One hit (knitting) wonder seeks advice

#1

Hi all. I haven’t been on the forums in a while because, well, I’ve been knitting the same baby blanket over and over (and over and over). I love the pattern and love to give them as gifts and when the stash grows too large I donate them. But I would really like to move on. I have done a few scarves and a couple of years ago I did a sweater in a very simple stitch with very bulky yarn - I only wear it around the house!

Can anyone give me some advice about digging out of my knitting rut? I would love to do a sock but dpn seems so intimidating. I would also love to take a class or at least hang out in a yarn shop and pick up tips but I travel a great deal on business and when I do I am usually out of the country for months at a time so committing to a class or group would be difficult.

What next step should I take?

Thanks for any input you might have!

Kitty

#2

It sounds like you like to make things as gifts, and you like to make things for babies. Mason-Dixon knitting has a cute and easy baby kimono that you knit out of worsted weight cotton (like dishcloth cotton, or another kind if you can find it). They turn out really cute, but would give you some variety.

Mittens and hats (hats are good introductions to using dpns, if you’re up for it) are also good things for gifts - many towns/churches have hat/mitten trees for the holidays.

#3

Do you have a knitting yarn shop where you buy your yarn? These are usually run by very friendly people who are more than willing to help you when you run into difficulties. I would never have persevered through several beginning projects if I hadn’t had the help from the people at the yarn shop near me. Whenever I encountered a difficulty, I’d hop in the car and head over there. Now, I rarely need to go there for help. I started knitting one year ago. I did a very basic hat for my first time using dpn’s. It was amazingly easy. I hope you find the help you’re looking for.

#4

There are several ways to do socks- dpns, two circular needles, one circular needle… there are even some patterns that you do on regular straight needles and then seam them up! If you want to try socks, I would recommend using one of Silver’s sock tutorials. They are very helpful- good directions and lots of pictures! There are also videos on this site that can help you figure out any of the methods I mentioned- among other things. :slight_smile:

#5

I agree. I was intimidated my DPNs but I started knitting hats with circs and when the stitches were too few, I switched to dpns. Everyone I give a hat to is very impressed. At 1st worried about sizing, but pretty much all the hat patterns are designed for the average head. This was my 1st hat, it was very simple, I’ve made it several times now. http://tiajudy.com/simplestcap.htm

One of the things I learned was to use a lifeline so if I messed my stitches up, I frogged back to the life line, instead of dealing with the frustration of trying to get my needles back on correctly.

I have the mason dixon book also and plan to co the baby kimono in early 09 as a gift.

Good luck…:knitting: :knitting:

#6

have you tried hats? they’re my favorite for doing a quick project that’s a little different. i start out on circulars and switch to dpns toward the end. they’re not as scary when you only have to use them for a little while. :slight_smile:

crazy aunt purl has my favorite “recipe”. it’s her pumpkin hat, but the pattern is so easy to remember, that i’ve used it over and over again for other hats.
http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2007/10/reversible_knit.php

#7

Off Topic: do you have pics of your Race for the Cure scarf?

#8

hm, i thought that would actually reply under another post. i was trying to ask luvmykid28, not the general population. :slight_smile:

#9

Thank you all so much for your replies and suggestions! I think I will alwyas have a baby blanket going but now I feel like maybe I can branch out a bit. . .

#10

I’d suggest getting yourself some circular needles and experiment with knitting in the round. There is just so much you can do that way, including socks, hats, and seamless sweaters.

#11

Hello,
I was trying to grasp circulars, but they r so hard for me. I was actually trying today for about 3 hours. Tried both ways.
But I actually taught myself how to use dpns and actually made a hat today. They aren’ too bad to do, but I would suggest start out with large ones maybe size 13. That is what I used and it helped.
I watch several videos also, one posted here and another on u tube under dpn knitting. I like the one posted tips by Judy.
She works for movie productions.

Check it out.

Kathy

#12

I am knitting my first sweater on my new Denise circulars and used the video clips on this site to help. But, if you want more info, check out this link:http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/circular.html
I love knitting on my circulars, even for back and forth knitting. Because the needles are so short and light…easier for me. I want to learn how to do the Magic Loop technique next.