So Excited - Learned to Knit!!!!

[MsSuzKelly]

Oh my goodness! Took a knitting class yesterday - in a great yarn shop in the cutest little downtown area in Lawrenceville, GA. It was my first time in one of those shops - and they welcome crochters! Anyhow, I am just so pumped up that I can now look at knitting patterns! I want to go and get myself a few sets of needles! What sizes are the most popular?

 

Egads = I need to slow my motor down. I want extra needles so that I can start up more projects if I see something that strikes my fancy! LOL. I am currently working on a dishcloth to get purling practice in. Haha...can you tell how excited I am?

 

I NEVER ever thought I would be excited about knitting. Imagine that.

[Needle Arts]

Congratulations. Needle sizes are as dependent on item/type of yarn as when crocheting. Both disciplines can be fun and it is nice to be able to flip flop between projects. What type of projects are you interested in?

[MsSuzKelly]

Gosh I have no idea yet, really. I am thinking maybe a shawl might be a good choice to try next........

 

I have this yarn from Lionbrand called "Trellis" - a ladder yarn - that makes gorgeous shawls. Found a pattern that calls for size 35 needles. LOL those are pretty big,no? Anyhow - I figure I should probably not attempt that just yet as that yarn is very hard to work with - but I have my sights set on that project as soon as I think I can do it.

[HomekeepingGran]

That's fabulous, Suzy! I hope you do fantastic with it. Knitting is a lot of fun although I have to say I love both knitting and crochet.

 

Needles: if you think you will like circular needles, may I suggest an interchangeable system? You buy the cables and needle tips separately. I find it very convenient since I can have relatively few cables but change out the tip sizes to whatever I need. There are several brands of these systems but KnitPicks needles are really popular and for good reason. They are sensibly priced, excellent quality and have a wonderful replacement guarantee if they should fail. KnitPicks also sells yarns so be prepared to have fun at their site even if you choose a different needle.

 

AddiTurbos are also popular but are considerably more expensive than KnitPicks. They are great needles, though.

[MsSuzKelly]

Thanks, Carla - I will definitely check that out!! Circulars are used for bigger projects, right?? I already know that I prefer a wooden needle to an aluminum. I bought a pair of needles at the shop for class yesterday - Brittany needles 10" #7. I love them. Then last night I ran to walmart and bought a pack of aluminum needles. UGH. do not like them one bit. What do you prefer???

 

And I will always love my crochet, too - not turning my back on it, but I am going to be all involved with this knitting thing for a while to get proficient at it.

[HomekeepingGran]

Thanks, Carla - I will definitely check that out!! Circulars are used for bigger projects, right?? I already know that I prefer a wooden needle to an aluminum. I bought a pair of needles at the shop for class yesterday - Brittany needles 10" #7. I love them. Then last night I ran to walmart and bought a pack of aluminum needles. UGH. do not like them one bit. What do you prefer???

 

For me it depends on the yarn I am using and the project being worked. When I knit with coarse kitchen cotton I like a slick, metal needle but for a slippery yarn, wood or bamboo is very nice. I haven't tried KP acrylic needles (they have a "brand" or "style" name but I can't think of it) but I LOVE their Harmony tips. Harmonies are wood but have a lovely, smooth finish. It's a great compromise between metal and the birch sets. And while I do use straight needles sometimes, honestly you can use circulars for everything. Circs go down as small as 12" (or less) and up to about 60" at the outside. I find I most often use 16" (hats, scarves) and 24" for most other things. Occasionally I need a 32". I'm not going to start mentioning other types of needles in detail but there are also double pointed needles (DPNs) and most of these come in metals or woods. They are used for small circumference circular knitting when the number of stitches becomes too small for regular circulars.

 

You have a whole world of fun ahead of you! I hope you love it like I do.

[MsSuzKelly]

Ahh....lots of good info you have shared there...thank you

 

I've seen those double points needles and wondered what they were for. OH gosh I am already loving it - a bit too much. I want to just lock myself up somewhere - where no one will bother me - and knit knit knit. LOL

[MsSuzKelly]

OOH I am checking out the harmony needles...they look devine!!!

[tmpinsnty]

i bought that "i taught myself to knit" kit at walmart and it comes with 2 straight aluminum needles. i also lucked into finded a set of size 8 clover bamboo circulars at walmart for $3.00 on clearance. thanks for the advice on the knitpicks circular sets...i was thinking about getting a set of something

[eyrthmother1]

may i suggest an idea for what to work on? when I learned to knit, I did a TON of dishcloths to start w/. they were small and quickish (as quick as a newby can finish them )to finish, lots of diff patterns for them to practice and work, make great gifts when done, useful, can even do the dishcloth patterns in ww yarn to make an afghan square but not so big and bulky to carry around. several yahoo groups that offer free patterns as mystery cal's and sev folks on them said they do 2 copies of the design...1 as a dishcloth and 1 as a ww square.

 

i understand how you feel...lol. i only learned last in 2009 to knit and in 2010 to knit socks in the round. though not had much time lately to do either knit or crochet...but trying to catch on hooking this wknd..lol

[MsSuzKelly]

may i suggest an idea for what to work on? when I learned to knit, I did a TON of dishcloths to start w/. they were small and quickish (as quick as a newby can finish them )to finish, lots of diff patterns for them to practice and work, make great gifts when done, useful, can even do the dishcloth patterns in ww yarn to make an afghan square but not so big and bulky to carry around. several yahoo groups that offer free patterns as mystery cal's and sev folks on them said they do 2 copies of the design...1 as a dishcloth and 1 as a ww square.

 

i understand how you feel...lol. i only learned last in 2009 to knit and in 2010 to knit socks in the round. though not had much time lately to do either knit or crochet...but trying to catch on hooking this wknd..lol

 

That is a wonderful idea!!! I did find some sampler squares I was fiddling around with - but already hit a roadblock. I am going to the yarn shop this week and get some help.

 

Thanks for that great idea.

[eyrthmother1]

That is a wonderful idea!!! I did find some sampler squares I was fiddling around with - but already hit a roadblock. I am going to the yarn shop this week and get some help.

 

Thanks for that great idea.

 

 

you are welcome. OH!! another trick i learned when i was learning to knit is to copy each line down on an index card. w/ the new terms and stuff, it just helped me to keep them straight and not get messed up.

 

ex:

card 1

co 6

k6

card 2

k2

yo

k2

yo

k2

card 3

k8

card 4

k2

dec

k2

dec

k2

 

 

is that making sense? it helps me keep it straight as to what row im on, and to maybe fig out where i am on the row at times, lol. otherwise was too much info overload.

[tmpinsnty]

you are welcome. OH!! another trick i learned when i was learning to knit is to copy each line down on an index card. w/ the new terms and stuff, it just helped me to keep them straight and not get messed up.

 

ex:

card 1

co 6

k6

card 2

k2

yo

k2

yo

k2

card 3

k8

card 4

k2

dec

k2

dec

k2

 

 

is that making sense? it helps me keep it straight as to what row im on, and to maybe fig out where i am on the row at times, lol. otherwise was too much info overload.

 

thanks for this tip. would help with harder crochet patterns also

[MsSuzKelly]

Yes that makes total sense. I see that with knitting there is a LOT more writing down and keeping track of things as you go. Index cards would be great for this - think I'll get some!!!! Thanks:)

[eyrthmother1]

oh good. sometimes things make sense but i have a hard time explaining what i mean to others. can come in handy sev ways for sure. i was doing a shawl that had sections of repeats. so was like section 2 was 5 rows repeated in order (with an increase section each time)for like 5 times... ack. id have gone even more looney w/o my cards..

[MithraGoddess]

i tend to knit with larger needles, but i'm a fan of holey floppy cloth.. not the stiffer cloth smaller needles can make

[MsSuzKelly]

I am just having a wonderful time with the knitting. I have advanced on to socks now - and dabbling with lace....Woo Hoo:cheer

[Cathoms]

WooHoo...I just learned to knit in the past year. I am currently trying to knit socks. Almost done with the first sock. Hopefully it will actually fit and I will make the second one. It could be a lot of fun but right now it is "difficult". As with most things the more I repeat the process the easier it becomes.

[mamaoso]

WooHoo...I just learned to knit in the past year. I am currently trying to knit socks. Almost done with the first sock. Hopefully it will actually fit and I will make the second one. It could be a lot of fun but right now it is "difficult". As with most things the more I repeat the process the easier it becomes.

 

You might want to join http://knittersbrewing.com/storename/knittersbrewing/ViewDept-271961.aspx on Ravelry looks like a good KAL for socks. I joined because of the new heel. (New to me) She is good with the videos and explaining what to do if youy get into trouble. And no you don't have to buy her yarn to join in..

[MithraGoddess]

Well... if you end up with only one sock you can make a sock puppet!

[alibra]

Yeah!!! It is one of the most relaxing crafts, I love it, still love my crocheting as well!! Happy knitting!!

[Cathoms]

Well... if you end up with only one sock you can make a sock puppet!

 

 

Now there's an idea....

[MsSuzKelly]

I still haven't taken my sock class "yet" - life has gotten in the way. But soon!!!! In the meantime I have been enjoying making dishcloths, trying out new stitches/techniques.