Knitting

Hi @DeSpence @Gwynn @Oaktree @Shaz51 @maddison @Daisydreamer @Former-Member @tyme @Appleblossom @Eve7 @Former-Member @FloatingFeather @Former-Member and all knitters and crafty people here.

@DeSpence I’m so glad your daughter has found the benefits of knitting to help her agoraphobia as I know it is calming and relaxing for me. I’m also proud that she is going out and buying yarn for her new found interest which is great! If she’s anything like me, she may just get too much wool and not enough projects to spend time working on them! Knitting can be addictive but it does have great mental health benefits as well.

I just thought I’d post some photos of my latest knitting projects I’ve got currently on the go at the moment whilst I’m having a break at PARCS. I’m back knitting the cable scarf for my housemates mother and I’m also working on blanket I started nearly 2 weeks ago when I had an episode of psychosis. I’d like to complete the blanket whilst I’m here at PARCS with nearly 2 balls of wool to knit but I’ll just take my time and not try and stress about completing it too much.

I’m also knitting 2 beanies for 2 residents here after getting a few nice compliments on the beanie I wore a few days ago as well.

The blanket I’m knitting is on 5mm knitting needles with 170 stitches on it in an 8 row pattern that I found on Facebook. It’s just over 90cm long and I’m planning on having 6 colours in it to donate to charity as they really need blankets.
The scarf is using Bendigo Woollen Mills wool called 8ply Luxury in the colour called Koala and I’m using 2 strands of wool to make it thick which is what the pattern called for. This is like the 4th time I’ve started this scarf as I’ve lost it due to moving and once it got damaged due to laundry detergent spilling on it so I’ve had to restart it each time to limited success. The cable pattern is an 8 row pattern with the cables occurring in rows 3 and 7 which is difficult to handle but luckily there’s only 43 stitches on the needle so it isn’t so bad. It just requires lots of focus so I have to pick my times when I work on it. At PARCS yesterday, I was able to spend most of the day working on it which was a real achievement in my eyes. I’m planning to have it ready by Christmas to give to my housemates mother so I’m setting a goal to do a minimum of 8 rows each day or 1 set of the pattern to try and get it finished in time even if I have to set an alarm to wake up early in the morning to work on it. I do like the pattern- it’s just complicated in terms of having to focus and concentrate on it and needing quiet time to do it which is hard as my housemate likes to talk and be sociable with me. I’ll get it done slowly but surely!

Take care and stay safe but also enjoy your knitting!

Judi9877☺️🧶

Hi @Gwynn @DeSpence @Oaktree @Shaz51 @maddison @Former-Member @tyme @Former-Member @FloatingFeather @Former-Member @Daisydreamer and all crafty critters here.

@Gwynn thanks for replying to my thread! As for crochet, I can totally understand your problem with patterns as I have just been through a similar problem today with me pulling out my rectangle crochet blanket because I made a mess of it and have now started a granny square blanket which I prefer and am more confident and happy with. See below for the photos!

I look forward to seeing some photos of your creations!

Take care!

Judi9877☺️🧶

Good evening @Gwynn @DeSpence @Oaktree @Shaz51 @maddison @tyme @Former-Member @Paperdaisy @Former-Member @Eve7 @Daisydreamer @Former-Member and all knitters and crafters here. I hope you are going well.

So, I finished my blanket an hour ago at PARCS and although it’s finished, I’m a little disappointed in it as it’s not wide enough or long enough to be an adult blanket which is what I was hoping to achieve. It’s 1m wide x 1.54m high and an adult blanket is meant to be 1.2m wide x 1.6m high. I’ve been told it will make a perfect baby or child blanket which is cool but I’m still feeling a little down on it. I don’t have enough wool to make it bigger or wider but I’ve learnt for next time and I’ve ordered more wool for my next blanket which I’m planning on starting later tonight but just doing all knit stitch instead of the pattern I did for this one. See below for the photo.

I think I might curl up and read an ebook that I discovered on a library website to help boost my confidence and self esteem once again. See below for the photo of the ebook.

Thanks for reading this entry. Keep on enjoying your crafts!

Take care!

Judi9877☺️🧶

Good morning @Gwynn @DeSpence @Oaktree @Shaz51 @maddison @Appleblossom @OscarJones @Daisydreamer @Former-Member @Former-Member @Former-Member @hanami @Paperdaisy @tyme @Former-Member and all forumites here. I hope you are well.

I’m currently in hospital and have been for just over a week due to mental health issues - meds review on the go- and I’ve been so lucky that my housemate packed me a bag full of wool for me to use to knit and crochet as I’ve been able to use it to finish an adult knitted blanket using various unfinished strips of knitting to make the strips 120cm long (I finished 3 of them last week) and start on a 4th strip to add to the blanket that is half completed at home. I’ve also just started making a new blanket on Tuesday night with the 1st of 8 strips being half completed. In addition to this, I’ve started a beanie and completed that last Friday which I gave away to a patient in the psych ward and start a new beanie on Tuesday night. I’ve also been crocheting a blanket which I started last Wednesday and am continuing to work on this morning. My only concern when the ward psychiatrist told me my stay was being extended by a week was if I had enough wool in my bag to keep my occupied which sounds silly but was perfectly rational and logical in my eyes as knitting and crochet are what keep me busy and being productive and stop from being bored. See below for the photos!

I hope you like the photos of my items!

Take care!

Judi9877☺️🌻🧶

Morning @Judi9877, you have such beautiful needlework skills 💜

It's always lovely to read about your kindness and generosity of spirit knitted into your work. It feels like there are two purposes to your craft – to enjoy the act of knitting/crochet, but also to give back to others with your creations.

I think it makes a lot of sense that you might feel a level of concern for not having enough wool for the extra week stay, so I hope you're able to get some delivered if you're looking like you might run out.

Hey @Judi9877

Love your attitude and your creations. Knitting has a central part in your life, so it makes sense you were concerned. I do hope the meds transition works for you and any other strategies they may come up with.

Keep up the great work.

Apple

Hello and hugs @Judi9877

Love reading about your updates and sitting with you my awesome friend xxxx

Hi @Judi9877

I like your photos. That beanie looks so soft & what an amazing colour.

I'm a little late catching up on this thread. I think I read that you are discharged today. Best wishes @Judi9877

Hi there @maddison @Gwynn @Shaz51 @Appleblossom @Former-Member @hanami @Daisydreamer @Former-Member @tyme @Former-Member @Eve7 @Paperdaisy and all crafty critters here.

Today is Granny Square Day so I thought I’d post a photo of my latest creation I’m currently working on here to acknowledge this day in the crafty community. It’s not the best photo I’m afraid to say but it does the job. I started working on it back when I was at PARCS in June and have been slowly working on it since along with doing some knitting of blankets for charity. The aim of this granny square blanket is to have yellow, green and white as the other colours of the blanket included to make it a large blanket for me. It’s using a 4.25mm crochet hook so it’s taking time but I’m enjoying it.

I finally finished the main section of an adult blanket for charity this afternoon which I started back in late June at PARCS and now I have to knit 2 black strips of 180cm long to add to make a border for the sides of the blanket as it’s only 110cm wide and needs to be at least 120cm wide for an adult blanket at the minimum. I’m 50cm in to the first black strip of 30 stitches wide on 5mm needles so I’m slowly getting there!

I hope you enjoy your hobbies!

Take care!

Judi9877☺️🧶💐