Finally, my best #Yarnuary tip. If you're lucky enough to be bought an adjustable tailor's dummy for Christmas, make sure you take your measurements like I did, early on Boxing Day. You may be horrified at the time but now I feel smug knocking off a few centimetres without suffering too much dieting hell.
how is it the end of #yarnuary already? idk. time is weird.
I am planning a new linen sweater and I am arranging my color palette so I can make some plans. Rosie is here to help, because of course she is.
this yarn is from colourmart, I love their wind-it-yerself bargain bin. I think it's a fun challenge to start with a limited set of colors. left to my own devices I only buy jewel tones, but my clothes are mostly neutrals so buying a mix of both is perfect for me (and cheaper too!)
#yarnuary another goal for the year - I have really like the advent cowl I made in entrelac a few years back. I’ve been intending to turn that into a pattern and make it available before the next holiday season. I even got a set of advent yarn specially to have the yarn to make that happen. Would be my first officially written up pattern #knitting#FiberArts@knitting (remove group in reply)
#yarnuary I almost forgot to post this week. So, some goals. I have 2 Starmore sweater WIPs, one fair isle and one cable, i would like to finish at least one of these. I’d like to finish my advent blanket which I have stalled on. And then I’d just generally like to have some fun - I have multiple sweater quantities of yarn, maybe make some fun quick bulkier projects, maybe a dog sweater…. #knitting#FiberArts@knitting (remove group in reply)
Someone mentioned using socks to corral rogue yarn cakes and I love mini skeins and have a child who is constantly outgrowing socks, so I'm set. Does this count for #yarnuary tools? 😂
Bonus photobombing dog if you expand the photo (or have Mastodon set not to do that cropping thing)
I have produced almost exactly the bulky uneven yarn I wanted and I'm really pleased with myself. Needs a soak and probably some solid thwacks but I'm excited to make something with this. And to spin up the other 4 colours!
Got some perfect stickers for my loom from @thelatestkate 💕
I'm not a good weaver (yet!) and I'm in that stage where a lot of what I need is practice and I'm still making many mistakes but at least I can often spot them and fix them now. A few reminder stickers will definitely cheer me up when I have to undo things and try again!
Did a quick big chunky spin today and while I hadn't forgotten how fun it is to spin big, it always surprises me a little how fast it goes. I was going to do a sample but then I was almost halfway through my fiber!
This is colour 1/5 for a bulky little striped cowl. I'll ply it with the other half of the grey fiber tomorrow.
For #yarnuary: one of my goals this year is to spend time with the crafts I don't do as often. January is spinning month for me thanks to the momentum from a #100StashDown spinning challenge I'm doing.
I want to learn more about weaving. I have a table loom but have done very little with it so far. I have so many ideas - using some handspun, making cloth for a simple garment like a ruana, learning double weave.
I've probably too many ideas and can't really decide, where to start ...
I didn't really have a favourite fix for #yarnuary but I ripped back two garter stitch panels to make them fancy yesterday and I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself.
This is kiddo's requested rainbow sweater, based off the Tin Can Knits Flax pattern. The sleeve motif is from the Japanese stitch dictionary. I also opened up the front so it's a cardigan now, though you can't see that in the picture.
#yarnuary What do you want to learn/ do this year?
Last year I said I wanted to try brioche and double knitting, then did absolutely nothing about it! So this year I will learn brioche and double knitting (and possibly entrelac, inspired by the recent posts about this)
I have just ordered the wool for my mum’s birthday cardigan (luckily her birthday is in November so I have plenty of time) and I need to re knit my nephew’s Xmas jumper, as age 13 was still too small for his 11 year old self!
Weather is grey and windy so have just finished sewing up a pair of knitted baby joggers, from the same John Lewis pattern book that the bobbly hat pattern is from (reduced to £1.80 in the January Sale!) #yarnuary#knitting@knitting
#yarnuary Favorite tools? I'm a Bates crochet hook person - the two styles are Bates and Boye, and they differ in tapering point of the hook, shape of the throat, and placement of the thumb. Judging by what's in my big can o' hooks, my favorites are plastic L (8mm) hooks and metal H (5mm) hooks. It has been my unscientific observation that in general, knife hold/overhand crocheters tend to prefer Bates, and pen hold/underhand crocheters tend to prefer Boye.
#yarnuary - what was your greatest mistake, your best fix?
I think I've already talked about that here sind time ago.
I once knit 2-in-1 socks - that's knitting them in a sort of double knitting, one inside of the other. It went well for quite some time, but at one point I got to confident and didn't check as much, as I should have - and connected the two tubes.
What to do?
Dropping the stitch and knitting it back up of course.
#Yarnuary My Best Fix - pretty sure I did this with the encouragement of my Mastodon #FiberArts community - I made an error in a cable which I didn’t notice until I was pretty far up. I unraveled down to that row and then laddered back up with all the appropriate crossings. I am so glad I did that because I have now learned how to read the crossings so much better, as well as conquered my fears of fixing problems with cables. #knitting@knitting (remove group when replying)
I've documented my knitting and crochet projects for over 15 years, that's a lot of things to choose from.
But if I really think improvising - that's probably my contribution to the great coral reef project, the exhibition in Baden-Baden to be precise. I went there and found a few of my contributions. And it was really cool to see my name on the large wall among the thousands of others. @crochet@fiberarts#crochethttps://crochetcoralreef.org/
#Yarnuary Tools - I have CocoKnits leather cords for holding stitches. They come in a set of 3 with needle ends that screw on. You can easily place your stitches on these and then knit back off when you are ready. I like these better than the knitting barber cords because these are more slender so they fit into smaller stitches. These fall into the “not inexpensive” category of tools but I really like them. https://cocoknits.com/products/leather-cord-and-needle-stitch-holder-kit#knitting#FiberArts@knitting (remove group in reply)
#yarnuary week 3 - favourite technique
For me it has to be cables. I spent years thinking that it would be super-difficult to create cables - and then I tried them and it clicked and I’ve been messing around with them ever since. This is the first cable knit I made, in Debbie Bliss Tweed (heavily reduced) and a free pattern - I still wear it a lot
#Yarnuary Favorite Tools - For small diameter knitting like socks or the tops of hats, I use Addi FlexiFlips. They are like super short circulars or very flexible DPNs. They come in sets of 3 - stitches go on 2 and you knit with the 3rd. I dislike magic loop because I hate pausing to pull all that extra cable through. Here I just keep zipping around the circle. I have almost all the sizes with multiples of the socks sizes. #knitting#FiberArts@knitting (remove group in reply)
#Yarnuary Favorite Tools - I love using my Chiaogoo Interchangeable needles. I have multiple sets to cover the full range of needle sizes as well as multiple tip lengths (5” tips all the way to super short 2” and 3” tips) to allow different circ sizes. Short tips work well for socks etc. I also have different materials - stainless steel and wood. #knitting#FiberArts@knitting (remove group in reply)
#Yarnuary favorite techniques - I also really love entrelac. I think it’s the small blocks that keep me motivated. I made an entrelac cowl a few years back (pictured on Rumble and laid out) and am thinking of writing it up as a pattern for Advent yarn, if anyone is interested. #knitting#FiberArts@knitting (remove group in reply)
#Yarnuary favorite technique - I really like stranded color knitting / fair isle and have done a lot from slippers and socks to hats and a sweater (still in progress). Most of these pics have been shared before but are provided just for a sampling… #knitting#FiberArts@knitting (remove group when replying)
Does anyone have a favourite beeswax or other wood finish you'd recommend for knitting needles? These knitting needles are in need of refinishing as the tips are getting kind of rough. If possible, I'd like something I could buy in smaller quantities as I'm not finishing a whole dresser or floor.