Any knitters in the house?

Jaymz Connelly

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I've just started getting into knitting and made 2 smallish dishcloths. ^_^ They're small, especially since I've been crocheting for so long that I'm able to make flat-out clothing. But I've been wanting to teach myself to knit for so long I'm just glad to say I've finally made something. What were you guy's first projects?

My first knitted project (aged about 11) was a scarf -- that looked like it had been knit by the town drunk because I kept dropping stitches and picking up stitches. *g* Second project was a hooded sweater with a zipper. My tension was so tight the blasted thing could pretty much stand up by itself. It was warm, though.

I've improved considerably since then. Currently in the process of making a Breton stripe sweater for my brother-in-law for Christmas.
 

Calla Lily

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Fools rush in...

I paid 7 euros for the Santa Maria del Pi sweater pattern on Ravelry. I'd hesitated for a couple of years because it's a crochet pattern, and I prefer knit sweaters. I started and frogged and restarted three times. Quit to make 3 kids' hats for co-workers. Came back to the sweater today and finally admitted I'm dissatisfied because crochet. Frogged it all again, which was a PITA because it's a multi-color jacquard pattern.

But being the cheap broad that I am--and also because I really like the finished product--I spent an hour today more or less converting the pattern to knit. It'll be a work in progress, especially with the jacquard, but...

I'm going in!
 

AZ_Dawn

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3 skeins of yarn I bought last year turned out to be unsuitable for my needs. The pandemic, of course, makes buying yarn in stores a problem. But is it safer to buy yarn online? Does it ship in factory sealed packages? Do I need clean it first if it doesn't? I can toss a finished knit hat in the wash, but I've had tangling problems in past with whole skeins, even in a pillow case.

I know, silly questions, and I probably have enough yarn to last me a while, but I'd still like to know.
 

kikazaru

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Did you order some Dawn? I think the likelihood of anything getting on your yarn is small, and the likelihood of it staying on it is even smaller - they say that germs and bacteria can only remain alive for a relatively short time on surfaces, so between the time it's packaged and by the time it goes in the mail and then gets to you, you are pretty safe.

In any case, I haven't knit anything for a while. I used to actually knit (simple) sweaters, from a pattern and everything! But I find that I don't have the concentration now needed to read and follow a pattern, so I mostly knit pretty simple things (scarves/dishcloths) that keep my hands and mind occupied. That doesn't mean I've stopped collecting yarn or looking at patterns so when I came across this article in the New York Times (I recently treated myself to a subscription) about the relationship between knitting, math and physics, I thought it was pretty interesting and thought others here might as well.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/...tion=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
 

J.A.Nielsen

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So excited to find other crafty writers. The knitting thing just makes sense, right? So many literary references to knitting!
I always think of A Tale of Two Cities and the blood-thirsty knitters--and kind of worry that many knitters may have violent tendencies and then you start reading their (my) work, and some of this is confirmed.
I have definitely created some HP scarves for my kids--but I'll have to get going again because one of them had the audacity to change houses as he got older.
 

CMBright

Cats are easy, Mice are tough
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Every so often, my fingers get "itchy". When that happens, I knit a few projects to get it out of my system.
 

MAK4Him

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I just completed a scarf for a neighbor for her birthday in her favorite shade of purple. It was a kind of last minute project from a pattern I’ve turned for such reasons. She loved it. This spring I need to make two baby blankets but I’m planning to crochet them😊🧶
 

NewEnglandGirl

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I knit as well as crochet and (mostly) design what I knit - although nothing that was inspired by my writing or anyone else's. Interesting idea, however.
 

LucindaLynx

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I like knitting. It's been near my heart for years. I am not good with 5 needles. The spots from which one must pick up stitches...If only you saw, how terrible they look, when I'm the one doing the picking! But when I knit with 2 needles, that brings another set of challenges. Like when I knit mittens with 2 needles (I have a Finnish pattern for that), the mittens must be seamed together, and that's not my best skill. Seams and me are not friends, at least not quite yet. But I've found some ways to join things together. Are those seams tight enough? Not always, although my goal is to make the seams last, so that they don't unravel at the first time someone wears the item.
If I make a baby present, I may make a hat (a Finnish zigzag pattern) and a blanket (knitting basketweave stitch from A to Z). The hat needs seaming, but I'm glad I have someone I know, who helps me with those nasty seams. She needles them and I stitch them the best I can.
At the moment I have mittens as my WIP. Black and white mittens with moss stitch and stockinette. It's "my condolences for your loss" - kind of gift to someone I know, but not the same person who helps me with seams.