# I'm screwed...



## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Quilting takes up all my time, literally. Not to mention all my house space! But... I suddenly have the urge to learn to knit socks. I already know how to knit, but haven't done it in years and years. When I discovered the "Magic Loop" method online for knitting in the round, I got sucked in!

None of my circular needles are long enough, so I've ordered new ones and can't wait for them to arrive. But OMG! Do you know what the cost of yarn is today compared to the last time I purchased any 20 years ago? !!!!!

Maybe I need a spinning wheel and yet another hobby, so I can afford to knit my own socks! :hysterical:


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## menagerie momma (Sep 29, 2008)

:rotfl:I think this is where someone is supposed to say, "welcome to the dark side, we have cookies!" but that's what I grabbed for breakfast , so how about some lasagna instead? There is plenty of that left! 

Jessie


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Welcome to the fold!

We don't suffer our fiber addiction, we enjoy every minute of it!


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Lasagna makes great breakfast food! LOL


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## JDog1222 (Aug 19, 2010)

Ooooooo CJâ¦â¦..come now, let me tell you about all of your needs that can be fulfilled through knitting and spinningâ¦â¦â¦.:heh:
:smiley-laughing013:Youâre screwed! You just stepped into the wrong forum! :whistlin:
Iâve only been spinning a month or so now and knitting for three, my eyes are bloodshot, Iâm getting the shakes, Iâm almost broke, the house is a mess, and DH is threatening divorce. :run: JK
This new hobby of mine is TONS of fun. And, the ladies here are SO helpful:angel:hehe! My quilting table is now used as a shelf for yarn! 
So, order up the yarn, and weâll keep posting pictures to help keep you all hot-n-heavy about knitting!:dance:


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Oh.. and it does not take long for the total slide to occur.
JDog is a classic example. Notice her timelime...
I touched yarn and made something..now I have a fleece and sore hands and am realizing that to make really beautiful, even yarn I really NEED a wheel and not just a spindle. I mean.. yarn is pricey stuff etc..
Yep.. too late for you.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

CJ Welcome to the Fold! I see everyone else is doing a fine job of encouraging you. When your needles arrive let us know and we will be happy to help you with your socks. BTW, I spin because then I don't have to worry about the cost of yarn. When you have a fiber stash you just spin what you want and in a pinch you an dye it with Kool-aid to get the color you want.


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

This is bad, very bad!!! LOL I could EASILY fall in love with spinning, I have no doubt! I simply have no room left to add a spinning wheel... definitely not a weaving loom!

I'm just thinking socks. Something small to work on in the evenings, and as a take a long project. I used to make my kids sweaters, and my husband has asked me numerous times to knit him a sweater, but I don't think I have the patience to do one project for so long. 

Is it a lot less expensive to buy wool rovings and spin your own yarn? Assuming of course, that's the combination you need, roving + spinning wheel. I really don't know anything about it!


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

Hi CJ !!!! 
I'm sure you can do BOTH - I do !!!! It really IS addicting ...... socks are my fave to knit ..... whats hard , is now you have to check BOTH the quilting forum and the fiber forum to see whats going on ...he he he ....
WELCOME TO THE *OTHER * SIDE !!!


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## Pakalana (Mar 9, 2008)

Learned to spin at 13, took a break for almost 20 yrs. Then.....

Tired of not being able to get the hang of knitting, I was bound and determined to get it. I could crochet before I could read or write...it's not in my nature to be beaten by a needle. 

So about 7 yrs ago, I found a pattern for a twisted knit rib hat for dh. I won, I won! Then I found a pattern for sausage socks. Again, I won. Then I started on simple socks, then I found EZ. We lived in a small 3 bedroom duplex in town, small postage stamp yard. 
Then we bought a house with pastures. Then my spinning wheel came to live with me again. Then I found a wonderful man with fleece. Then GAM started up with the KALs. Now I have sheep with plans to grow the flock size. 

Under normal circumstances, I would caution people...but death by fiber is such a comfy way to go! Family and friends are happy to buy you paraphernalia because they know it will result in some kind of luscious good for them. Yep, even people who don't get it are happy and willing to enable a fiber addiction. :hobbyhors

Welcome! LOL


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Lana that is quite the story.

Hey J if you don't have room for a wheel, no problem. Spin on a spindle. Lots of people begin that way. And it doesn't take up much room, no more than a glass of water would


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## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

I nominate the following sentence as the official quote for the Homesteading Today: Fiber Arts forum:

"Death by fiber is such a comfy way to go!"


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Okay, ya'll are officially worse than quilters. LOL Yep, I'm screwed!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Weever I will ask Angie or Karen to put that as our official tag line. Maybe have, "Welcome to The Fold. Where death by fiber is such a comfy way to go!"


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Love Love the new tag line (it is so fitting!) Death by fiber....yep....love it.

CJ - WELCOME!!!! *evil laugh*
remember me? yeah, the one who used to spend every moment in the quilt forum? 
I came here one day. I felt like I *needed* to know how to knit socks, because if we had an end of the world as we know it type situation, I may need socks for my family, right??? :help:
So, as a good prepper, I came and inquired. I never left! lol!
yep, sucked into the dark side. Cookies, lasagna, coffee, spinning wheel, fleece, roving, sheep, socks, shawls, socks, afgans, socks, hats, socks, scarves, KAL's and now mits on the horizon.

I have made one - count em - one quilt in the last 2 years. The neglected pile on my sewing machine is crying for help as it grows and grows... and my knitting needles hold me captive.
Let me just say, no matter how Susanne tempts me with towel pics I will not take up weaving (not yet anyway) because I must console my sewing machine and apologize for putting the spinning wheel next to her. Just as soon as I finish these socks I am working on...


Oh, did I say - Welcome CJ! great to see ya here. :baby04:


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## Pakalana (Mar 9, 2008)

I will hand it to fiber people. Atleast they honestly warn people, it's only a matter of time.  

I have an aunt and three cousins who've taken up knitting recently. hehe. I've already asked them when they plan on learning to spin. A cousin I'm close to asked me when I was going to teach her. Thinking that she can't afford a wheel just yet so, naturally there's time to put it off. I've made her a spindle and have a nice bag of fiber waiting.  She due for a visit come spring, I'll nab her then. LOL


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## Pakalana (Mar 9, 2008)

March, even I'm surprised at how far deep I've sunk so quickly. If the means are there, there's just no hope. LOL I think GAM should replace her goat boy with an angora goat boy. Yep!


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Well I can't stop quilting, I'm doing it for a business so I'm with it for at least 5 years. But I have to tell you girls, I visited a yarn shop today, and OMG! OMG! This is going to be bad. Very bad! It IS worse than quilting fabric. I wanted to RIP my clothes off and just rub all over all that soft and silky yarn! LOL

I came home with 6 balls of sock yarn, and enough yarn to make two scarves. Then there's the yarn swift I bought, and the ball winder... and the Addi lace needles... sizes 2 through 8... I spent a chunk, and left one very happy shop owner behind!


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

CJ said:


> Well I can't stop quilting, I'm doing it for a business so I'm with it for at least 5 years. But I have to tell you girls, I visited a yarn shop today, and OMG! OMG! This is going to be bad. Very bad! It IS worse than quilting fabric. I wanted to RIP my clothes off and just rub all over all that soft and silky yarn! LOL
> 
> I came home with 6 balls of sock yarn, and enough yarn to make two scarves. Then there's the yarn swift I bought, and the ball winder... and the Addi lace needles... sizes 2 through 8... I spent a chunk, and left one very happy shop owner behind!


i have lots of quilting fabric. i don't talk about yarn stash:whistlin:. and now starting spinning a fiber stash is building up. 
if somebody ask, i always tell it is for my retirement :teehee:


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## JDog1222 (Aug 19, 2010)

CJ said:


> OMG! OMG! This is going to be bad. Very bad! It IS worse than quilting fabric. I wanted to RIP my clothes off and just rub all over all that soft and silky yarn! LOL
> 
> I came home with 6 balls of sock yarn, and enough yarn to make two scarves. Then there's the yarn swift I bought, and the ball winder... and the Addi lace needles... sizes 2 through 8... I spent a chunk, and left one very happy shop owner behind!


O man, you got it BAD GF. Just wait till you feel the raw fiber sliding through your fingers while you're spinning on your new wheel!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

A woman after my own heart  I'm always talking about laying naked on fleeces and rolling around in them. One day I WILL do this and love every minute of it.


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## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Marchwind said:


> A woman after my own heart  I'm always talking about laying naked on fleeces and rolling around in them. One day I WILL do this and love every minute of it.


Raw or washed?


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

lol! sounds like you scored big time CJ! Now, the rule is, all goodies must have pictures posted. Works in progress, new needles, etc.....
Show me yours and I will show you mine! (when it gets here......:bored: )


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## JDog1222 (Aug 19, 2010)

mamajohnson said:


> lol! sounds like you scored big time CJ! Now, the rule is, all goodies must have pictures posted. Works in progress, new needles, etc.....
> Show me yours and I will show you mine! (when it gets here......:bored: )


 Except for MW rolling in the fleeces....................:tmi:
















:hysterical:


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Okay, here's the yarns I bought yesterday:









The swiff, ball winder and needles are on order.

This is a work in progress, but it's crocheted, not knitted... and I could cry feeling the yarn (Lion Brand) after fondling all those luxurious wools yesterday!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Weever it doesn't matter as long as there isn't a lot of VM (vegetable matter) 

Nice stash you've started CJ


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

I had just discovered Ravelry 2 days ago, but didn't know about the stash thing, way cool!


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## Pakalana (Mar 9, 2008)

Oooo, I've played with that Jojoland Melody. You'll love it! Makes the best socks, color ways are gorgeous. 

Nice starter stash! So when's your next yarn order?  LOL


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## menagerie momma (Sep 29, 2008)

and me! I'm queenanne over there!

Jessie


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

And the needle and hook categorizing thingie, and the patterns, and library for all your books and magazines and patterns. There is so much cool stuff there.


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## countrysunshine (Jul 3, 2008)

CJ, I burst out laughing when I saw this thread. I don't knit and actually don't know anyone who does. I considered learning a couple of years ago but my work schedule changed and I couldnt' take the classes.

My mom taught me basic crocheting when I was 7. I never cared for it but I can do it. I had yarn leftover from a project that was taking up space in my sewing room. Dishcloths are so popular and it is cotton yarn. I kept a couple projects Mom had started when she died. So, I had hooks.....It had been over 30 years since I crocheted anything but I looked on line and I am now doing stitches I had never heard of!

I wondered down here to see if I could find some instructional links. I have dial up and I prefer not to have pictures- just line drawings and words. Anyway, I saw you and I was rolling. I have to confess I bought some more yarn. Remember the idea was to get rid of what I already have! I want to know how to make socks. My feet are always so cold and I discovered wool socks last year (always thought I was allergic to wool!). 

I will not take on another hobby...I will not....I garden, I sew, I quilt, I love to cook, I work 50 hours a week......there is a really nice yarn shop about 30 miles from here. Maybe I will just have a little peek.....

ETA: Is it a requirement that everyone that crochets make a ripple aphgan? My mom made about a hundred of them. We have one my husband's grandmother made. His sisters said they wanted to figure out how to do that. I said, "That is the only pattern I know for sure how to do." Seems everyone does/did them.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Countrysunshine Weclome to the Fold! You don't need classes to learn to knit. We are more than happy to help you out. There are plenty of good books that will help you also. Check with your local library, anything by Elizabeth Zimmerman is good and there are tons of other great books too.

Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. we are here for all you guys


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

countrysunshine we are all pro fiberholics and want you to become one too  just visit that yarn store, we all promise it does not hurt and you will feel so good after that. 
welcome on board


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## JDog1222 (Aug 19, 2010)

Weâre REAL good support too :goodjob:. We NEVER let our friends fall off the fiber wagon! :nono:


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## countrysunshine (Jul 3, 2008)

I have no idea how to start at all with knitting. I guess I need to look at some on line tutorials when I am on night shift. 

I am pretty sure I don't belong here....I don't eat lasagna!

I was just thinking a shawl out of a nicer yarn would be nice. I am always so cold. It would look pretty laying around in my living room...

No more hobbies!...


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

countrysunshine said:


> I am pretty sure I don't belong here....I don't eat lasagna!



we will still take you in and love you as one of our own


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Countrysunshine, I do believe we're in trouble! These girls are going to tease us with all the wonderful stuff we can do!

I started a scarf for hubby this morning. YEARS ago, I bought the trilogy of knitting patterns by Barbara G Walker, a 3 set book. I picked out a cool pattern, called "Diamond and Lozenge" and am doing 6 repeats of it in the baby alpaca yarn on size 5 needles. I'll post a picture when I have enough to see the pattern.

I just got another customer quilt in the mail, so I guess I'm going to have to limit my knitting time.


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## grams (Sep 10, 2004)

countrysunshine said:


> I have no idea how to start at all with knitting. I guess I need to look at some on line tutorials when I am on night shift.
> 
> I am pretty sure I don't belong here....I don't eat lasagna!
> 
> ...


I personally cannot stand lasagna! And trust me my friend if there is anyone with a worse fiber/textile addiction than me, we lets just say I feel for anyone who tries to walk through their house:hysterical:
As for a shawl, well lets see, of course good yarn is a must, I could recommend wool to start with. Can you imagine sitting and reading in a beautiful shawl made from you own homespun wool yarn. Of course after you spin the yarn you can decide whether to weave or knit the shawl. I recommend that you do both, you know just to see which you like the best.
But, then again there are some wonderful yarns to be purchased at your lys. (local yarn shop) I believe that even Marchie will agree that some one them will even make you want to roll around in them in a state of undress they are so lovely and soft and work up so beautifully.
Trust me my friend, do not fight the power, this is not hobby this is a lifestyle!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I am so glad the quilting ladies have joined us!! Quilting is something I want to learn desparately. I'm short on cash for fabric and my husband's fabric stash is pretty low (yes, I said my _husband's_ stash!!)

I have a beautiful kingsize plus wool batting, about 1" thick that is basted. It was given to me by a 90 year old woman who said it was _her_ grandmother's. It has always been stored in a cedar chest. I want to do this batting justice.

My only adventure into quilting has been when OzarkQuilter sent me a pieced top (wall hanging / baby blanket size). I bought some batting from Wallie World, stole a piece of fabric from Paul's stash and 'stitched in the ditch' by hand. It was very relaxing, but I want to do a top for the old wool batting.

I'd love to do something in the Civil War time period utilizing the underground railroad motifs, but a crazy quilt using old clothing might be more economical.

I'm not one to start slow ... I'm self taught in all things fiber. When I taught myself how to knit, I started a wash cloth, then jumped immediately to making socks. I still haven't finished that wash cloth!!

Yes, I'm pleased as punch the quilters are here!!!


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Well I have a quilt on the longarm and 2 more customer quilts waiting... and I just want to knit right now! LOL

The scarf pattern I bought didn't work well with the swatch I made with the Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca I got for it, too thin. So I grabbed some old knitting books, found a stitch design I liked, laid it out with 5 repeats in a chart, and started an entirely different scarf! The pattern is 44 rows, so I only have one and a half repeats done, but I think I'm going to like it.


















The smallest needles I have (until my order arrives) were a size 5, so that's what I'm using, but for a worsted weight yarn, this stuff is thin! I think a size 3 would have been better.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

That looks nice, I think #5's will work well. How does the fabric feel to your hand? If it feels too stiff go with a larger needle, maybe one size up.


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Oh no, it's more lacey than stiff! Almost too loose. Go figure, my needles just came in the mail


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## betty modin (May 15, 2002)

Welcome to all things fiber-my fiber addiction started with a 'curiosity' class on How To Spin-within three years I had moved 700 miles from the little city I lived in to a place where I could have sheep AND afford to retire someday (at the same time!) A stash is not complete without several raw fleeces-and a couple on the hoof (or three or six...) and sheep are wonderful pets too. 
betty

I love the new slogan!


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

I'd dearly love to have a farm again, probably not going to happen. I stopped at the yarn shop again today, bought more yarn to make my dad a scarf when I finish hubby's


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