Techniques: What's in my Knitting Bag?

Happy Saturday everyone!! Hope you are all well and are having a lovely weekend no matter what you are doing. It is a lovely day today, and I have been working at the Dickens Festival in Rochester where it was a lovely day but very busy, so I am completely hibernating tonight

Today's post is about what is in my knitting bag. There are plenty of posts out there on a range of bloggers websites regardless of what they blog about, on what is in my handbag. Now If I went through my handbag we would be here all week- especially since I have just bought the most wonderful handbag and I do like to carry a lot of stuff with me. So instead of boring you with the content of my Mary Poppins Handbag, I am going to share what is in my knitting kit and stuff I couldn't be without for my knitting.

So this little pencil case goes everywhere with me. It came free with Knit Today when I had a subscription, and to begin with it smelt horrendous and I thought it was cheap. However, I used it to store my stitch markers in anyway as I wasn't really using them, and now it has become brilliant. It doesn't smell at all, in fact it smells a bit like my perfume now, and I've slowly and surely added all my essentials so I can just carry them all around easy.

Here is everything this little case contains. It has more markers, but you get the idea. It squishes a lot, and everything just about fits in, if I get it in the right order and hope!! So here we go. All my knitting essentials.

This is my selection of needles. Sewing needles this time. Now the Pony ones in the middle are the ones I use all the time, and I mean ALL the time. I use them for sewing up my work and in this pack you get 2 needles, one for the thinner yarns and one for the bulky ones. They cost about 90p and are so very perfect. I completely could never be without them. The ones on the right, with the orange pack are 1950s needles I inherited with all my buttons and they are very very thin for small buttons and beads. The other side are my button needles. They are smaller than my sewing up needles but bigger than the beading ones.

These are my row counters. I have two, one small one designed for the end of a needle, and the other one was a freebie with Simply Knitting. I seriously could not be without my big flower counter. I love it. The smaller one I use now if I have to count more than one thing at once. You can also see my pen, that I always have on me, in my handbag, and I like to note down changes to a pattern or if its my pattern then what is going on.

Pair of scissors- obviously. And that sad looking little bumblebee without its googly eye and the print kinda faded, well he is my tape measure!! Many patterns will say something like stocking stitch for 9 inches, or garter stitch for 3cm. So a tape measure is pretty essential. This one came free with Simply Knitting too.

So the big safety pin things? They are stitch holders. If I am working on a cardigan or in fact anything where I will be coming back to stitches later to work on them I use these. You don't need these because you can always put those stitches onto a piece of spare yarn, but I have these and I prefer to use them, I find them easier. At the bottom of this picture are a selection of my stitch markers- little padlock style (which I probably use the most), little hoops, and keyring style. All of these were free with magazines too.

So there you go. That is what I have in my knitting bag, and all the notions I couldn't do without. So tell me, what's in your knitting bag?

Techniques: Needles

Happy Saturday Everyone!! Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend whatever you are getting up to.

Today's post is all about knitting needles, and the ones I love to use. There are so many different types of knitting needle, and when you first start out it can all be a bit overwhelming. What to use, where to buy them? I hope to answer a few of these questions and more in this post, so you can understand how I started and what I use.

Ok, I started off with plastic needles that I got free with the kit I bought when I first started. I bought a Let's Get Crafting kit, with yarn and needles in, and a pattern book. This gave me everything I needed except my tutor, my mum. So I started with plastic needles and I thought I was never going to be able to work on anything else. They give as you knit, they are easy to use and lets be honest, they were free. Then I needed a size I didn't have in plastic so I had to buy metal needles. I bought Pony needles, they are a really reasonable price, available everywhere and easy to use.

These metal needles have come from all over the place, some I have bought, others I have got from my Grandma's stash and charity shops. When you are in a charity shop, ask because sometimes they don't have them out but out the back, and they normally have lots to choose from. The size of the needle is on the top of these so you can always find the right sizes.

Metal needles also come in a range of lengths. I prefer the shortest ones because I knit very small things normally and they are just easier to work with. I find it difficult to knit on long needles. I am not alone, my mum only likes small ones, and we both cram our stitches on. My grandmother-in-law knit with a really long needle that went under one arm, and a small one to actively knit with. Not my way, but her way. Everyone knits differently. So I was never going to stop using my metal needles. What was the need in any others I thought?

Then I got the most fabulous christmas present. Below are my knitting loves. My Knit Pro Rosewood Needles. Now these are what my Step-Dad calls the most expensive needles in the world, and they are pretty expensive. But they aren't the only set of interchangable needles on the market so you don't need the most expensive ones to have these.

These are the needles. They are rosewood, and they have plastic cables that connect them. You can see the 3.5mm there on the cable, and these have all sizes up to 8mm. You simply screw the cable off the needles and add the size you need, and you are off. I love wooden needles, and they hurt my hands a lot less after a lot of knitting than my metal ones.

Here we go, this is inside the box. The plastic wallet contains my cables in varying length, the ends for the cables (if you want to stop a project and start another, you can screw off the needles, add the caps and your work can stay on the cable.) and the screws that attach the needles tightly to the cables.

Now if you do have a set of these needles, they have the size printed on the side. This printing doesn't last very long in my experience, so I have this little guy in my box. He is a needle sizer and the holes match up to the sizes of the needle. I like this little owl, he is cute and handy.

So what kind of needles do you prefer?

Techniques: Storage

Happy Techniques Saturday everyone!! Hope everyone is well and having a lovely weekend.

Today's post is all about storage. I have a lot of yarn-obviously. My stash is somewhat epic due to the toy knitting. I have lots of half balls where I use a little each time. So it is totally essential that I have a place to store them, since the Blattman is not overly happy with it living everywhere!!! I am going to share with you how I store my yarn.

In our study, I have a cupboard for my bits and pieces. The first role for this cupboard is for the Blattman's suits and my long dresses. It is a lovely floor length cupboard so it is perfect for my posh dresses to hang nicely. However I don't have too many so there is plenty of room for my yarn too. It also has a fab shelf in it for the boxes. So here we go, welcome to the yarn closet!!

Now this isn't the best picture but you get the idea. This is my laundry bin of DK. This has all my toy knitting yarn in, so it is pretty much all acrylic and not really any full balls in here. I have a few lavender bags all through this bin and that keeps the moths from getting too attached to my lovely bits. This fits perfectly in the bottom of the wardrobe, and is also plenty of room behind the bin for books- yay!! This laundry bin came from Ikea and we have three of these, in fact one saved me the other day when I fell up the stairs, and they are about £5, probably less. They are brilliant.

In the top of the cupboard here, I have 2 boxes. These are great and I got them at the Works in Lakeside, and they were 2 for £10. They fold down flat too so they can always be packed away if I am not using them. The added benefit of this is that the sides, as you can see, are poppers. I can simply pop open the side and then get at the yarn I want, rather than keep taking the boxes out the cupboard. The bottom box is my box with chunky and aran weight yarns. The top box actually contains a lot of my World War 1 and 2 collection, and the folders in there are also part of that collection. The big box lying on its side is actually a shoe box (the Blattman has seriously big feet) and it is for FOs for Christmas and Birthdays in there. Right next to the gift bags. Lastly, the little box at the front, that's a pom pom maker. 

I have my current yarn that I am working on in a Disney store Muppets bag and that sits next to the sofa in the living room, I have everything I am working on, and yarns to review and other bits that I am currently using in there.

So that's it. That's how I store my yarn- How do you store yours?

Techniques: Yarn Weights

Happy Saturday Everyone!!! Techniques Saturday has arrived and today I am going to be chatting about different yarn weights and how you tell the difference, as well as a few tips about each weight. There can also be confusion about different names depending on where you are in the world so hopefully I can sort out a few issues, and sort it out. I'll also talk about recommended needle sizes for the yarn too.

• Lace/1ply/2ply: This is the smallest weight of yarn, and is normally used for lacy shawls and other lacy projects. It is normally knit on needles smaller than 2.75mm. The picture above shows my one ball of laceweight yarn, it is a pure silk and is so so beautiful I've had it over a year and still cannot use it. I just look at it. Some of you may think I'm nuts but I know most of you do the same thing!!!
• Fingering/4ply/ Sockweight: This is normally the yarn you would use for socks and some of the lighter weight baby clothes. It is normally knit on 2.75-3.25mm needles 
• DK(Double Knitting)/8ply: This is probably the most widely produced size for yarn in the UK but not so much in the US. We have probably the most choice in DK here. Below you can see the picture of Patons Trentino and the thickness of the yarn and where on the ball band you can find the recommended needle size. DK is normally around the 4mm needle size. 

• Aran/Worsted: This is normally knit on 4.5-5.5mm needles and is slightly thicker than DK. Worsted is more common in the US and is normally used for toys like we use DK. The picture below shows Patons Fusion (which I bought on tuesday). This is as popular for all items the same as DK.

•  Chunky/Bulky: This is a thick yarn normally used for thick jumpers and other big items. I've made big hats and scarves with chunky and it knit up so very quickly!!! Chunky normally knits up on 5.5mm/8mm needles depending on the thickness of the yarn and the project that you are knitting. Below is Rowan Romance, and as you can see, is recommended for 7mm needles. 

• Super Chunky/Super Bulky: This is very very thick yarn, and knits up so quick you will hardly notice!!! Knit normally on 8mm or larger needles. I have used a variety in the past including Stylecraft Life Super Chunky and I tend to use it for big scarves. The Blattman has a big thick scarf knit in super chunky that always gets stolen first whenever we go out with anyone who needs a scarf!!!

So how can I tell the difference if it is not written on the label? Some lovely yarns don't tell you what weight they are. I can imagine most of you don't have a handy person you can text when you have no clue what it is.  (I do- if she answers her phone!!!) In the shop, you can use the needle size on the ball band. Rowan Romance for example does not tell you on it, just that little clue of the needles. 

If you have a random ball in your stash (we all do) which has in fact lost its ball band to that place where odd socks live, then how do you do it then? Well you use a wraps per inch tool, and count those wraps. I know you are all looking at me like I am nuts!! 

This is a wraps per inch tool care of Purlesence and it is in the shape of a Llama- what more could you want!!! Well what you do is you take your yarn, wrap it around the body of the llama, or stick if you have that version, count the amount of wraps and then see how many you have. Simple as that. You can also use a big needle or a ruler to check this out too. Beneath is a general rule about how many wraps it takes.

4ply- 14 Wraps

DK- 11 wraps

Aran- 8 wraps

Bulky- 7 wraps

Well, I hope this has been useful to you, comment with your ideas or things you want to know too!! Have a great day!

Techniques: Using Stitch Markers

Happy Saturday Everyone!!! Hope you are all well.

This is the return of Techniques Saturday, and today I am sharing with you all on how to use Stitch markers. Stitch markers are pretty useful in quite a lot of the patterns for the little clothes that I have been showing you. All of my stitch markers have come free from magazines. They are available in most knitting shops and also on Etsy, if you would like more handmade and different ones. Deramores have these split ring style ones in stock and they are fairly reasonable. Mine, that I am using below, look like little padlocks, and I also have ones that look like keyrings. They all do the same job.

Now the photograph above also shows how to put a stitch marker on a needle, You simple slip the marker on where it says in the pattern in between the stitches. Normally in the pattern, the abbreviation is PM which means Place Marker. Simply slip it on between the stitches. Simple as that. Normally you will increase or decrease either side of the marker.

This photograph shows how they are on the needle. You are also looking at my lovely rosewood Knit-Pro circulars- I love them!!! As you are knitting, and increasing or decreasing as the pattern says, you simply slip the stitch marker from one needle to the other as you knit. You will normally see the abbreviation SM, or Slip Marker. As the pattern changes and the markers are removed, you will be told to do so.

Stitch markers can also be used even if you are not told to. They are great if you need to keep a border on an item. For example, if you are knitting a dishcloth with a 4 stitch garter stitch border, you can use stitch markers to ensure that you don't forget- which I do, and have to go back and unpick it-yuck!!! Also a lot of patterns won't include these stitches and just tell you to keep the borders even. Stitch markers can help you remember.

You can also use a stitch marker to mark a particular stitch. In this case, you don't put the marker on the needle, but actually on the stitch itself. You normally use these to mark a particular row or stitch for when you are sewing up or seaming at the end.

I hope this post has been useful, and please tell me what you want to know about and what techniques you are confused about.

Techniques: Substitution

Happy Saturday everyone!!! Bit late today, I know, but the Blattman is starting work a little later today, so it has been nice to get some time together before he goes. I am also having epic issues with my computer being the slowest thing in the world!!! I have also been trying to work out what to knit. Does anyone else get that? Where you keep looking at patterns and the yarn you have and just never manage to pick one? This happens to me on a big scale. I have knit so many patterns and sometimes I just need a bit of a kick. I wanted to do a techniques post on using stitch markers, but I haven't picked up a pattern to knit using stitch markers so I'll do that next Saturday.

On today's techniques post I am going to be talking about Substitution. These things are kinda basic for all you advanced knitters but I think its worth talking about. I was confused initially about this when I started knitting and relied on my Mum to talk me through it and help me out. Hopefully I can explain a bit about it as well as she does.

All patterns are knit or tested with a particular yarn. You will find this especially in magazines, because they use one yarn for their pattern and for the samples for the photographs. But in a lot of magazines the yarn they use is either so difficult to find or so blooming expensive that there is no way you can afford to knit it. I am definitely a great believer in Substitution. I love to check out my stash and use what is in there rather than have to go out and buy more. There are a few things to remember when it comes to Substitution.

1. Use Same or Similar Fibres. Each yarn is made from a different combination of fibres and each one knits differently. If you knit a pattern designed for a pure wool yarn in cotton, it probably isn't going to work out!

2. Work out How much you will need. When you buy yarn, on the label it will tell you how much is on a ball. Find out how many balls of the pattern yarn will be used for your size. Check how many yards or metres are on each of the original balls and then add it up to work out how much is recommended. When you buy your preferred choice, check on the ball band there how many yards or metres is on one of those, and work out how many you will need.

3. Check Tension. Tension Square= Tension Headache. Not really. Each thickness of yarn has its own tension, and each ball will have its own tension. A pure wool yarn will have a different tension to a cotton yarn. Some yarns will require bigger needles but still be a chunky weight yarn. Check out the tension square on the ball band to show this.

Here we go, here is an example of a ball band. This particular one is from Robin Picasso DK. You can see from this that there are the washing instructions, the tension square there, the recommended needle size, and the 270 metres on the ball there.

For internet patterns this can be the same as the magazine patterns, but with Ravelry you tend to find that the test knitters use all sorts of yarn, and with the great project gallery you can normally find the yarn that you want to use!!

Only 2 more days for the competition before it closes so make sure all you followers that you enter for a chance to win!! Have a great weekend all!!

Techniques: Blocking

Hi everyone!! Happy Saturday!! Back to the rain again, and the perfect knitting weather. I have finally finished my feather and fan blanket!! YAY!!! This is a great thing, because it was becoming very tedious, but I must say  it looks amazing, and I am very pleased with it. But you will have to wait one more day for YOTD. So, as I sat pinning it out, I thought maybe I should share with you the technique of blocking..

When I first started knitting, I thought what's the point in blocking? And as I knit toys there really wasn't any point in blocking, and there really isn't when you are knitting toys, the small pieces are sewn up and stuffed that they really don't need it. You can if you want, but I don't think it is necessary.

Then I started knitting shawls, lace, and clothes. Now with lace, you really need to block it to get the best results, and to see all the hard work that you have put in. With clothes, it is best to block the work so that when you seam them, the work is flat and you get the size that is on the pattern. Also, stocking stitch will need blocking much much more than garter stitch. Stocking stitch curls and makes it really difficult to get something to lay flat and to seam too.

Let's go totally back to basics with this one. I had no idea how to block and had to ask one of the much better experts on Ravelry how to do it. So here we go, firstly, what do you need to be able to block? You are going to need pins, a towel, something to block on and something to spray water with.

Now above you can see half my blanket. It's only half because it is wider than my blocking mat so I am doing it in halves. So what you can see in the picture above is my blanket pinned out on a towel which is on top of an old exercise mat. That's right, that's how we exercise in this house!! Now this mat was donated to me during my In-Laws last house move and I actually have my sister in law's too for this purpose. These are spongy and give me lots to work with when I'm putting the pins in. The mat underneath is also folded over so it is actually twice the length and I have been known to block a lot of things at one time.

Before I had this mat, I have been known to use the old lagging from our old immersion heater, or lots of towels piled up to take the pins. I was always scouring charity shops for the foam kids mats too, but the exercise mats came up first. You can buy special blocking mats if you want.

 Now there are plenty of different types of blocking. You can submerge your work in a bowl of water, take off the excess water and then pin it out. Personally I am totally scared of that, pushing my work into water. It works perfectly for others and I'm sure it will work for me, but I just prefer to spray my work. I know it works on most yarns, and won't felt things either. I just like it. As you can see, I use a carafe of water, with an old spray top from a cleaning bottle. This makes it easy to spray all over my work and I get an even amount of water.

So here's what I do. Pin out your work on top of your towel and mat to the size or to show the lace. Spray the work with water. Make sure the work is wet, not dripping but wet. Then leave it to dry. Let it dry naturally and then unpin it and you are done. If it is work that needs seaming, you will now be able to sew it up and see the edges better, especially if it is stocking stitch.

I really hope this has helped a few people. You will really see a difference when you block something. It is neater somehow, and all the stitches line up nicely, and you get a better fit to your work. Blocking isn't for everyone. My mum never blocks and her knitting is so very beautiful as it is. Her clothes come out perfect every time. She probably wouldn't say that, but I would. One day I will show you her cables- you will be in awe!!!

Have a great day everyone, keep warm and safe, and enjoy your weekend