[Ina]

From the JC Rennie website, under Technical info.

How many garments can I make from a 0.9kg cone (greasy)
This depends on what garment you are making and what size. We can normally make three or four sweaters with a 0.9 kg cone. Generally think backwards. If you are knitting 8 pairs of socks which you estimate will weigh 100 grams for each pair then a 0.9kg cone (greasy) should suffice.

My bad, they were talking about 900g cones not 500g.

I've just had a look at that - that's the machine knitting yarn. Very thin - 2-ply - the normal handknitting yarn would be 4-ply (which explains why they are getting so many garments out of one cone!).

[Ina]

Seeing that I've been going on about real Guernseys, I thought I'd better tell you where to get the yarn for that.

http://www.guernseywool.co.uk/index.html

Not cheap - but the end result is almost waterproof and will last for years. Especially if you do what I intend to do with my next one - knit the bottom ribbing top-down, so I can repair it easily. Mind you, my old one lasted for about 8 years, and I was wearing it almost non-stop! They do patterns as well.

[jaykay]

I'm sorely tempted by a Guernsey, once I've worked through my current stash 

[Ina]

I'm already trying to decide on the colour - although it'll be at least a year until I'm "allowed"! 

[Lesley Silvester]

I'm tempted.  I'm very tempted.  I particularly like the heather colour.

[Ina]

My old one is dark navy - very traditional; I always wanted a black one, but that's hard on the eyes, especially when you are knitting in less than ideal conditions... I like the cedar, too.

[jaykay]

Someone at our Guild knitted a beautiful lace shawl. It was black, but she'd knitted it white, so she could see it, and then dyed it black afterwards 

[Birdie Wife]

argh you guys are far too tempting!

Some of those cones say machine knit vs hand knit. What is the difference between them in terms of yarn, and can you hand knit with yarn meant for machines?

Dans

Yes you can - wool for machine knitting generally comes on cones and is oiled to help it go through the machine easier, but there's no reason why you can't hand knit with it. It'll feel a bit different to 'hand knit' yarns but once you wash it, the strands bloom and soften considerably.
 
I knitted a gansey for my DH last year. The seamless construction is brilliant. The pattern was easy to adapt as well, so as DH is a tree surgeon I put in rope cables, knit/purl ladder pattern and tree of life. Then - disaster - I washed it at too high a temperature and it felted really badly!! I haven't attempted another one yet 

[Ina]

That's very sad... They do say on the website that the Guernsey yarn isn't suitable for machine wash, but I'm sure I've washed mine in a wool wash cycle. But I suppose no wool can stand too high temperatures!

[Anke]

Re knitting in the round - Elizabeth Zimmermann should have designs on this?
I knit all my standard jumpers/cardigans in the round, starting from the top. There is a point just before you take the arms off for doing later that the rows are endless.....

[Ina]

... or at least it seems that way!  I'm at over 500 stitches at the moment and still increasing...

[Lesley Silvester]

That is a lot of stitches but I suppose it depends on the thickness of the wool.  I avoid anything finer than double knit.

[Anke]

That is a lot of stitches but I suppose it depends on the thickness of the wool.  I avoid anything finer than double knit.

double knit....   even after 20plus years knitting in the UK that's another thing us silly continental knitters can't remember... I always have to look at the length per 100/50g to gauge how much I need for a project...

[Lesley Silvester]

I can't work it out that way.

[jaykay]

It is what you're used to. I have American friends I discuss knitting with too and their system is different again - and they measure yarn in yards per pound