Crochet "Chat"

[Kgee]

Redhead, you are so funny...crap room

It is so cool that you dye your own yarn. Do any of your kids share your craft?

On another note. I have some bamboo yarn...nice & soft, but doesn't seem to want to hold a knot...what do you do? I read somewhere a drop of glue, but that seems wrong & stiff.

 

[Kgee]

Redhead, Did you mention a while back that you got a knitting machine? How's that going? My Mom used one way back when & I've had one collecting dust for 20+ years...never did get any good at it & she's gone & can't teach me. I keep saying one of these days I'll drag it out & begin again.

 

[redhead83402]

Kgee ~ Bamboo yarn is a bit of an annoyance in that way. I just use a bit of thread & a needle & secure the stitch. I don't like to use 100% bamboo for anything that requires a lot of color-changing ( more little knot stitches, ugh!) but bamboo blends don't seem to have the same slippy problem as the 100%. One thing about bamboo, though, once the item is made, it will likely last forever! I think bamboo wears somewhat like linen, in that it just keeps on going forever. And every wash it gets softer & softer.

As to that knitting machine ~hhooo boy!! it is SO fun!! What type of knitting machine do you have? Mine are the knitking/brother compuknit 4.5mm & bulky. And I have an older knitking/brother punchcard 4.5mm.

I have to say, the bulky seems the most annoying to use, just because they really aren't very clear in the manual about how to use the cartridges & such for the extra patterns. Plus, my bulky seems to hate to knit the tuck stitch patterns, and although I have read everywhere that it will knit regular old store bought skeins of 4 ply worsted weight, I am beginning to believe that it will only do so for plain stockinette, and no patterning.

I replaced the sponge bars on all three machines ( there is a great website about re-doing the sponging yourself , which is what I did, and the sponge bars work just beautifully, so I fully reccomend it), and I have ordered but have not yet recieved a bunch of replacement needles for the bulky & the two 4.5mm's, so perhaps new needles will help with the tuck stitching. Also, there was an incredible amount of fluff in these machines, and they needed a good oiling down, lol.

All that said & done, however, and it is just AMAZING how fast things will knit up! I have made several baby sweater blanks, to be stitched into little sweaters already. And for our Humanitarian Center, I have been able to make up those bandages for Haiti ( they are about 4" wide & 50"-60" long, made of crochet thread) in an hour for each bandage, which is unbelievably fast!!

There are some pics of a few of the things from the machines on my blog ~ Blurt Blogger

But be warned ~ lol ~ they are as addictive as any other fiber art!! ;-D Also, if you need any help in using your machine, let me know, I would be glad to help if I can.
~Red

 

[Kgee]

WOW Redhead, I checked out your blog & you've done some amazing work! I never got anywhere near that good. You aren't a beginner are you? I'll have to check the storage room, but I think my machine is a Brother punchcard, purchased in the mid 80's. When I break it out, I'll be calling, but it won't be anytime soon as we currently have our house on the market & I'm having to keep things tidy.

I think I also have an attachment (not for my machine) called a knit tracer by Toyota. It is some kind of pattern reader. Do you know what it is & do you have any use for it?

I've got company coming in today, but when I have more time I am definitely going to look more closely at your soaps...they look really good!

 

[redhead83402]

Quote:
Thank you Kgee!! It makes me feel justified! ;-D I actually am a beginner ~ I just found these machines on the 8th of March, so that is my first ever interaction with them ~ but I tend to be a bit obsessive & research before buying and then research more afterword, so I was slightly familiar with all of the terms and potential prior to getting these machines. Honestly, however, they are not diificult to use at all. The punchcard machines are wonderful, all you do is feed in the card, and VOILA!, knit to your hearts' content, it will pattern for you! The computer ones are great, lots and LOTS of designs, but they are interesting, it's like going back to using WINdows 95 ~ not really that fun! But they do work well, once you get their odd sequencing down.

The knit tracer is very handy for those folks who like fully fashioned clothing or articles. Myself, since I am a seamstress, prefer to just make up rectangular blanks, trace a pattern on the knitted fabric, zigzag ( or serge & seam) & straight-stitch along the pattern marks, chop off the waste (stuff some pillows with it), and put together as you would any piece of regular fabric clothing. That's called half-fashioned, and it's what big department stores do for their sweaters & such. Perhaps it's laziness on my part, but I just like to wear the darn things, rather than spend forever, adn get all frustrated as to whether I've decreased & increased in the right places.

When I crochet, it seems to come naturally where I might increase or decrease, and it's easy for me to see where & how on making my own patterns, but for knitting, I seem to draw massive blanks ~ so, half-fashioned it is. Plus, transferring stitches all over the place on a knitting machine is annoying & slow, and again, I have this lazy-ish streak. As a result, for me, the knit tracer doesn't make sense, but they sell them all the time on eBay and lots of people swear by them. Also, I think even though it's for a Toyota, it would work for your machine, as long as they are the same guage. I think they are just to tell you when to increase & decrease ~ as far as I understand, they don't actually hook up to the machine or anything.

And thank you for the comment on my soaps! I caught the soaping bug from the gals on here over in the soaps thread, and I have been making them ever since. My family loves it, and I have actually taught a few classes on soap-making to others now, and sold quite a bit at the Farmer's Market & such. Cool thing about soap is ~ even if you only make a few batches, it makes up enough soap to last you, plus some to give or sell. And the stuff lasts forever. The older it gets, the harder it gets. Which just makes it better soap. ;-D

Let me know when you do decide to get the knitting machine out ~ I would love to help you have fun with it. They really are fun, especially since you can make things SO fast on them. If you are results-driven, you will really love it!
~Red

 

[MoSo]

I decided to take up crochet this winter, envisioning long nights on the sofa in front of the fire, happily crocheting away. What I found was there is a peculiar learning curve to crochet that I can't quite get past - my vision of long, open nights is pretty much hopeless (an hour here or there) and I can't get far enough along to get good at it and get that semi-automatic rhythm going. So far I've made one long scarf in double crochet and ..... nothing else.


But I have some beautiful yarn and a pattern (out of one of the Stitch'n'grump books) that looks, well, not easy, but doable. Except I can't make myself sit down and do it.

Lol, maybe in the fall, when I'll have long nights in front of the fire..... oh, wait.

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Quote:
My advice...if you ride in the car (as opposed to driving)...do a car project. Even something simple like 7 x 7 granny squares to donate to Warm Up America. They are fast, easy, and repetative. After awhile, you won't want to ride anywhere without a project. This helps with needle control, and speed.

Main thing...DON'T GIVE UP

 

[redhead83402]

Well, here are a few things I have been working on ~

This is a crocheted vest I made, it can either be for a little girl, or it actually looks ok on my 13 yrold daughter as well

This is a piece of knitted lace, it is for a sweater

This one is a knitted sweater & sleeves that I still need to steek & put together

~Red

 

[baustin]

Quote:
My advice...if you ride in the car (as opposed to driving)...do a car project. Even something simple like 7 x 7 granny squares to donate to Warm Up America. They are fast, easy, and repetative. After awhile, you won't want to ride anywhere without a project. This helps with needle control, and speed.

Main thing...DON'T GIVE UP

I take crocheting projects when I have to sit and wait on my car, repairs, wash, etc. I also take them to the doctors offices and/or the hosptital if I have to sit and wait a while.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
I'm so jealous! I can't knit at all. That knitting is gorgeous! I took a free class at the local library and all I did the whole time was tear out my stitches every time I had completed several rows. I asked the instructor if this was normal and she said "Yes, we call it frogging." "Frogging?" I said. "Yes," she said, "because you just sit there and ripit, ripit, ripit."