We are multiplying!

Starting out with only two brave girls we have now multiplied to four. And last time we were six. Maybe there will be eight people there on next Tuesday (though I will sadly not be there since I will instead be on the CS meeting at Asylet.) In just 5000 years all of Oslo will be at the meetings :)

Here are a couple of pictures from the second knitting meeting (or maybe third...? It's getting hard to keep track of the days!

I find that so many people look happy when I bring out my knitting, and there are so many showing an interest in it. For me I like knitting because it is something I am very good at, it is a non-essential recreational passing of time but at the same time you create this beautiful thing. To just see row after row passing, feeling the yarn run through your hands is very meditative. The whole process of picking a pattern (or making one yourself!) Buying yarn and picking out the needles to make it with, and then the first swatch. To do the first few rounds, probably do some small adjustments to the patterns, start over a couple of times. And then the very last row of stitches. Weaving in all the loose threads (the step which usually lasts me a good couple of weeks for some reason) blocking, and then finally holding up the finished piece and be able to say “I did this. This is something I created with my own to hands, and I am proud of it”

It is something quite special.

See you soon again!

What then is a good beginners project?

There have been some requests for suggestions for easy patterns to start of with, for people who have either not knit in many years, or never at all. First of all there are some criterion;

q A project that is not too big (because it is always nice with some more or less instant gratification)
q Not too many different stitches. In the beginning it is hard enough to just hold the needles and thread and count stitches and have even tension and… I think you see where I am going with this. And if you take on too advanced a project it’s rather probable that you’ll fail one way or another.
q Nothing too fancy. There is no point in investing too much when you just start out knitting, before you know that you like it just start of with some inexpensive yarn and needles.
q Something useful. It’s no fun knitting something that can’t be used. It just feels… pointless I guess.

So what kind of projects fit into this then? I’d say a washcloth is probably the perfect thing to start with. You can use it every day, it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t look that even, and it is rather small so it will be knit up quickly. You can also do a lot of washcloths using different techniques; it doesn’t matter if the patterns don’t match each other. Another good project is a scarf. It is getting cold outside so it will be useful. It might not look that even to begin with, but after a while you can see the gradual process from beginner stitches to the even stitch of an experienced knitter. The downside of a scarf is that it takes absolutely forever to knit, and it is boring to just use the same stitch over, and over, and over again.

What you need: Needles, yarn and patience. The yarn packet will tell you what size of needles that you need to have for that yarn. There is also a specification showing how many stitches that goes into 10 cm of knitting (rows and columns) For an easy project I would pick a yarn having approximately 20*30 stitches. If the yarn is much thicker or thinner than that, it is kind of a hassle to work with. I’d recommend a smooth non-hairy yarn as well in a light colour so that you can actually see what you are doing!

The most simple of wash cloths would be just knitting. Begin with maybe 40 stitches. Continue to knit until you have a square. After that you could do another one where every second row is knit, every second is purled. After that you could do a ribbed on (every second stitch purled, every second knit) And so on.

I have to say though that I think that if you have the persistency for it, a pair of mittens is rather ideal as a second or third project. It is something very useful, and you don’t have to know a billion stitches to do them (actually just 3 at the minimum) They are rather quick, and more importantly: it feels like such an achievement to do them.

Now you may ask me: “so; I have the yarn, I have the needles. What I don’t have is the knowledge about how to do the stitches. Please oh please can you explain how to do them?” And my reply would be: “I’m always happy to help. But… I think the better method would be for you to look at some videos that show how to do it as well! Sometimes it is just more relaxing to look in your own quiet quarters without feeling stressed, just taking your time following someone else’s lead. Of course I can help you as well though!” And luckily for both of us, there is an excellent webpage showing just that!
And where can yarn and needles be found then in this large city? After a quick yellow pages search, these were the stores I came up with:

Tjorven
Elna
Strikkedilla
Addresses to the places in Oslo selling yarn, but that don’t have their own webpages

The first meeting has taken place and we are still alive!

So the first meeting took place at SubScene and it was very nice! Alva (me) and Daniela spent three giggling hours knitting and drinking tea, sporadically joined by Hanna and her friend who works at the café.

It was such a success story that we are welcome back again! Woohoo for being welcome back again (well, you never know) so from Tues 16th of October until Christmas there will be knitting cafés at SubScene. I don't think that I'll be there every Tuesday (oh... ok maybe I will) but that is the charm of the whole concept, everyone can come and go as they wish. Some weeks are busy, some weeks you have time for knitting, it is different all the time.

Hopefully there will be more people joining up next time, I won't bite I promise (can't guarantee Daniela though, she's a tricky one) :P

/Alva

And a date has been set!

The very first meeting of this group is soon going to take place! Few people could be more excited about this than I am (honestly, few people other than me actually know about this)

In any case, over to the essentials:

Where: Café SubScene Which is located near the town centre, Kirkegata 34.
How: By bus, bike, legs, airplane, boat, horse or camel.
When: Tuesday 2nd of October, after 7 pm.
Why: Because it is a lot of fun!
What to bring: Yarn, knitting needles. Other needles, a happy mood (or not, that is up to you!) friends, family, possibly your ferret if you have one.

Hope to see you there!
/Alva

And so it all began

One day I woke up realizing that although I had not yet been able to find a knitting café in Oslo, that was not a reason for me not to start a new knitting café.

So what is this all about then? It's about knitting together, or crocheting, or embroidering or anything else you want to do in a public setting which is reasonably portable. It is about talking and sharing ideas, hiding from the cold, drinking tea and coffee and eating snacks. About giving book reviews and film reviews and reviews of any kind really (if that is your thing) Mainly it is about meeting people with similar interests though.

By meeting at different cafés around town (or maybe the same?) and just writing when and where anyone can show up. Sometimes 2 people, sometimes 20. There is no pressure in it at all, just fun!

So, come join me!

/Alva
PS: the reason I'm writing in English is that my Norwegian is honestly rather poor (as I'm from Sweden) and you never know who wants to join in all the fun!