True Love!

[KnottedYet]

Wool yarn is lovely to work with. My favorite for years was a brand called "Brown Sheep." It had such a nice texture! And it smelled good.

I need to start knitting again. I was given some beautiful wooden needles for Christmas/Hannukkah.

[Bikingmomof3]

My favourite yarns to knit with come from Norway. If I do buy yarns in the US, I will use Galway, Brown Sheep, or Cascade 220.

I almost exclusively knit sweaters. Most of my patterns come from Garnstudio or Dale of Norway. These patterns can be purchased in the US, but I usually buy them in Norway.

[Blueberry]

Oh - I feel for you I usually beg my LYS (Local Yarn Shop) to wind it for me

I have a hank of sock yarn (eek) that didn't come from my LYS that I haven't knitted for the sole reason that it's in a hank, and I can't imagine what a bear it will be to wind into a ball....*sigh*

CA

[mtbdarby]

Brandi, I think you should take a picture of dh winding the yarn for you. Next time you get mad at him pull out the picture to remind you want a great guy he is!

[mimitabby]

knitting has always seemed so much more difficult for me than crochet.
anyone else crochet here?

[Bikingmomof3]

I enjoy the process of winding a hank of yarn into a ball. For that reason I have never purchased a swift.

[Blueberry]

I enjoy the process of winding a hank of yarn into a ball. For that reason I have never purchased a swift.

Any tips you'd care to share I'm a little intimidated by the process

[Bikingmomof3]

I open the hank, wrap it around a chair, my feet, or DH's arms and begin rolling it. For me, keeping the ball as tight as possible works best. The process does not take me too long, but I have been doing this for a long time.

[Offthegrid]

knitting has always seemed so much more difficult for me than crochet.
anyone else crochet here?

I find knitting WAAAY easier. My mom tried to teach me to crochet so many times and I just can't get the tension right. And I understand the whole wrapping the yarn around your fingers to help with the tension thing.

With knitting, it's no big deal. I learned about 18 months ago and love it. Very relaxing.

I have the yarn for a sweater (got a simple pattern -- the first time I proposed to try cables) but just haven't bought the size needle I need. So lazy! It'll be next winter before I get that thing done.

But, BTW, I *hate* rolling the yarn into the balls. It's so boring. I want to get down to the project. Just like when I cross-stitch something, I hate putting the border on at the end. *yawn*

[mimitabby]

I find knitting WAAAY easier. My mom tried to teach me to crochet so many times and I just can't get the tension right. And I understand the whole wrapping the yarn around your fingers to help with the tension thing.

With knitting, it's no big deal. I learned about 18 months ago and love it. Very relaxing.

*

oh, how funny, you are the opposite of me! With knitting, i had trouble with tension, dropping stitches, ak. With crochet, it just flies by and becomes a (relatively) beautiful thing.

[five one]

knitting has always seemed so much more difficult for me than crochet.
anyone else crochet here?

I can crochet, but haven't made anything in years. Counted cross stitch kind of took over as the craft du jour sometime back. I know the mechanics of knitting, but like you, I have trouble with tension. I'd like to give it try again sometime. We have a great shop in town and I'm sure they give lessons. I think I'd need help if I were ever to try following a pattern.

BMo3, I've looked at your knitting blog. You do BEAUTIFUL work! I am very impressed by the pictures . Lovely yarn, gorgeous sweaters and socks.

[Brandi]

Ohhh the debbie bliss alpaca silk. I have touched that stuff and it is sooo dreamy. I am drooling just thinking about it. I am not aloud I would ruin anything made out of it I am sure!

[Kano]

Ohhh the debbie bliss alpaca silk. I have touched that stuff and it is sooo dreamy. I am drooling just thinking about it. I am not aloud I would ruin anything made out of it I am sure!

I did a sweater with alpaca many many years ago, and loved that sweater. It was a bulky yarn, and I was able to toss it in the washer/dryer, gently. I don't know what ever happened to it, but it never got worn looking or stained, or anything. You'd LOVE an alpaca sweater.

I recently bought a new batch of alpaca yarn, and it's heavenly -- beautiful, gossamer, and a delight to work with. The worsted weight alpacas work up nicely too -- and when I felted a project a couple of months ago, the felted stuff is still VERY soft, even though it's firm and thick and has great body.

My current passion is socks -- I've got at least five pairs going, so I can keep moving from yarn to yarn as I get temporarily bored with each of them!

This is really cutting into my sewing time -- good thing it's ski season and my bike is hiding from the chilly air!

Karen in Boise, who's not as tough as Tater