[Bionic]

I get really excited when I see an update on this thread (sorry but I must lead a boring life).
It feel like quite a few of us have had a hand in your knitting and ellie's too and its lovely to hear how you are progressing. Keep 

[Louise Gaunt]

You are making really solid progress, and learning new things by accident, which I suspect is how most of us learnt as well! Reading your comments about silk, you can always include it with wool for knitting when you come to spin your own yarn! Looking forward to hearing progress on a real item.

[Lesley Silvester]

There you go, Russ, you could knit your own silk underwear. 


I'm impressed by your determination and the progress you have made already.


BTW the needle sizes sound about right. Depends on the thickness of the wool.

[RUSTYME]

Erm , it's yellow wool !
There are no labels on any of it , but it is about 1/8th of an inch thìck .
The rib as is atm would be the sort that goes very loose after a while , baggy cuffs etc . So will have to 'tighten' things up  a bit i think .
I can't do the wool with my index finger still . It cripples my finger , so i use my finger and thumb and sort of prop the right hand needle on my lap , hard to explain really , but it works ok atm .

[Bionic]

Russ, I think your needle sizes sound about right too but if you want to be more accurate with wool to needle ration you can do something called WPI (wraps per inch). Take a small piece of card or something and wrap the wool round it for an inch. Have the wool just touching but not overlapping. The amount of times the wool goes round is the WPI. From that you can work out the sort of wool you are using i.e. Double knitting, chunky etc.
I can't remember the exact conversions but if you want to know that one of us will look it up for you.


Don't worry that you aren't urging your index finger. Everyone knits differently to what suits them. By the way I also often rest the end of the needle in my lap. If it works for you that's fine

[Lesley Silvester]

Don't worry that you aren't urging your index finger. Everyone knits differently to what suits them. By the way I also often rest the end of the needle in my lap. If it works for you that's fine

Absolutely, and I rest mine too. When my son learned to knit, he held the left hand needle under one arm as he doesn't have a left hand. We all do it our own way.

[RUSTYME]

Got a book today 'beginners guide to knitting' by Alison Dupernex , amazon , 01p +£2.80 p+p brand new .
Seems a good book , but it could be complete crap and i wouldn't really know lol .
I have been doing an inch or two each night , cast on , rib , stocking stitch . Had a dodgy back . And my hand has been playing up , so just kept on doing this small amount .
Had a look at the book earlier and there are a few things in it i could have a go at now .
A garter stitch scarf , and a kids jumper . Got plenty of poor victims i can force my handy work onto , so may have a go at  something , when i am in the mood .

[Dogwalker]

Good to hear you're still practising,  I was just thinking of you this afternoon when I was scything grass and wondering how it was going.

Definitely time to try a proper pattern.  Remember if you get stuck there's lots of people here ready to help.

[RUSTYME]

Thanks D . I won't do the scarf as i have probably done one 20 times over by now . So a little jumper for a 1 yr old is the second item .
Omg , the destructions are a nightmare . Oh well , in for a penny , it will undo easy enough if it all goes wrong .

[Dogwalker]

Good luck, keep us posted.

[RUSTYME]

Bingo ,
 i can now cast off !
I kept losing the second stitch as i lifted the first stitch over .
I knew it was me doing something wrong , but couldn't work out what . Anyway , it was just tension , i had it too tight .
 Loosened things off and da daaa ! We have cast off !
So i can now cast on ,
do k1 p1 rib
garter stitch
stocking stitch
moss stitch
increase
decrease 
cast off .
So i have the basics i need , other things can come as and when i need them .
I thought i would try the little jumper in the book and also keep my learning 'thing' going as well . That way when i hit something i haven't done before , or have forgotten how to do it , i just do it on the learning set of needles first .
The cast off row was slow , 5 minutes ish for 20 stitches lol , but it was very neat and tidy , well chuffed .
I didn't tie it off at the end , as i will be undoing it all and starting another practice piece .
I will have to knit a couple of practice squares so that i can learn how to sew them together too now .
Just a small step for mankind , but a huge leap for me !

[Bionic]

Russ,
I think that's absolutely fantastic. You have come such a long way and all by yourself too. Well done 

[SallyintNorth]

Russ,
I think that's absolutely fantastic. You have come such a long way and all by yourself too. Well done 

What she said    :applause:

[RUSTYME]

Thanks Sallys' , without the help on here from all of you , not to mention the wool , needles , instructions from DW , i would still be unable to knit .
But i am now able to knit my own jumpers , blankets , covers , in fact whatever i want .
I find it hard to believe that only a short time ago i couldn't knit at all , and now i can knit a fabric that looks as it should and can be shaped into whatever i want it to be .
Why i couldn't do it before i don't know , maybe because my late mum would knit me anything i needed , so i didn't 'need' to learn .
Due to the ongoing move and being all over the place , i  won't be knitting hundreds of 'things' .
 Also not wanting man made fibres , i will need to get fleeces and spin them . Having no sheep atm is a bit of a problem there lol , but i can get fleece ok , but , time and space will put the brakes on that side of things for a bit , but i am patient if nothing else .
 So i will likely just knit the odd small item for gt neices and nephews and something for me here and there , as well as keeping the practice needles going , to learn new stitches and techniques .
I will keep this thread going as normal , letting those interested know how things are going , but i am moving offgrid soon , so posts will be few and far between .
Thanks to all , for the much needed , and appreciated , help , advice and support , ( i won't name names as i will forget someone , so all who posted on this thread) , i literally could not have done it without you , thumbs up , handshakes , hugs as appropriate ,
cheers Russ xxx
 

[Lesley Silvester]

I'm glad all the advice has paid off and that you feel ready to tackle a child's jumper. Fleeces are no difficult to get hold of so that shouldn't be a barrier before you get your own sheep. Do you have a wheel or will you use a drop spindle for the spinning?