Knitting vs. Crochet: The Great Debate - Page 3

Qingdai · #51 05-03-2012, 05:52 AM

I tried to get him interested, but I know it's damn hard to knit all in black, white however...

Goth Knitting

livius drusus · #52 05-23-2012, 05:23 PM

Knitting Behind Bars, the most adorable prison program of all time. Buy their awesome hand-dyed "I Fought the Law and the Law Won" yarn to help support them.

Bus 52 Presents: Knitting Behind Bars -...

SharonDee · #53 05-28-2012, 12:49 AM

Okay, I'll admit to not reading the whole thread so I don't know which is winning. But I am not above wandering in cold and asking for advice.

Yeah, sometimes I'm shameless.

Anyway, today my daughter got me started using these:

... and I'm hooked. But she took hers home with her after I was getting the hang of this knitting thing. Now I'm shopping for a set of my own.

Only ... now how do I buy yarn? The first one I found on Amazon (in purple, natch) had lots of complaints and regrets for purchasing. Is there a particular brand I should use? If not, what should I look for in a good yarn?

Help?

Demimonde · #54 05-28-2012, 08:23 PM

I haven't used one of those loom thingies, but I have wanted to. Maybe I will pick one up.

For yarn, it really depends on what it is that you are making. It should feel nice and be pleasant to work with and wear. Weights are usually recommended for different patterns. Different types of fibers are good for different things. I have never bought yarn online and I am not sure I would like it. I like to be able to feel my yarn before I buy it.

Have you looked for a local yarn store? Those places can be dreamy, and sometimes they offer classes and meet ups and stuff.

Qingdai · #55 05-28-2012, 09:49 PM

I second the motion to go to a yarn store and pick something that you want to touch the entire time you're making something.
Also what yarn you use depends on what you're making.
That being said, wool yarns are pretty stretchy and forgiving for the beginner. Cotton and other fibers can be a bit more difficult to work with.
I like using alpaca wool and Brown Sheep has some good yarn, if there aren't any stores near you.

SharonDee · #56 05-28-2012, 11:51 PM

Well, here's the thing. There's nothing in particular I want to make, per se. I just like having something to do with my hands that keeps me from shoveling food in my mouth. I found this was a thing I could do while chatting amiably or watching TV.

I mean, several times I got the yarn too tight around the pegs and had to start all over again. This did not bother me because I had no particular goal or deadline. You'd have to know me to realize that starting over at anything because I was doing a bad job makes me VERY angry under most circumstances. But this ... well, this made me so ... zen somehow. Tra-la-la, messed up again. No biggie.

I like that feeling and I want to have it some more.

Do I sound nuts? I do, don't I.

Qingdai · #57 05-29-2012, 05:36 AM

No more nuts than anyone else doing a DIY project, have you met lisarea?

If not I have some bad beer to send you....

vremya · #58 05-29-2012, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharonDee

Well, here's the thing. There's nothing in particular I want to make, per se. I just like having something to do with my hands that keeps me from shoveling food in my mouth. I found this was a thing I could do while chatting amiably or watching TV.

I started crocheting and knitting as alternatives to smoking. And find knitting to be very calming (when it's going right, that is!)

I started with scarves, and you can make them out of just about any kind of yarn. Wool is very forgiving, cotton and other fibers less so. I third the idea of going to a yarn shop and seeing what they have. (I spent about an hour at one this weekend, just looking at the new yarns for summer.)

freemonkey · #59 05-31-2012, 04:06 AM

I will fourth the idea of going into a yarn shop to see what you like. If you don't want anything super fancy you could try Michaels or JoAnn's, but their selection usually isn't great.

I've bought lots of yarn at thrift stores, but there can be problems with that...

Ensign Steve · #60 05-31-2012, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharonDee

Well, here's the thing. There's nothing in particular I want to make, per se. I just like having something to do with my hands that keeps me from shoveling food in my mouth. I found this was a thing I could do while chatting amiably or watching TV.

I mean, several times I got the yarn too tight around the pegs and had to start all over again. This did not bother me because I had no particular goal or deadline. You'd have to know me to realize that starting over at anything because I was doing a bad job makes me VERY angry under most circumstances. But this ... well, this made me so ... zen somehow. Tra-la-la, messed up again. No biggie.

I like that feeling and I want to have it some more.

Do I sound nuts? I do, don't I.

No I get this, especially the first part. That's a big part of why I brought it up in the first place.

I started on a perpetually-growing granny square with color-changing yarn. I don't want to mess around with starting things, with the pain-in-the-ass foundation chains, and having to look at and parse various patterns, and then put different pieces together to make things. I just want to sit in front of the tv and be like "stich 4, chain 1, repeat" all night long without having to think. I don't care if I don't end up with anything but a giant granny square.

Also, I finally got a latch hook and I did most of that kit in about 2 evenings. I can't bring myself to complete it, though, because then what the hell do I do with it?

Demimonde · #61 05-31-2012, 04:39 AM

If you are doing it for fun and not for any particular end result, frog it* and start over. If you know this going in, you can invest in a really nice slick yarn and use it over and over if you want. It is good for practicing as well as mess ups.

*I also just love that term. FROG IT!

LadyShea · #62 05-31-2012, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharonDee

Well, here's the thing. There's nothing in particular I want to make, per se. I just like having something to do with my hands that keeps me from shoveling food in my mouth. I found this was a thing I could do while chatting amiably or watching TV.

I mean, several times I got the yarn too tight around the pegs and had to start all over again. This did not bother me because I had no particular goal or deadline. You'd have to know me to realize that starting over at anything because I was doing a bad job makes me VERY angry under most circumstances. But this ... well, this made me so ... zen somehow. Tra-la-la, messed up again. No biggie.

I like that feeling and I want to have it some more.

Do I sound nuts? I do, don't I.

Not at all, this is why I do finger knitting. I zen out making bracelets and anklets out of T-Sharn while watching TV or while someone else is watching TV and I want to be in the same vicinity but not watch the hockey game or whatever.

I just bought a scarf loom and Kiddo picked out some rainbow yarn, but the "simple" instructions are tiny and hard to follow

SharonDee · #63 05-31-2012, 07:43 PM

Hmm ... finger knitting, you say?
:chin:

I may have to try that!

LadyShea · #64 05-31-2012, 07:49 PM

I learned from the site below, because I wanted to make those bracelets. I have an anklet on right now. Instead of tying scraps together, make continuous T-Sharn

V and Co.: V and Co how to: jersey knit bracelet

I have also done it with yarn with the idea of maybe weaving some of the ropes together somehow.

livius drusus · #65 05-31-2012, 07:57 PM

I used to finger knit for hours when I was a girl. I never made anything but long ropes which I would then braid together and do nothing with, but I was a big fidgeter* as a kid and knitting's combination of zen focus and busy work satisfied me deeply.

* My first grade teacher, Sister Bridget, told my parents that she had raised the issue of my inability to sit still with me and I had replied "I can't help it. God made me a wiggler."

BrotherMan · #66 05-31-2012, 10:03 PM

livius drusus · #67 06-24-2012, 12:34 AM

livius drusus · #68 07-01-2012, 12:53 AM

In keeping with the above, here is Brutal Knitting, featuring face masks of terror knit by a genius. Sadly, despite the title there are no Metalocalypse masks among them.

Ymir's blood · #69 07-02-2012, 04:11 AM

These things are following me around the Web! :freakout:

Ensign Steve · #70 07-02-2012, 04:29 AM

From the first pic with the lamp, I thought it was a borg bong. :omgomg:

ceptimus · #71 08-26-2012, 12:13 AM

Charmione Lloyd knits rings, bracelets and cuffs from wire. She fits the bracelets with magnetic catches.

You can see more of her work here (from where I linked the above images).

Qingdai · #72 08-26-2012, 04:37 AM

Purty.

I bought some black yarn because I now have to wear a black hat to work. Our new dispensary is on the ground floor with big windows, so now we not only have to follow regulations, we have to look good doing it. If I screw up, I might be able to sell my labor to someone who forgot to get a hat.