December 2018 - Christmas party and the mystery knitting toy pieces game

As this is the last meeting before Christmas, there was the usual charity donations table collecting items to go to the sale table at the Royal Marsden.

There was also the opportunity for a few seasonal nibbles and drinks.

Given the time of year, there was little in the way of updates on shows or events as things tend to quieten down around Christmas. Fuelled by minced pies, there was a lively discussion on linkers, both the round kind (ie. Hague) and the straight kind (ie. Blinky). This took a seasonal twist when it was suggested that one way to leave a Hague linker out at this time of year would be to attach a sink plunger to the front, wrap it in tinsel, and declare it a Christmas Dalek! 

For those who know little of machine knitting, the KnitBritish podcast recently did an episode on "demystifying" machine knitting. It's over an hour long, and is a relaxing slow-paced listen, so easy background listening to a hand knitting or crocheting project.
http://www.knitbritish.net/ep-111/

Reminder that there's no club meeting in January. The next meeting is Tuesday 5th February. If there is snow and it's too inclement to safely access the venue, then an update will be posted here, and emailed to members.

Show and tell

Sally made a machine knit scarf and a hand knit hat for the donations table.

Rene has been working with fairisle test pieces on a Brother 800 using 12 stitch repeats and producing some interesting textured results.

Nina finished a cowl neck jumper that was started at the Ann Brown machine knitting weekend. A mix of yarns was used, The neckline uses half fishermans rib to give the desired drape.

Carol hand knit 3 hats for the donations table.

Liz is stash-busting part-balls of sock yarn, and knitting a scarf. The pattern is textured and intentionally variegated which helps when using up a mix of variegated yarns.

Guess the toy puzzle

Liz had been approached by a local gentleman who had a bag of unfinished knitted toys that his wife had made before she sadly passed away. All the component parts for each toy had been carefully put together in bags, but there wasn't any instructions. We each took a lucky-dip in the bag of bags and it turned into a fun game to guess what the toy was supposed to be. We each took home a bag to finish making up the toys, which can either be given to a local charity shop in time for Christmas, or brought along to club next year and included in a club charity donation.

Hand exercises for knitters

Knitting or crocheting for long periods of time can be common in the run up to Christmas and the desire to finish off presents or charity projects in time. It's important to not over-do things, to take regular breaks, and remember to stretch. There are plenty of instructions now available on the internet of helpful stretching exercises for hands, arms, shoulders and necks. We had a relaxing 10 minutes working through a sheet of exercises, though it was also a little giggly as the lack of pictures left us rather bamboozled of how exactly the 'alligator' should be done!

Here are a couple of instructions that include images and videos:

https://www.laughinghens.com/blog/hand-stretches-for-knitters-and-crocheters

https://knitfreedom.com/top-5-stretches-for-knitting-pain-relief/

https://blog.weareknitters.com/knitters-life/hand-exercises-for-knitters/

Lion Brand yarn video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOpDVR4UGTs