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Post by ashtangi on Oct 6, 2016 8:30:36 GMT -5
V has inspired me to look up entrelac knitting! I love the colors you used. I don't have much to add to the list of knitting supplies that everyone has mentioned, but I would like to say that it really helps to have some sort of special bag/pouch to organize your needles. I have this for my circular needles, and a similar one for my double pointed needles. It makes a huge difference to have all the needles organized. www.dellaq.com/p/the-que-theocircular-needle-case?pp=24
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Post by ashtangi on Oct 6, 2016 8:32:24 GMT -5
pepper this is my second Ishbel. The colors just scream Fall to me. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend.
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pepper
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Post by pepper on Oct 6, 2016 8:35:00 GMT -5
*cries* I sooooooooooooo need that!
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Post by ashtangi on Oct 6, 2016 8:42:47 GMT -5
Yes you do pepper! It's a really easy knit... do knit it!
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pepper
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Post by pepper on Oct 6, 2016 8:48:59 GMT -5
But ashtangi , I already have 3 projects started! Like that matters. *orders yarn* That oatmeal-and-black shawl is going to be set aside soon, I just know it. Borrrrr.Ring.
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Post by ashtangi on Oct 6, 2016 8:59:25 GMT -5
pepper FYI in order to use the maximum amount of the yarn to show off all the colors, I ended up working the stocking stitch part for the small size and the vine pattern for the large size. I weighed my yarn after completing the small vine section to make sure I would have enough, and I did. The beautiful colors in this shawl make up for a different shawl that I finally ripped out a few weeks ago after putting it aside for about 9 months. It was brown with orange trim, and *separately* the colors were beautiful, but together on such a large project they just looked like something thrown out of my Nana's closet in the 1970's. I thought they would look autumnal, but nope. Oh well, more yarn for me to knit socks with!
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pepper
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Post by pepper on Oct 6, 2016 9:14:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips. Brown and orange can look very Halloweenish, I think. I love, love, love the colors you chose.
I'm on vacation next week, so I see a trip to the yarn store in my future.
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Post by suzieq52083 on Oct 6, 2016 10:18:33 GMT -5
You guys are chatty this morning! pepper - I would be so sad to pull out an ENTIRE sweater. I was thinking about it yesterday and I don't know if I could do a bottom up sweater for that reason. I can't imagine knitting something that I couldn't try on while it was in progress. I tried on the first sweater I made a number of times to ensure that it would fit. I plan to do the same with the one I am making now. But, even then, blocking can change things so much! clcountry - I have a real yarn problem! I bought SO MUCH when I went to Ireland and Scotland. I have been trying to not buy too much since I got home. But, I already had some in my stash before the trip and I just love buying yarn! I went pretty much 4 months after my trip without buy anything. So, I am going to try to do the same for the next 4 months. I am also using up a bunch of my stash. V - my store has done an entrelac class. I havn't checked it out though. I really want to start learning some color work soon. I am a little worried though b/c I don't know how I will do with holding the yarn in both hands. But, its worth a try! My update: I don't think I mentioned to you guys, but I broke one of my sock needles this weekend. I was bummed because I was halfway through a sock and was really enjoying it. I had trouble finding it in my local shop b/c it was a weird size (1.5 American). But, I went to a new shop yesterday and she gave me some European needles that were the same size. It was a weirdly complicated situation. Anyway, I was able to continue my sock last night and it was delightful. I'll post a picture when I finish the first one. I am using yarn I got in Scotland!
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Post by V on Oct 6, 2016 10:20:12 GMT -5
I need yarn.
*plans trip to Scotland*
Wha?
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Post by suzieq52083 on Oct 6, 2016 11:20:29 GMT -5
I need yarn. *plans trip to Scotland* Wha? So, I went to one store in Edinburgh and wasn't all that impressed. The lady there suggested I go to this other store. I opened the door to the second store and knew I was in the right place. The woman working there was in her 40's or 50's with purple hair. There was a cute little sofa and all kinds of yummy yarn. The woman goes 'can I help you' and I blurt out 'I'm looking for something ... special ...' And, that is how I ended up spending over $200 at a yarn shop in Edinburgh. Lol. (After having already bought plenty of yarn in Ireland).
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Post by nopolkadotbikini on Oct 6, 2016 11:31:43 GMT -5
pepper this is my second Ishbel. The colors just scream Fall to me. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend. love the colors.
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Post by clcountry on Oct 6, 2016 11:37:09 GMT -5
I need yarn. *plans trip to Scotland* Wha? So, I went to one store in Edinburgh and wasn't all that impressed. The lady there suggested I go to this other store. I opened the door to the second store and knew I was in the right place. The woman working there was in her 40's or 50's with purple hair. There was a cute little sofa and all kinds of yummy yarn. The woman goes 'can I help you' and I blurt out 'I'm looking for something ... special ...' And, that is how I ended up spending over $200 at a yarn shop in Edinburgh. Lol. (After having already bought plenty of yarn in Ireland).
Sounds wonderful to me, Suzie. How many skeins would you say you came home with?
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Post by suzieq52083 on Oct 6, 2016 12:02:49 GMT -5
Oh dear. It is a little embarrassing to admit! I just went into my stash on ravelry to see how many it is. It is somewhere in the neighborhood of 36-38 skeins? Are you the same name on ravelry? I'll add you and you can see my stash. But, to be fair, 16 of those skeins are for sweaters (10 for 1 and 6 for another).
**I'm not sure if everyone knows, the trip I took to Ireland was a knitting tour. I learned about Aran knitting and went to a bunch of places of interest to knitters and crafters. I ended up buying a lot of yarn. But, not everyone on the trip was as out of control as me! Lol. And, then I continued onto Scotland on my own and bought even more yarn.
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pepper
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Post by pepper on Oct 6, 2016 12:17:56 GMT -5
Oh man. A knitting tour of Ireland sounds like something I want to do!
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Post by clcountry on Oct 6, 2016 13:26:20 GMT -5
I am on Ravelry. I thought I already added you, though!
And no judgement from me! I've been knitting for what, 3 weeks? As of last night, I have, I think, 20 skeins. In my (slight) defense, all but three of those were bought for specific projects, though, and the three that weren't I'm using to practice with.
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Post by clcountry on Oct 6, 2016 13:43:35 GMT -5
suzieq52083, some of that yarn is incredible. I also want to go on a knitting tour now!
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Post by ashtangi on Oct 6, 2016 13:59:10 GMT -5
suzieq52083, did you visit specific knitting places on your knitting tour? Or was it more like sight seeing while knitting? It sounds like a great time either way! My local yarn shop didn't have 1.5 needles in stock either and I ended up ordering them from Amazon. I didn't know the half size existed until I started sock knitting. I also have so.much.yarn. I always say I'm going to use up the yarn I have and then buy new yarn but that strategy has not been successful so far. I keep forgetting to mention that I'm on Ravelry, too. My name there is readinknit
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Post by suzieq52083 on Oct 6, 2016 14:21:12 GMT -5
ashtangi - It was a combination of knitting places and site seeing. I actually didn't knit that much on the trip! It was too hard to knit on the bus and we were exhausted at night. Lol. Dublin - We went to yarn shop and met Kieran Foley. He is an Irish knitwear designer. He does almost exclusively shawls, but he uses really impressive color work. Look up some of his patterns on Ravelry. They are insane. I bought yarn for 1 sweater and a couple skeins of fingering at this shop. Galway - This was my favorite. We had a long workshop with a woman that is really involved in the Irish woolen industry. She taught us some Aran knitting. But, she also just sort of gave me an overview of knitting in Ireland. I learned that the Aran tradition isn't as old as people think (it really only started in the 1950's) and that it is dying out as the older woman pass. The woman of the next generation (baby boomers basically) never got into knitting and now there is a huge gap. But, she said there are some cool things happening in the industry. I went to her shop and bought more yarn. I got some amazing yarn that is sourced from Ireland and made there. It is the only yarn that is 100% Irish. Aran Islands - I LOVED the Aran Islands. It was by far my favorite part of the trip. It was beautiful. Here we did a couple workshops with a local knitter. She actually is a transplant to the island and was kind of a kook. Lol. But, the setting was amazing and we had perfect weather. Kilarney - We went to a woolen mill. It is one of the only full service woolen mills in Ireland. It was tiny and old fashioned. The second day we had a workshop with Carol Feller. She is a pretty famous knitwear designer. She was AWESOME! I really enjoyed our session with her. It was a bit over my head because I was a newer knitter than most in my group. But, I enjoyed it nonetheless. In addition to all that knitting stuff, we saw the cliff's of mohr, the ring of Kerry, and a bunch of other stuff!
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Post by ashtangi on Oct 6, 2016 14:45:06 GMT -5
That sounds like an awesome trip!
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Post by nopolkadotbikini on Oct 6, 2016 14:48:02 GMT -5
I have now made it a rule for myself that I can only buy yarn for a project. I am too likely to see something pretty (but its on SALE) and buy it and have it sit in my closet (about 4 or 5 bins worth). I also need to find projects to start using what I have. I am in a very small apartment so I really don't have room to store it all.
That tour sounds interesting Suzie.
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pepper
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Post by pepper on Oct 7, 2016 8:25:53 GMT -5
I'm the same way. I used to buy yarn just because it was pretty, but matching up random yarn in my stash with a pattern I wanted to make meant I had lots of yarn I would probably never use.
I do buy random sock yarn, but I know the weight and the amount will work for a future project, unlike buying yarn for a sweater.
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Post by suzieq52083 on Oct 7, 2016 9:20:07 GMT -5
I clearly don't need for yarn for several years or more. Lol. But, I just have an addiction!! I am really trying to not buy any for a while though. I don't feel happy when I buy it now b/c I just have so much and I won't get to use it for a long time. So, I am going to shop in my stash for a while until I no longer feel like buying new yarn is absurd. But, that said, I know I will cave sometimes! Lol.
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Post by clcountry on Oct 7, 2016 9:39:04 GMT -5
Good morning, Loopy Hookers! (That thread name makes me smirk every time, btw). I finished the dishcloth for my stepmother last night. It got pretty stretched out, though, so I'm going to have to block it. Since it's a gift, I want it to look as nice as possible. I also met up with one of the librarians from work and two of her friends last night. We got dinner together and knitted for a bit, so I made two new friends. We're going to try to meet up next week, too. My friend helped me pull out three rows of my baby blanket in order to fix the mistake I made, so I'm hoping to get that finished this weekend, or at least before I go on my trip. I'm still working on my scarf as I have time, but that's not a very high priority project for me right now. I found a pattern for a dishcloth that uses the stockinette stitch, so I'm going to make that soon for practice, and then I have a pattern for a shawl I want to make. I don't feel happy when I buy it now I totally get this. It's easy to let a hobby or thing that makes you happy overwhelm you. I can see that happening with me, easily, so like others have said, I'm trying to only buy yarn specifically for projects, at least so far!
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Post by grovers39 on Oct 7, 2016 12:30:53 GMT -5
I've been crocheting for over 40 years and would love to learn to knit. Where does one go to find classes? Is Michaels/Joann Fabric a good place to start or look for a boutique type shop?
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Post by ashtangi on Oct 7, 2016 15:06:24 GMT -5
grovers39 I think either of those options would be fine. I would go to a local yarn shop first because they might have some good info on knitting classes even if they don't offer them. You can also try getting out a book from the library or looking at Youtube videos if you can't find classes near you. Good luck!
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