Halifax Knitting Mamas!!

[inchwormz]

Okay everyone, here it is! The official Halifax Knitting Mommies thread! I think this is a good idea just to keep the about knitting in one spot and so that we don't bore any new mommies (and the regulars!) over in the playgroup thread. Everyone is welcome over here as well, though!

Well, I'm off to buy some new needles. I like the idea of wood but I also pink so I may just have to get some pink milk needles (is that what they're called?). I will ask about them when I get there.

So what is everyone working on right now?? Let's get this party started! :

[trivett]

OK...I am willing to give this knitting thing a try. I'll be your challenge . I'm not crafty and not very patient when it comes to this type of stuff but my mom likes those knitted dish cloths (and so do I to be honest) that I am willing to try it out. So...what the heck do I need??? I am close to the Hydrostone Wool Store. When do we next meet and where?

[Alison]

Okay, we've been meeting at my house every second Tuesday. Do we want to continue that? If so, we would meet again on the 23rd at 10:00 am. Can we change the thread name? I am sooooo NOT a mommy! Mum, mama, anything but mommy (my British background coming out, I guess!!!!!).

For starters, if you want to make a dishcloth, I'd go to Zeller's and pay $1.50 for a skein of Bernat handicrafter's cotton and needles that are something like 6mm. You can invest in expensive yarn and needles and stuff for your second project, once you know it's going to "take", KWIM? Plus the Bernat cotton comes with a dishcloth pattern on the inside of the label!

Tamara, wooden needles are less slippy. Also, if you aren't already, you could try knitting your blanket back and forth on a circular needle, rather than on straights. Not so big and heavy that way, it doesn't weigh down one arm, but sits nicely in your lap!

Alison

[rbeaufoy]

Okay...here I am...feeling seriously displaced...but I suppose I'll get over it. Oh...and I have to second that request to be called something other than "mommy". I guess it's my british upbringing rearing it's ugly head again :LOL

I'm still fighting a loosing battle with the LTK ribby diaper wrap.....Alison, what do you think if I use the XL sizing for the waist band...and then downsize to the L for the rest of the wrap? I love the idea of the trim fit of the wrap....I desperately want this to WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R

[trivett]

Right...I'll go to Zeller's then . Thanks for the tip and I'll be there for the next knitting session... Please be patient with me!!!!

[Alison]

Robyn, just post a description of the problem and then ask that same question over at the yarn crafts forum. Put LTK in the suject line and Theresa is sure to answer you. I would also suggest not pulling the ribbing in so tight--eg, not going down as many needle sizes or whatever. I think I may have used heavier yarn than you used, I certainly don't remember mine being so out of proportion! Post it and see what others say!

Alison

[rbeaufoy]

Done!

Love Andrew's bead-head, BTW!

[xian]

the bed head is fab! very dramatic indeed.

i will third the call for anything but mommies: yet more british background! don't worry, van, we'll be gentle with you...

[bluenail]

Yay - can't wait to meet you all in person! What's the weather like?

Hey Trivett - if I can make one suggestion...go and buy some dollar store yarn. It's cheap acrylic, but it's great to learn on. I always have trouble with cotton - it rips up my hands something terrible.

Oh, and Tamara - if pink's your thing...you could always buy wooden needles and stain them pink. After inheriting many of my mum's extra plastic needles (she used to be a LYS owner), I've decided to stick with bamboo needles. They're lighter (dang carpal tunnel syndrome) and "stickier"...

[trivett]

What about the "Halifax Knit and B*tch" forum..that's what we do anyway right? :LOL

[Alison]

Vanessa, shame on you!! We're very nice and don't b*tch about anybody! More like Halifax Ladies Yarn and Tea Social Club (if I could just convince you all to drink tea while you were there, rather than just water!). No, well, okay, maybe we're not that nice ALL the time, but I hate the title stitch and b*tch. It just sounds so catty and unpleasant, a bunch of knitters cackling away or something! I'm okay with Halifax Knitting mommies, just say Halifax Knitting Mamas instead! Mama is a very MDC way of describing yourself anyway!

Alison

[trivett]

BTW I was just joking...... Didn't think I would be taken so seriously You are a lovely group of women but just could not resist.

[Alison]

Not taking you seriously at all! I just can't be bothered using smilies! Assume there are silly smilies in pretty much everything I write, and you'll get the right idea.

Anyway, I still want a ball winder and yarn swift for Christmas. For those of you who know what they are! And if I get them, you're all welcome to bring your wool to my house for ball winding parties!

Alison

[inchwormz]

Okay, we're back from the yarn shop! I got some really cool wooden (bamboo?) needles that have painted tops on them. Just the thing to get me motivated to start knitting again! I got a pair of small ones...perfect for a dish cloth and a longer pair for future projects. They were all out of the pink . I think Lesley got the last ones but I will check back with them again in a few weeks!

So let's come up with a great and creative name! I'm not stuck on mommies at all, I just didn't want to use mommas (mamas?) 'cause that's what the Vancouver group used. We could all post a name or two and have a vote on our favourite. What you all think? I think we can agree that the stich & ** is probably out, so let's brainstorm!

BTW, tea would be perfect in the winter, but too hot for right now! :LOL And Alison, if you want to have a break from your house sometime, I can offer my place up, it just may not be as convenience 'cause I'm *way* over here in Dartmouth (jk!). Actually, I'm right at Mic Mac Mall so it may not be that inconvenient, but let me know!

[inchwormz]

Originally Posted by Alison

Anyway, I still want a ball winder and yarn swift for Christmas. For those of you who know what they are! And if I get them, you're all welcome to bring your wool to my house for ball winding parties!

They make a ball winder??? : (I ask as I sit here winding my yarn!) I *have* to see that! So cool!

[lesley&grace]

A ball winder sounds fabulous!

Yes, my place will shortly be open for meeting, and hey Tamara we can gather over Alison's book and work on stuff since we live close by to each other (I'm nearby Dartmouth's other mall, Penhorn). I am going to go back to my purl sample, I know I can figure it out, given practice.

[lesley&grace]

Ok experienced knitters, I have no idea what I am doing wrong with purling, but I can't get all my bumps on the one side of the swatch I'm am practising on. So in the meantime I will work on my fancy scarf and maybe at the next meet someone can show me where I am going wrong.

Meanwhile I looked at the directions for the scarf Cameron wants to me make, all it says is Cast on 106 sts, Knit 11 rows and bind off. Am I to make this design sideways?? This is the pattern that came with the funky yarn he choose, and I am thinking I may do it differently, but 106 sts to cast on? that seems like a lot! I have to get some bigger needles before I attempt it anyway, it calls for 12.75mm needles.

Oh, and one more question: how do you know how long of a "tail" to leave when you are going to cast on? I never quite get it right, twice I didn't have enough or I have this long piece hanging off the end. Is there a formula to this that I missed when looking at the book?

Thanks ladies!

[rbeaufoy]

Lesley...it sounds like the pattern for the scarf will have you making it "sideways". Feel free to do it the "long way" though....I hate knitting scarves sideways personally! Just cast on alot less stitches (try it out a few times until you get a width you like) and go from there. Is it just knitting? No fancy stuff? If it is just knitting, then it won't matter which way you make it.

As for casting on....I don't know of a formula for figuring out how long a tail to leave....I guess you just get better at guessing as time goes by. Does anyone else know of better way to estimate?

I just bought some more wool to make a couple more diaper wraps....now that i've figured out how to make them fit Mika!

Knit on!!!!!!!!!!

[xian]

i read somewhere that you need 3 times the finished width of whatever you're casting on. but i just have a long tail, and sew it in later. i find that much easier on the brain.

[Alison]

Lesley, for long tail cast ons I've heard the rule of thumb that you should leave three times the width of what you are knitting. Try that and let me know if it works!

For purling:

1. have your working yarn IN FRONT of your knitting
2. Put your RHN (right hand needle) through the 1st stitch on the LHN from right to left, coming out IN FRONT OF your work.
3. Wrap yarn counterclockwise around your right needle, pull it through, and pull the stitch off your LHN.

Video at:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting...iques/purl.php

if it helps to actually see someone do it! If the bumps are coming out on the back and not the front, then you're actually knitting, instead of purling!

Hope that helps some at least!

For your scarf, you could easily knit it longways instead of sideways. Try maybe 12 stitches? You'll know it's time to finish when the yarn you have left is only 4 times the width of the scarf. That's enough to make sure that you can cast off! With needles that size, I'm guessing that's pretty chunky yarn! Isn't Tangled Skeins just sweet? I can't remember the woman's name though--was it Cheryl?

The problem with meeting in Dartmouth for me is that I have to be at work by 1pm. And I can't go straight to work, cause I can't park here, so I have to walk in! So it would be easier for me to keep meeting somewhere near to home or work. Having said that, end of September I'm back to work at Tantallon, which means I would have to drive to work, so could just take the car to Dartmouth and go straight to work in it from there. So could we stay at my place til end of September? That would be awesome for me anyway!

Ball winders--Tamara, ask her to wind your yarn for you next time you go into the yarn store. Then you can see the thing in operation. It's AWESOME!!

Alison