Yarn Related. Also @ in that I crochet shit for kids.

[wawa]

Ok, I still have work to do to finish my current "by god I'm going to finish this damn thing" UFO.  (this was in the @ randoms yesterday.  I just found and bought the missing yarn I need to finish the baby blanket I started for my sister's oldest.  Who is turning 4.  I'm going to give it to her latest baby instead)  And then I'm making matching hats for my sisters older 2 kids.  Those will be fast though.

But I'm ITCHING to queue up my next project.  I think I'm going to try and bust out a quick little blanket for my boss's kid.  due in March.  I'm thinking just a really simple shell stitch thing that I can do practically in my sleep. 
this: thestitchinmommy.com/2013/12/shell-stitch-baby-blanket-free-pattern.html

or this: www.projectlinus.org/patterns/ssba.html


They're team green and are doing a peter rabbit theme in the nursery.  So maybe like soft tan and cream with accents of either blue or red?  Peter's jacket is blue, but the other bunnies wear red.  Or I could do a soft green.   Probably in thick stripes like the first link regardless of which pattern I use.  Or maybe thick stripes of the neutrals with thin accent stripes.  Or...something.

Suggestions?  Color in general or specific yarn.

And meshaliuknits don't you dare point me as some expensive ass yarn which I will then neeeeeeeeeed.  I like my boss, but I don't $10 a skein like him.

What's everybody else working on these days? I haven't picked up a crochet hook in like 2 years, and suddenly I've got the itch BAD.

Vespasia - you start hookin' yet?

[Cicero]

Are you looking for natural or synthetic fibers?

[Vespasia]

Jan 28, 2015 8:59:15 GMT -5 wawa said:

Vespasia - you start hookin' yet?

Hey, I told you about that in confidence! What I do to afford my makeup habit is no one else's business! 


Oh, you mean crotchet? Yes, sort of. I watched the video you posted which was really quite helpful. I managed to do a few seriously messy rows before sort of getting the hang of it. I'm probably going to pull it out and try again. I know I need to keep up with it to make any progress but I haven't played with it since Sunday. 

I need to find a bag to stick everything in when I am not working on it. Leaving yarn out with 2 cats will lead to disaster. 

[josieposy]

I like the cream idea. Nice and neutral.

I am working on a Granny style blanket for my mom for Mother's Day. I have another Granny Square blanket I want to finish for my IL's by Christmas. (I recently learned how to Granny if you haven't figured that out.) I have a board on Pinterest devoted to color themes which I use for inspiration.

Also, suddenly I have really gotten into the idea of amigurumi and crochet toys. I am going to make my own Hobbes as a first project.

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 9:06:12 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Are you looking for natural or synthetic fibers?

washable, reasonably priced and feels nice are my criteria for this level of gifting. 
So synthetic is fine as long as it has a good feel.

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 9:15:10 GMT -5 josieposy said:

I like the cream idea. Nice and neutral.

I am working on a Granny style blanket for my mom for Mother's Day. I have another Granny Square blanket I want to finish for my IL's by Christmas. (I recently learned how to Granny if you haven't figured that out.) I have a board on Pinterest devoted to color themes which I use for inspiration.

Also, suddenly I have really gotten into the idea of amigurumi and crochet toys. I am going to make my own Hobbes as a first project.

In the course of digging out my sister's baby blanket I also found my bag of amigurumi UFO's.  Shorti developed a sudden and intense attachment to a giraffe with no legs.  The legs are made and are also in the bag.  they just need to be stuffed and attached, but she won't give it back to me to finish. 
Her BFF, who was over for a playdate while I was mining the depths of my crochet bag, went home with an elephant covered in ends that hadn't been woven in.  She picked it up and didn't want to give it back.  So...it's hers now.  It has no eyes.  Shorti was bothered by that.  I finally told her it's eyes were just closed.

Apparently those suckers are popular with the toddler set.
And really fun to make - they work up so quickly!

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 9:13:49 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Jan 28, 2015 8:59:15 GMT -5 wawa said:

Vespasia - you start hookin' yet?

Hey, I told you about that in confidence! What I do to afford my makeup habit is no one else's business! 


Oh, you mean crotchet? Yes, sort of. I watched the video you posted which was really quite helpful. I managed to do a few seriously messy rows before sort of getting the hang of it. I'm probably going to pull it out and try again. I know I need to keep up with it to make any progress but I haven't played with it since Sunday. 

I need to find a bag to stick everything in when I am not working on it. Leaving yarn out with 2 cats will lead to disaster. 

Yes.  Yes it will.  I use a Vera Bradley tote that I otherwise have absolutely no use for because...Vera Bradley.  Works really well for that though.

*fun fact - I couldn't think of the name Vera Bradley just now.  So I turn to my little team of engineers, which is 2 women and one guy, all in their early 20's.  And I say, "ok, random non work question for the girls - who  makes those popular cloth purses with the wide variety of kinda ugly floral patterns?"  And the lone guy goes, "Vera Bradley?" while the two women just scrunch their brows at me. They're now quizzing him on why in the world he knew that. 

5 points to Gryffindor.

[Cicero]

I checked Web's closeout section and it doesn't seem like they have anything interesting in the colors you are looking for. FWIW, I made this blanket for M out of Cascade 220 and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (both super wash)



There wasn't a noticeable difference between the two while knitting, but over time the color that was knit in WOTA has held up better. It's noticeably less fuzzy than the Cascade. Given that the WOTA is about $3/100g cheaper than the 220 super wash I think I am a convert.

[Velvetshady]

Jan 28, 2015 9:13:49 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Jan 28, 2015 8:59:15 GMT -5 wawa said:

Vespasia - you start hookin' yet?

Hey, I told you about that in confidence! What I do to afford my makeup habit is no one else's business! 


Oh, you mean crotchet? Yes, sort of. I watched the video you posted which was really quite helpful. I managed to do a few seriously messy rows before sort of getting the hang of it. I'm probably going to pull it out and try again. I know I need to keep up with it to make any progress but I haven't played with it since Sunday. 

I need to find a bag to stick everything in when I am not working on it. Leaving yarn out with 2 cats will lead to disaster. 

When I was trying to get a hang of crocheting again, I got a bunch of soft, snuggly, cheap yarn from Micheals and made a bunch of cat blankets--they don't care if one side is 10x tighter than the other side or if you have random rows that are longer/shorter than others.  Or if you suddenly have a few rows of triple crochet stitches. Doing that really helped get to where my stitches were more uniform/neat before I started any "real" projects.

[pixy0stix]

Jan 28, 2015 10:06:19 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

I thought this said Yam Related and I was all head tilt

I was just coming in to say this.

[Deleted]

Jan 28, 2015 9:13:49 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I need to find a bag to stick everything in when I am not working on it. Leaving yarn out with 2 cats will lead to disaster. 

Yeah.

[meshaliuknits]

FINE!

I like knitpick's Swish. It's super wash, so totally washable. It's very soft. I like it muchly.  Vickie Howell's Sheepish is pretty nice too, but doesn't come in quite the array of colors the Swish does. Crystal Palace Cuddles would be great for a baby blanket. And when in doubt, you can always go with Cascade (220 or Cherub maybe).


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Now go knit some hats!

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 10:43:50 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

FINE!

I like knitpick's Swish. It's super wash, so totally washable. It's very soft. I like it muchly.  Vickie Howell's Sheepish is pretty nice too, but doesn't come in quite the array of colors the Swish does. Crystal Palace Cuddles would be great for a baby blanket. And when in doubt, you can always go with Cascade (220 or Cherub maybe).


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Now go knit some hats!

you know I'm going to crochet those suckers right?  It's faster for me even if its a inferior hat.   Especially since I only have straight needles. 

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 10:02:56 GMT -5 Velvetshady said:

Jan 28, 2015 9:13:49 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Hey, I told you about that in confidence! What I do to afford my makeup habit is no one else's business! 


Oh, you mean crotchet? Yes, sort of. I watched the video you posted which was really quite helpful. I managed to do a few seriously messy rows before sort of getting the hang of it. I'm probably going to pull it out and try again. I know I need to keep up with it to make any progress but I haven't played with it since Sunday. 

I need to find a bag to stick everything in when I am not working on it. Leaving yarn out with 2 cats will lead to disaster. 

When I was trying to get a hang of crocheting again, I got a bunch of soft, snuggly, cheap yarn from Micheals and made a bunch of cat blankets--they don't care if one side is 10x tighter than the other side or if you have random rows that are longer/shorter than others.  Or if you suddenly have a few rows of triple crochet stitches. Doing that really helped get to where my stitches were more uniform/neat before I started any "real" projects.

this is a really good suggestion.  Random kitty blankets can look like anything. 

Once you've done just some straight row single crochets and doubles and half doubles and gotten the hang of them you could try out one of the shell patterns I linked above for your next step up.  since i'll be working on the same thing it'll make it really easy for me to troubleshoot for you.

[meshaliuknits]

Jan 28, 2015 10:50:17 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jan 28, 2015 10:43:50 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

FINE!

I like knitpick's Swish. It's super wash, so totally washable. It's very soft. I like it muchly.  Vickie Howell's Sheepish is pretty nice too, but doesn't come in quite the array of colors the Swish does. Crystal Palace Cuddles would be great for a baby blanket. And when in doubt, you can always go with Cascade (220 or Cherub maybe).


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Now go knit some hats!

you know I'm going to crochet those suckers right?  It's faster for me even if its a inferior hat.   Especially since I only have straight needles. 

That would slow me down considerably. Go forth and make hats!

[bluelily]

Jan 28, 2015 8:59:15 GMT -5 wawa said:

Ok, I still have work to do to finish my current "by god I'm going to finish this damn thing" UFO.  (this was in the @ randoms yesterday.  I just found and bought the missing yarn I need to finish the baby blanket I started for my sister's oldest.  Who is turning 4.  I'm going to give it to her latest baby instead)  And then I'm making matching hats for my sisters older 2 kids.  Those will be fast though.

But I'm ITCHING to queue up my next project.  I think I'm going to try and bust out a quick little blanket for my boss's kid.  due in March.  I'm thinking just a really simple shell stitch thing that I can do practically in my sleep. 
this: thestitchinmommy.com/2013/12/shell-stitch-baby-blanket-free-pattern.html

or this: www.projectlinus.org/patterns/ssba.html


They're team green and are doing a peter rabbit theme in the nursery.  So maybe like soft tan and cream with accents of either blue or red?  Peter's jacket is blue, but the other bunnies wear red.  Or I could do a soft green.   Probably in thick stripes like the first link regardless of which pattern I use.  Or maybe thick stripes of the neutrals with thin accent stripes.  Or...something.

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to crochet a baby blanket in a simple pattern along those lines?

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 10:57:08 GMT -5 bluelily said:

Jan 28, 2015 8:59:15 GMT -5 wawa said:

Ok, I still have work to do to finish my current "by god I'm going to finish this damn thing" UFO.  (this was in the @ randoms yesterday.  I just found and bought the missing yarn I need to finish the baby blanket I started for my sister's oldest.  Who is turning 4.  I'm going to give it to her latest baby instead)  And then I'm making matching hats for my sisters older 2 kids.  Those will be fast though.

But I'm ITCHING to queue up my next project.  I think I'm going to try and bust out a quick little blanket for my boss's kid.  due in March.  I'm thinking just a really simple shell stitch thing that I can do practically in my sleep. 
this: thestitchinmommy.com/2013/12/shell-stitch-baby-blanket-free-pattern.html

or this: www.projectlinus.org/patterns/ssba.html


They're team green and are doing a peter rabbit theme in the nursery.  So maybe like soft tan and cream with accents of either blue or red?  Peter's jacket is blue, but the other bunnies wear red.  Or I could do a soft green.   Probably in thick stripes like the first link regardless of which pattern I use.  Or maybe thick stripes of the neutrals with thin accent stripes.  Or...something.

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to crochet a baby blanket in a simple pattern along those lines?

depends on how dedicated you are to the cause.   If I work on it regularly - a few weeks?  at most 2 months?  I need to get this one done by march, and plus finishing up the other blanket and then makign the hats it'll be tight, but doable.  In terms of actual work hours i haven't got the slightest clue what that equates to.  

There are other blankets I've made - like this great squishy one in Lion brand homespun with a double thread and a big fat plastic hook that I can do in an afternoon.  
And then there's UFO's (UnFinished Objects) that I've worked on off and on for YEARS and have yet to finish.  Complicated patterns, or just that I made entirely too big, or lost interest in and forgot about...

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 10:54:37 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Jan 28, 2015 10:50:17 GMT -5 wawa said:

you know I'm going to crochet those suckers right?  It's faster for me even if its a inferior hat.   Especially since I only have straight needles. 

That would slow me down considerably. Go forth and make hats!

some day I will venture into the world of dpns. Maybe.  I'm probably more likely to get circular needles so I can knit an afghan without having to join panels.

[bluelily]

Jan 28, 2015 11:07:31 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jan 28, 2015 10:57:08 GMT -5 bluelily said:

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to crochet a baby blanket in a simple pattern along those lines?

depends on how dedicated you are to the cause.   If I work on it regularly - a few weeks?  at most 2 months?  I need to get this one done by march, and plus finishing up the other blanket and then makign the hats it'll be tight, but doable.  In terms of actual work hours i haven't got the slightest clue what that equates to.  

There are other blankets I've made - like this great squishy one in Lion brand homespun with a double thread and a big fat plastic hook that I can do in an afternoon.  
And then there's UFO's (UnFinished Objects) that I've worked on off and on for YEARS and have yet to finish.  Complicated patterns, or just that I made entirely too big, or lost interest in and forgot about...

Context is helpful. I'm a knitter, and I can finish a lap blanket in roughly a month (which translates to approximately a zillion work hours). My husband has a full-sized afghan that his grandma crocheted for him, and I'm sort of curious what kind of a time commitment that required on her part. My sense is that crochet is faster (assuming you know how to crochet faster than I do), but I have no idea how much faster.

[miniroller]

Ok, so sorry to thread-steal, but didn't know if I should start a new one since all you crocheters will be drawn here?
I don't knit/crochet, but have developed an interest lately, & didn't know if anyone has recc's (books, websites, etc) re: starting out?
Thanks very much for any tips!!

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 11:10:53 GMT -5 bluelily said:

Jan 28, 2015 11:07:31 GMT -5 wawa said:

depends on how dedicated you are to the cause.   If I work on it regularly - a few weeks?  at most 2 months?  I need to get this one done by march, and plus finishing up the other blanket and then makign the hats it'll be tight, but doable.  In terms of actual work hours i haven't got the slightest clue what that equates to.  

There are other blankets I've made - like this great squishy one in Lion brand homespun with a double thread and a big fat plastic hook that I can do in an afternoon.  
And then there's UFO's (UnFinished Objects) that I've worked on off and on for YEARS and have yet to finish.  Complicated patterns, or just that I made entirely too big, or lost interest in and forgot about...

Context is helpful. I'm a knitter, and I can finish a lap blanket in roughly a month (which translates to approximately a zillion work hours). My husband has a full-sized afghan that his grandma crocheted for him, and I'm sort of curious what kind of a time commitment that required on her part. My sense is that crochet is faster (assuming you know how to crochet faster than I do), but I have no idea how much faster.

As with knit, it really varies. I think crochet is often faster in that it tends to be more open stitches so you cover more ground? But given a similar stitch density and somebody who is equally good at both methods, they're probably about the same.  I learned both as a little kid, but I've always been better at crochet, but I remember when I started out with both I felt like I was able to really get somewhere with crochet a million times faster than with knit.  (which is probably why I ended up better at it.  Delayed gratification was not my thing when I was 6)  But again - we're talking granny squares vs. stockinette so totally different stitch density.

Doing a full sized afghan vs. a lap blanket - I think the fastest I've ever gotten one done - no kids, no cats stealing my yarn -  it took me like 3 months?.

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 11:11:19 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Ok, so sorry to thread-steal, but didn't know if I should start a new one since all you crocheters will be drawn here?
I don't knit/crochet, but have developed an interest lately, & didn't know if anyone has recc's (books, websites, etc) re: starting out?
Thanks very much for any tips!!

no worries about threadjacking - I intended this to be a general yarny chitchat - hence the question about what others are working on.


Do you know which one you want to do?  Knit vs. crochet?  Do you need help deciding?

I really recommend a combo of staring at youtube videos and going to your local yarn store (or taking pictures and posting them here) when you get stumped and asking people there for help.  

[Cicero]

Since you asked, this is the unblocked back of the sweater I'm working on. Sides are finished too. The lighting wasn't great when I took the picture so the color is off a bit. The yarn is more blue than it appears.

[miniroller]

Thanks wawa!! Re: which I want to do, I really don't know. I don't really have any friends that do either? So I'd love your recommendation! I didn't know if one is easier, at least easier to start?

I'd like something to do with my hands during downtime, when I zone out in front of the TV. Sometimes even reading is too much for my mentally exhausted brain. BUT (horrible, I know!) I'd like to think that I'll feel better about my zoning out time if I can be productive whilst doing so

Sooo basically which one's easiest...? Ha? I'd love to make stuff for my nieces & nephews & even future kid. Leaning toward knitting b/c in my ignorant mind, it sounds less intensive than crocheting?

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 11:27:24 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Since you asked, this is the unblocked back of the sweater I'm working on. Sides are finished too. The lighting wasn't great when I took the picture so the color is off a bit. The yarn is more blue than it appears.

ohhh, fancy.   That looks really nice. 

I sometimes have dreams of getting better at knit and learning cables and such - but then I realize I still have like a 3 year backlog of crochet projects and...don't. But I do so love a good cabled sweater.

[meshaliuknits]

Jan 28, 2015 11:09:29 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jan 28, 2015 10:54:37 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

That would slow me down considerably. Go forth and make hats!

some day I will venture into the world of dpns. Maybe.  I'm probably more likely to get circular needles so I can knit an afghan without having to join panels.

DPNs awesome. Unless you sit on them. Ask my husband.

[wawa]

Jan 28, 2015 11:32:07 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Thanks wawa!! Re: which I want to do, I really don't know. I don't really have any friends that do either? So I'd love your recommendation! I didn't know if one is easier, at least easier to start?

I'd like something to do with my hands during downtime, when I zone out in front of the TV. Sometimes even reading is too much for my mentally exhausted brain. BUT (horrible, I know!) I'd like to think that I'll feel better about my zoning out time if I can be productive whilst doing so

Sooo basically which one's easiest...? Ha? I'd love to make stuff for my nieces & nephews & even future kid. Leaning toward knitting b/c in my ignorant mind, it sounds less intensive than crocheting?

So...for me I feel like it's not that one is really easier than the other.  It's just that the learning curves are different shapes. 

Knit is REALLY easy to pick up the basic knit/purl thing.  There's no uncertainty - you stick your needle here, put your yarn there, and done, it's a stitch!  The initial I did it! is really gratifying.  I found that progressing beyond that is more complicated.  There's more terminology, there's more equipment, etc.  For example - I learned the basics of knit when I was preK or Kindy aged from my babysitter.   Stuff like Cicero just posted is still totally beyond me and the instructions to make something like might as well be in greek.

Crochet is a little harder to get the initial stitches under control.  There's some uncertainty about where you stick your hook, everything is floppy instead of held on a nice straight needle and it can be a little frustrating at first. Once you master the basic stitch though, it's all just very basic building blocks from there and the whole wide world of crochet is basically open to you from there as long as you can count. I learned crochet from a different babysitter about a year after I learned knit, and from that time I could pick up basically any crochet pattern and figure it out.

For both there is the initial getting the hang of maintaining a constant tension, which is just all feel and practice and is equal between them.

So...I tend to push people toward crochet.  HOWEVER, it's all very personal, and what types of projects you want to make is a huge part of which you should try first.  (because really...try both!  you might just find you like one more for totally random reasons.) 

If you want to make blankets and little beanie hats and sweaters and animals - I'd lean crochet.
If you want to make more wearables - jackets, sweaters, etc - go with knit.  It's far far more versatile with anything that isn't intended to just be a flat item.

[heartmama]

Jan 28, 2015 9:20:31 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jan 28, 2015 9:06:12 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Are you looking for natural or synthetic fibers?

washable, reasonably priced and feels nice are my criteria for this level of gifting. 
So synthetic is fine as long as it has a good feel.

Caron simply soft, or bernat baby get my vote.  Also, I've made similar blankets, and they do work up really fast and are so pretty.

[Cicero]

Jan 28, 2015 11:32:07 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Thanks wawa!! Re: which I want to do, I really don't know. I don't really have any friends that do either? So I'd love your recommendation! I didn't know if one is easier, at least easier to start?

I'd like something to do with my hands during downtime, when I zone out in front of the TV. Sometimes even reading is too much for my mentally exhausted brain. BUT (horrible, I know!) I'd like to think that I'll feel better about my zoning out time if I can be productive whilst doing so

Sooo basically which one's easiest...? Ha? I'd love to make stuff for my nieces & nephews & even future kid. Leaning toward knitting b/c in my ignorant mind, it sounds less intensive than crocheting?

This totally depends on who you ask.  I taught myself to knit via youtube videos.  I basically just found a simple baby blanket pattern on revelry (btw, join Revelry now.  It is an amazing pattern database that has a ton of helpful people on the forums in case you get stuck) and googled every single term as I came to it.  There are a million videos on "how to cast on" "how to knit stitch" etc.  Just kind of dig through until you find one that makes sense to you.

Crochet still kind of scares me--and it is something I learned how to do as a kid.  I'm thinking about taking an intro to crochet class this spring just to get started.  I can't tell you why I had no issues teaching myself to knit but am scared to do the same with crochet.  It's not rational.  

[Cicero]

Jan 28, 2015 11:33:30 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jan 28, 2015 11:27:24 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Since you asked, this is the unblocked back of the sweater I'm working on. Sides are finished too. The lighting wasn't great when I took the picture so the color is off a bit. The yarn is more blue than it appears.

ohhh, fancy.   That looks really nice. 

I sometimes have dreams of getting better at knit and learning cables and such - but then I realize I still have like a 3 year backlog of crochet projects and...don't. But I do so love a good cabled sweater.

Thanks.  It's really not difficult at all.  It's bulky yarn, so really fast and 50% of the cabling isn't even cabling.  The side columns are just slipped and twisted stitch patterns.  I think it'd be a good first cabling project if you ever get to the bottom of your backlog.

www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aidez