big needles – Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet

Included with our regular delivery of books from The Book people this month was Knitting with Giant Needles by Hanna Charlotte Erhorn and published by Dorling Kindersley.

If I was to be completely honest, on first glance I wasn’t that impressed with the content of the book however, I decided to give it a proper chance. Armed with a cuppa I spent some time perusing the pages and have since revised my opinion.

Using big needles or crochet hooks isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. Big tools can be a little different to get use to holding and you will probably have to change your technique a little, but the speed with which you can finish a project is fantastic. I love the look of chunky stitches and the added interest they bring from the texture. Big knitting is a great way of incorporating knitting into your home with chunky cushions and throws, bathmats and even wall hangings.

Back to the book…..

As you might expect with a book from DK, everything is photographed beautifully and explained very clearly. There are a couple of pages at the front of the book discussing chunky needles and yarns and towards the back of the book there is a great techniques section covering basic knitting, sewing up and crochet.

In total there are 35 projects in the book, most of them would fall under the heading ‘accessories’ or ‘frippery’ , however most of them are cute and quirky and would make great gifts.

My only complaint is that there isn’t a pattern included for the beautiful, crochet hearts shown on page 9 of the book, but I’m sure Attic 24 has a version on her blog.

I’ve picked 5 of my favourites to show you

This one to be fair is a little questionable

Overall not a bad little book for The book People price of €8 and it would be a great book to give with a couple of balls of super chunky yarn and a set of big needles as a gift to a newbie knitting friend.

Happy knitting!

OK. So we’ve all seen the ‘super quick knit’ patterns that seem like a good idea until you realise that they’re actually referring to those amongst us that can break all kinds of speed knitting records.

I’m a steady knitter, neither fast nor slow and if we’re being extremely honest, I’m prone to distraction. However, this little neck warmer did actually take a little over an hour to knit up – PROMISE!

So what are you going to need?

I’ve used 10mm needles and 2 balls of Rico Fashion Elegance in shade 3. They’re 5ometres each so you need approx 100metres of super chunky yarn.

Cast on 20sts and knit every row in plain/garter stitch until work measures 56cms/22″. Cast off loosely

I slipped the first stitch of every row to keep my edges tidier but it’s not necessary.

Join by sewing your cast on and cast off edges together.

Ta ddah……..

Of course now my neck’s warm but I can’t see a blooming thing.

Much better.

I’m going to make a couple for my youngest to wear as he always forgets to put a scarf on and I’m sure my hubby whose a plumber and constantly working outside on dairy farm installations at the moment, might even fancy a couple.

In case your wondering it’s 20cm/8″ deep.

Happy Knitting!