Another Knitting Question/Thread

In My Humble Opinion
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Okay, I’ve read these ( in no particular order:i want to knit a scarf Knitting Question Any Knitters Around Here?) threads, and if the question is answered therein, I missed it. Forgive me, please.

I am a beginning knitter; in fact, I was inspired jointly by the “Knitting in Public” (apparently vanished in the hack) thread and subsequently the “Any Knitters…” thread, the first time the SDMB has impacted my life beyond “wasted time” and the occasional “Oh honey, you’ll never believe what I read today…” For some reason, it just seemed to be something I needed to learn at this point in my life, despite the observance of an aqcuaintance which frankly scares the crap out of me: “Knitting means babies, soon as you start knitting, you get babies.” I comfort myself with a combination of Ortho-Tricyclen, the knowledge that A) she’s not the brightest diamond in Elizabeth Taylor’s collection, and B) she has a new baby herself and not a clue how to knit.

Anyway, I have to do something while I wait for my Motorcycle Safety Foundation class to start up.

Sorry, I’m rambling (I’ve spent too long reading this board tonight), here’s my question: I really want to knit a big comfy afghan. Do I have to learn to crochet? Do I have to get huge circular needles? Or what?

It’s not a pressing concern; I’m blissfully knitting scarves for every single member of my family, starting with the dog–my fiancé is jealous of it, I woke up and wandered out to the living room this morning and found him lounging on the couch with the dog’s scarf wrapped around his neck. I’ve definitely found the Snoopy to my Woodstock.

Anyway, I’d also be interested in knowing what all everybody else is working on right now.

Thought: Knitting definitely makes this slow-loading website bearable to navigate.

[okay, maybe this should be in cafe society, since really, crafts can be an art, or MPSIMS since I rambled ego-centrically so much, but… well, move away mods if you must.]

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My mother knits huge afghans. Frequently she uses patches of different patterns or panels. I’m not an expert as I prefer to crochet, but I believe circle needles would make your life easier for a big afghan.

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I either missed or didn’t get around to posting in the other threads, but I am a hard-core knitter. I was knitting in church this morning [pauses for shocked noises] and was once told off gently by my supervisor for knitting during a boring company meeting.

I’ve done two large afghans and am working, occaisionally, on another. Since I hate working on large needles – they’re too big for me to handle comfortably, the afghans I’ve done have been patchwork – knit squares then put them together either by sewing or crocheting. If I weren’t doing patchwork, I’d use a large circular needle. If you need ideas and want to expand your range, there are some pattern books which give patterns for squares containing various patterns, some just knit and purl, some cable, some lace. You can see which ones you like and want to try then put them together.

I have about 3 current projects. The first is a knit baby outfit in cotton yarn. A woman I go to church with won the bidding on a custom hand knit baby outfit over a year ago, before the child was even conceived (talk about thinking ahead!). The second is the second of a pair of matching Aran sweaters for my best friend and her husband which will be their wedding gift. The third is the afghan I mentioned earlier which is made up of cats knitted in rather large squares in a beautiful, soft yarn. I plan on surprising a very dear friend of mine with it once it’s finished. Of course, I have to hide the evidence before she comes over.

Good luck, and if you have questions, please feel free to e-mail me directly, as well. Oh, and in your response to your friend, I am one of the most un-maternal creatures you will ever meet! Baby outfits, yes (they don’t take that long to make). Babies themselves, forget it.

CJ

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I agree, nine months is really too long for one project.
:smiley:

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You don’t know how long I’ve been working on those sweaters! Back to knitting, reading The Joy Of Knitting and watching Nero Wolfe. And they’re suprised at work when I multi-task!

CJ

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::wipes away a tear of joy:: Glad I did a little something to bring knitting into your life. :slight_smile:

Large circular needles are the way to go. Do you regularly knit your scarves on straight needles? Once I started using circs, I started using them for everything. I see no advantage to straights at all. I like the Addi Turbo brand.

cjhoworth’s and Leifsmama’s suggestions of a patchwork afghan is a very good one. Knitting a whole afghan in one piece can be very tedious, bulky, and heavy. And boring! You can also do it in strips, and sew the strips together lengthwise.

I have cyclical knitting habits. I do both knitting and needlepoint, and I usually do one for a few months, get bored, and do the other for a few months. Right now, I am in a needlepoint phase. (I’m doing the ring pillow for my best friend’s wedding. I made up the design myself, and It’s coming out great. It’s my first go at petit point, and I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying it.) But I have 2 knitting projects waiting in the wings.

One is a pair of socks. My first pair! I have done, and about 1.5 inches of the other complete. I am doing the 2-circular-needle method detailed in the book Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. Since I never learned to knit in the round on double-points, I figured I’d just go ahead and learn this radical new method of doing it on 2 circs. It’s easy! I am using Regia sock yarn, which is specially dyed to produce stripes as you knit it into socks. They are looking pretty darn cool.

The other project is a sweater for the impending Beansprout. It’s really cute and simple. It has a hood. I have never made a sweater before (except for the “dumb baby sweater,” which is an exercise in Maggie Righetti’s Knitting in Plain English book) I am doing it in a lovely blue-gray in Plymouth Dreambaby. Fortunately, I only have a little done, because the Beansprout will be too big for it by the time I have it done if I keep it going in its current size! I’m going to have to rip out and start over. Oh well. But that’s what I get for having cyclical knitting habits.

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9 months is too long for just one project…(I’ve worked on several things for over nine months, they’ve overlapped a lot.)

To the original question, of the two big, cosy afghans I use most, one was knit in strips on straight needles and then sewn together. The other was knit in one big piece on a circular. In a way, afghans are nice in that gauge doesn’t really matter, so long as you’re consistent & in a way, they’re just really wide scarves.

I do use circular needles for almost everything now. Occasionally, I’ll get a better look with straights, but I have found that circulars are usually easier on my wrists - plus, I never have to figure out where I stuffed the other needle. If you haven’t tried them yet, I’d advise it.

In a way, your friend was right about the baby thing- baby clothes are easy, and quick, and you can try out colors and techniques, and styles on them and have finished products almost overnight. And so, you find yourself looking about for small children on which to bestow your knitting - and there really always do seem to be babies about. So far none of the babies has been mine, but there have been infants and toddlers. It may be that knitting keeps the species going, indirectly. Public service. Someone should pay me a great deal of money and/or yarn to study this further.

As for the moment, I am ridiculously close to done on two sweaters for others (a long knitting weekend could put them both away, sadly, I haven’t got a long knitting weekend) and I’m working on a sweater set for me in this lovely silk/wool blend, and playing around with some Noro yarn. But getting nowhere fast on it and loving it. And thinking through how I’m going to do a quick summer sweater that I have not as yet found the yarn for. And there’s an idea for a giant mitred square stadium blanket that is probably a bad idea…

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I know nothing about knitting, except to point out this is not a “knitting thread”. It should be referred to as a **knitting yarn ** :cool:

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Woo hoo! Another opportunity to talk about knitting!

I once started a thread confessing my addiction. I’m proud to say, it hasn’t gotten any better. I’ve made afghans on both circular and straight needles. If you use straight ones, the work eventually gets pretty heavy on one side, if you know what I mean. So it might be easier to use circular, but whatever is comfortable for you is the best.

I also have no clue how to crochet, so I don’t think it’s necessary to learn if you want to knit.

I’m just finishing up my first sock too! I didn’t use the “socks soar” method, but I’m curious about that. I just did it the boring, old-fashioned way. I’m happy to report that it’s much easier than I was told. Never let anyone scare you away from a project by telling you it’s too hard.

There’s a “Stitch 'n Bitch” club that meets in a bar here every wednesday night. I can’t wait to go!

L