h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was taught to knit when I was five or six - primarily to stop me bugging my Mum every thirteen seconds (big mistake, because until I got the hang of it I thereafter bugged her every second seconds with dropped stitches, mystery gained stitches, and weird lumpy bits).

Anyway, I am now a very good knitter - with a few exceptions. Are there any other knitters and crocheters hanging about H2G2? If so, could they please tell me how one knits in the round on half-a-dozen needles without dropping stitches every blasted round? I've been 'at' the same pair of slipper-socks since 1998.

hello.

im also an experienced knitter.

i can knit with any amount of colours, even to doing a willow pattern jumper.
i can do most cable type patterns.
but i cant do lacy things to save my life. the holes come out in the wrong place.

i work mainly with double knitting wool, but have been known to use aran, chunky or baby wools.

ive even been spending time knitting prem sized cardigans for the local baby unit. (do some, they are much appreciated. 12" chest)

but i can honestly say that ive never tried to so socks. when i was a child, my grandma used to sit for hours making them them for her sons and it was fascinating to watch.

so, i suppose im not much help to you.
have you got any books that show you how to knit them? i know its a dying art, but you might find a book in the charity shops.
i have some and could write out the instructions and e-mail them, if that helps.

happy knitting.

helen

Oooh, I CAN knit lace. Bizarrely enough, it's one of the things I'm best at, considering I have the patience of a New York cab driver and am generally clumsy and short-sighted and tend to get sellotape screwed up into little balls even when I'm not tired and drunk.

I do have a pattern for slipper-socks. i was wondering if my double-ended needles were just too short, as stitches keep falling off the back as I knit more on the front, or if there was a clever technique. Thanks very much for the offer though.

I was very intrigued about the knitting things for premature babies. How would I go about offering my services? Just go up to thehospital or is there a society one joins? I've been making booties and cardies ofr my sister's (luckily healthy and full-term) baby and think I've got the hang, and I'd love to do something heart-warmingly useful like that with my hobby.

Hello,
I am not a very experienced knitter, but I have tried knitting in the round on four needles. I got very frustrated with the stitches falling off. I have heard that there are some sort of "caps" to put on the end of the needles that are not in use...although I don't know what they are called. Can anyone help? I am sure there are a lot of knitters out there wanting to make socks without the tears!

prem clothes.

when my granddaughter was born, she only weighed 2lb 9oz. and spent time in the same baby unit as my son did 25 years ago.
i didnt have the wherewithall to do anything then, but i do now.
so i knitted several things for the unit.

12" cardigans.
14" cardigans.
tiny hats.

and there was also a little coffee shop for the patients and visitors, that sold baby clothes as well. so i knitted them a few sets. coats, mittens, hats and boottees. which they sold and the profits got to the baby unit.


if you go to your local maternity unit and ask for the special baby care section, someone will come out and talk to you. they are grateful for anything as they often hand out clothes to those who have been caught unprepared with an early delivery.

it doesnt matter on what colour wool and you can get plenty of smaller sized knitting patterns these days. you can knit and sew one up in a night.
i use up my oddments and make up patterns. usually a white cardigan with just a few stripes, simple things like that, but it uses up all of your scraps of wool.

helen

I knit and so does my mother and grandmother. Maybe you really have too short needles, I haven't had much trouble with falling stitches on the two pairs of socks I've knitted. Though most of the time I had only three needles in the knitting (and one to knit with), because the ends of the needles are in the way (the instructions said there should be four needles in the knitting and one to knit with, so I did the complicated bits like that and the straight bits with one needle less). We moved a month ago and I haven't knitted anything since, I should start a new knitting but the patterns and yarns I have don't match so I would need to find a suitable pattern from my mothers magazines first (or just improvise).

I am all about improvising! But like I said, I am just a newbie in the knitting world. My boyfriend gave me the book Stitchn'bitch for Christmas and it is truly amazing. I have kniteed 2 hats, a scarf, legwarmers, a few patches that I may turn into afghans, and a few other odds and ends since then. None of it is very good but I am surley getting better. It is a great hobby on the long bus ride to work!

You can pick up a set of point protectors for very cheap. Snapping a set onto each of your needles should solve the problem of dropping stitches off one end while working off the other. Here's a link to a site i've ordered from in the past. Good luck!

http://www.jklneedles.com/html/disccathicatlist.cfm?xyzabc1=1&&xyzabc2=PP&startat=1