knit two, purl two
March 17, 2011 4:31 PM Subscribe
How to knit a GIGANTO-BLANKET! The finished product: Giganto-blanket – finished! Oh yeah, and there's a cat.
WHERE DO I GET GIGANTO YARN. >.<
posted by zennie at 4:50 PM on March 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by zennie at 4:50 PM on March 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
She has to have the happiest cat in the world. Though in one posts she dressed it in a sweater.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:52 PM on March 17, 2011
posted by cjorgensen at 4:52 PM on March 17, 2011
Unfortunately, in my head, it all felts together in about a week and is much less pretty. But +1 for cute cats.
posted by freshwater at 4:53 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by freshwater at 4:53 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
GAH!! I want I want so bad. There was this article in the NYT about this woman who was making these giant crocheted rugs and then felting them. So beautiful! But they cost about a hundred gamillion dollars. She kept breaking washing machines during the felting process. Where can I get that roving??? How much is it. Iwantiwantiwant!
posted by mokeydraws at 4:55 PM on March 17, 2011
posted by mokeydraws at 4:55 PM on March 17, 2011
I hope she swatched first. Otherwise how is she going to check the gauge to be sure she's using the right needle size?
And by "needle size" I mean "PVC pipe diameter."
posted by ErikaB at 5:14 PM on March 17, 2011 [7 favorites]
And by "needle size" I mean "PVC pipe diameter."
posted by ErikaB at 5:14 PM on March 17, 2011 [7 favorites]
This post caused my wife to bookmark Metafilter.
Damn you! It was mine! All mine!
posted by Brackish at 5:16 PM on March 17, 2011 [17 favorites]
Damn you! It was mine! All mine!
posted by Brackish at 5:16 PM on March 17, 2011 [17 favorites]
WHERE DO I GET GIGANTO YARN.
Giganto yarn = wool top! This stuff is nice. Awesome bonus: if you get bored knitting with PVC pipes, you can learn to spin instead!
posted by bewilderbeast at 5:21 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Giganto yarn = wool top! This stuff is nice. Awesome bonus: if you get bored knitting with PVC pipes, you can learn to spin instead!
posted by bewilderbeast at 5:21 PM on March 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I would very much like it if every post from here on out on Metafilter would indicate if "there's a cat" or "there is not a cat" in each post description.
posted by raztaj at 5:23 PM on March 17, 2011 [66 favorites]
posted by raztaj at 5:23 PM on March 17, 2011 [66 favorites]
This is awesome, wouldn't you need huge arms to knit this though?
Also, kitty! 1 vote for raztaj's pony.
posted by arcticseal at 5:51 PM on March 17, 2011
Also, kitty! 1 vote for raztaj's pony.
posted by arcticseal at 5:51 PM on March 17, 2011
Next week: needle-felting with harpoons!
posted by moonmilk at 6:08 PM on March 17, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 6:08 PM on March 17, 2011 [7 favorites]
I can find no flaw in the character of a woman who begins knitting with broomsticks and thinks "this really could be bigger."
posted by middleclasstool at 6:14 PM on March 17, 2011 [22 favorites]
posted by middleclasstool at 6:14 PM on March 17, 2011 [22 favorites]
DUDE. She was in my class in January (when I was teaching a dyeing class in California), and previously, under the auspices of our (shared) publisher, I had a pattern in her book Picture Perfect Knits. Her name is Laura and she is super nice and cool. We discussed ways to keep the wool top from totally shredding, and she took my advice and felted it up a smidgy bit before she knit it. Love, love love.
Also, I am totally in favor of needlefelting with harpoons.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:23 PM on March 17, 2011 [5 favorites]
Also, I am totally in favor of needlefelting with harpoons.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:23 PM on March 17, 2011 [5 favorites]
For those of us that lack the vocabulary, what is felting in this context? Like translate freshwater's comment to layperson English.
I spent a little time on Laura's site and I get the impression that she quite responsive in her comments. She also has a contact form for those who have questions.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:31 PM on March 17, 2011
I spent a little time on Laura's site and I get the impression that she quite responsive in her comments. She also has a contact form for those who have questions.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:31 PM on March 17, 2011
I would very much like it if every post from here on out on Metafilter would indicate if "there's a cat" or "there is not a cat" in each post description.
Time to shelve that post I was thinking about doing on quantum mechanics...
posted by Rhomboid at 6:35 PM on March 17, 2011 [40 favorites]
Time to shelve that post I was thinking about doing on quantum mechanics...
posted by Rhomboid at 6:35 PM on March 17, 2011 [40 favorites]
It doesn't look very snuggly, probably the blanket weights a lot.
posted by francesca too at 6:35 PM on March 17, 2011
posted by francesca too at 6:35 PM on March 17, 2011
Felting is a way of making fabrics, distinct from weaving. It involves mashing, tangling and scrambling the threads together.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:40 PM on March 17, 2011
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:40 PM on March 17, 2011
I have a giant ball of roving and want to try this RIGHT NOW.
posted by amber_dale at 6:45 PM on March 17, 2011
posted by amber_dale at 6:45 PM on March 17, 2011
Knit your way to awesome biceps!
posted by mimi at 6:54 PM on March 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by mimi at 6:54 PM on March 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
If you toss many wool knitted items (a sweater, say) into the washer and dryer, it will felt, and turn into felt like you buy in a craft store. Sometimes just rubbing wool can cause this to happen.
I suspect it would still be cozy but not as cool-looking if it was felted.
posted by ugf at 7:37 PM on March 17, 2011
I suspect it would still be cozy but not as cool-looking if it was felted.
posted by ugf at 7:37 PM on March 17, 2011
Hi everyone -- this is the girl who made the blanket. Glad to see you all like it! I'm planning on getting the pattern up for sale tomorrow for $5 if you're interested/crazy enough to make one yourself.
To answer a few questions:
francesca too: It weighs about 5 pounds and is surprisingly snuggly. I thought it would be scratchy, but it's actually REALLY squishy and lovely.
zennie: I bought unspun wool roving and "made" the yarn myself. The process will be detailed in my pattern.
mimi: for reals. It's a good workout! My shoulders and back muscles definitely felt the burn.
cjorgensen: in this context, felting is the process of applying heat and friction to wool to make it change shape and texture. I felted this yarn slightly to contract the fibers together and make the "yarn" less sheddy.
ErikaB: Believe it or not, I did swatch! I needed to know how many stitches to cast on, so I made about a 1x1 foot swatch before casting on the whole thing.
If anyone else has questions or comments please visit my blog and leave a comment! Thanks!
posted by iwriteplays at 8:11 PM on March 17, 2011 [38 favorites]
To answer a few questions:
francesca too: It weighs about 5 pounds and is surprisingly snuggly. I thought it would be scratchy, but it's actually REALLY squishy and lovely.
zennie: I bought unspun wool roving and "made" the yarn myself. The process will be detailed in my pattern.
mimi: for reals. It's a good workout! My shoulders and back muscles definitely felt the burn.
cjorgensen: in this context, felting is the process of applying heat and friction to wool to make it change shape and texture. I felted this yarn slightly to contract the fibers together and make the "yarn" less sheddy.
ErikaB: Believe it or not, I did swatch! I needed to know how many stitches to cast on, so I made about a 1x1 foot swatch before casting on the whole thing.
If anyone else has questions or comments please visit my blog and leave a comment! Thanks!
posted by iwriteplays at 8:11 PM on March 17, 2011 [38 favorites]
Oh, also, cjorgensen -- My cats are pretty damn happy. Stereotypical as it might be, they really love yarn. However, I've never dressed them in a sweater! In that post, Molly just happened to be sitting on my lap as I was knitting (pretty much a daily occurrence), and I had to put the sweater down to take a picture of it.
Believe me, if I ever tried putting Molly in a sweater I might not live to tell the tale.
posted by iwriteplays at 8:13 PM on March 17, 2011 [6 favorites]
Believe me, if I ever tried putting Molly in a sweater I might not live to tell the tale.
posted by iwriteplays at 8:13 PM on March 17, 2011 [6 favorites]
Super cool. This makes me want to learn how to knit. It also makes me want cats, and an enormous blanket to snuggle.
posted by Neofelis at 9:32 PM on March 17, 2011
posted by Neofelis at 9:32 PM on March 17, 2011
I would love to see someone try to knit this on the bus during their commute.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:37 PM on March 17, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by spinifex23 at 9:37 PM on March 17, 2011 [7 favorites]
I watched this video with the volume off and all I have to say is: damn, iwriteplays! You are TINY.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:52 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:52 PM on March 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
Friendly suggestion: Record the music at a volume more close to your speaking voice.
Knitting and crochet appeals to me just in that it's an effective kind of fidgeting while at the same time, fiber craft, but more casual than sewing, and more portable. I learned crochet about 17 years ago, but haven't touched it in about the same amount of time, and forgot much.
posted by Goofyy at 12:27 AM on March 18, 2011
Knitting and crochet appeals to me just in that it's an effective kind of fidgeting while at the same time, fiber craft, but more casual than sewing, and more portable. I learned crochet about 17 years ago, but haven't touched it in about the same amount of time, and forgot much.
posted by Goofyy at 12:27 AM on March 18, 2011
Thank you for this. I will totally link this on my yarn store blog!
posted by rikschell at 5:25 AM on March 18, 2011
posted by rikschell at 5:25 AM on March 18, 2011
Awesome! And I thought the 10mm needles I was using for a snuggly scarf were big...
posted by mathw at 5:25 AM on March 18, 2011
posted by mathw at 5:25 AM on March 18, 2011
Knit your way to awesome biceps!
I have a bumper sticker on my fridge that says "If knitting were exercise, you could bounce a quarter off my ass."
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:07 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
I have a bumper sticker on my fridge that says "If knitting were exercise, you could bounce a quarter off my ass."
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:07 AM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Oars! Knit while rowing.
I've always found knitting and keeping company with a cat to be utterly incompatible activities. Even storing yarn in the same house is asking for mayhem. That cat must be drugged.
posted by Corvid at 9:18 AM on March 18, 2011
I've always found knitting and keeping company with a cat to be utterly incompatible activities. Even storing yarn in the same house is asking for mayhem. That cat must be drugged.
posted by Corvid at 9:18 AM on March 18, 2011
iwriteplays, I've wanted to make a huge-gauge scarf for years now, so I'm really superexcited about this. I'll probably buy your pattern when it's released so I can learn the secrets of roving and broomsticks.
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:01 PM on March 18, 2011
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:01 PM on March 18, 2011
I've always found knitting and keeping company with a cat to be utterly incompatible activities. Even storing yarn in the same house is asking for mayhem. That cat must be drugged.
Corvid, both of my parents' cats have decided that knitting time is prime snuggle time, and they will lie beside me in a chair (because my lap is occupied) and press themselves against my thighs, and purr and purr until they fall asleep. (Fortunately they are not very big cats, so two cats + person can actually fit in the big armchair in the living room.) I think someone must have yelled at them about interfering with knitting once when they were kittens, or something, because they've done this for as long as I can remember.
I have friends with three cats, and take knitting over when I hang out with them, and the cats are gradually coming to understand that they are spectators, not participants. Sometimes they will try to grab the yarn by moving very s l o w l y, like I won't notice an encroaching paw if it is only moving an inch at a time. I figure it'll only take a few more weeks before they make the knitting time = snuggle time discovery.
posted by bewilderbeast at 1:12 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Corvid, both of my parents' cats have decided that knitting time is prime snuggle time, and they will lie beside me in a chair (because my lap is occupied) and press themselves against my thighs, and purr and purr until they fall asleep. (Fortunately they are not very big cats, so two cats + person can actually fit in the big armchair in the living room.) I think someone must have yelled at them about interfering with knitting once when they were kittens, or something, because they've done this for as long as I can remember.
I have friends with three cats, and take knitting over when I hang out with them, and the cats are gradually coming to understand that they are spectators, not participants. Sometimes they will try to grab the yarn by moving very s l o w l y, like I won't notice an encroaching paw if it is only moving an inch at a time. I figure it'll only take a few more weeks before they make the knitting time = snuggle time discovery.
posted by bewilderbeast at 1:12 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sometimes they will try to grab the yarn by moving very s l o w l y, like I won't notice an encroaching paw if it is only moving an inch at a time.
Could this be cuter?
posted by you're a kitty! at 2:26 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Could this be cuter?
posted by you're a kitty! at 2:26 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
That blanket is great!
My cat feels that the best place in the world to lie down when I'm knitting or crocheting is right on top of the yarn I'm using. He has learned not to try to eat it, for the most part, but he has decided that he *must* lie down on top of it.
posted by patheral at 3:28 PM on March 18, 2011
My cat feels that the best place in the world to lie down when I'm knitting or crocheting is right on top of the yarn I'm using. He has learned not to try to eat it, for the most part, but he has decided that he *must* lie down on top of it.
posted by patheral at 3:28 PM on March 18, 2011
That is the coolest thing I've seen in a while. Congrats on your beautiful cushy blanket, iwriteplays! And may I say I am impressed that you actually swatched. Holy cow. And your cat is very cute (and lucky to have such a nice blanket--I have cats myself and know who would end up monopolizing it in our house).
During the last week, I seem to have given myself carpal tunnel syndrome by knitting on little tiny needles. I wonder if giant needles would be better or worse.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:27 PM on March 18, 2011
During the last week, I seem to have given myself carpal tunnel syndrome by knitting on little tiny needles. I wonder if giant needles would be better or worse.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:27 PM on March 18, 2011
Very cool! A good application for English-style knitting rather than continental, as somebody noted above (or maybe I'm imagining that).
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:45 PM on March 18, 2011
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:45 PM on March 18, 2011
Anything that bucks the trend toward miniaturization and isn't food or consumer goods based has my respect.
posted by oxford blue at 4:37 AM on March 19, 2011
posted by oxford blue at 4:37 AM on March 19, 2011
I hear that's what Jim Woodring wears when he suffering a cold.
posted by Anything at 4:38 PM on March 24, 2011
posted by Anything at 4:38 PM on March 24, 2011
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