted here??? Anyhoo, I didn't want to reply to you right away until I've had a chance to fully test out my recorder.

I am finding my recorder to be an absolutely wonderful tool for when I'm driving. I have gotten in the habit of either putting it in the centre console of the truck, or at least an easily accessible pocket of my purse so that I can reach it without having to actually look for it. Anything and everything that comes to mind gets recorded. It's a fantabulous way for me to be able to clear my mind of the 50 gazillion things that seem to be running through it at once... be it what I need to do when I get home, a shopping list, or design ideas. I can do separate "notes" or simply a very long one that I keep adding to. The hardest thing for me is to sit down once I've gotten home and go through it all and create all the different notes and files needed for everything that I've put on the recorder. There are times when I have an hour of notes on it from just one trip!

[nicolethegeek]

Originally Posted by Cranky

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good non-pilling acrylic yarn that's also soft, or a good, soft washable natural fiber yarn?

The new Knit Picks Brava is supposed to be wonderful. I've heard amazing things about it, but I haven't had a chance to work with it yet. I just received my sampler a couple weeks ago, so I'll be starting work on a few designs with it in September (I have a no-designing-during-summer-break rule)... I've been too busy with 3 submissions and a major proposal to even think about it really.

I absolutely LOVE Mission Falls 1824 Wool. It's only 50g balls, but it feels and washes wonderfully. It's my go-to superwash. It *does* pill a little since it's merino, but those shave off easily and after a couple washes, all the little tidbits are gone.

Patons Decor is another nice blend, and if you want something a bit thinner, look for sport/DK superwash sock yarns.

[Cranky]

Originally Posted by justbishop

Everyone I know that knows anything is agreeing with my suggestion of HL's ILTY. It's soft, cheap, machine washable, and comes in loads of colors. Hope that helps!

It does, thank you!

Originally Posted by nicolethegeek

The new Knit Picks Brava is supposed to be wonderful. I've heard amazing things about it, but I haven't had a chance to work with it yet. I just received my sampler a couple weeks ago, so I'll be starting work on a few designs with it in September (I have a no-designing-during-summer-break rule)... I've been too busy with 3 submissions and a major proposal to even think about it really.

I absolutely LOVE Mission Falls 1824 Wool. It's only 50g balls, but it feels and washes wonderfully. It's my go-to superwash. It *does* pill a little since it's merino, but those shave off easily and after a couple washes, all the little tidbits are gone.

Patons Decor is another nice blend, and if you want something a bit thinner, look for sport/DK superwash sock yarns.

Between the two of you, sounds like I can now justify a trip to the nearest yarn store to start feeling up the skeins. Thanks so much!

[justbishop]

Yarn groping is one of my favorite pastimes