City Knitty @ Double Dutch

It was a City Knitty of two halves this week as due to planning permissions (or rather lack of them) Double Dutch closes at 8pm. This didn't dampen the spirits of the die-hard knitters who had an enjoyable half an hour before relocating to Chai. Double Dutch is a very nice venue with a relaxing atmosphere, bright lighting, a wide array of drinks and freshly prepared food. The staff were very friendly and welcoming, showing a great willingness to accommodate us. It is a real pity that local planning regulations mean that this venue is effectively closed to the evening knitters, however, this would make a super venue for a daytime/weekend knitting session.

The second half of the evening was held a short distance away at Chai where the knitters settled down to knitting and socializing around steaming pots of exotic teas. It is also worth noting that this is the first time the blog has been written during a city knitty event itself courtesy of the venue's wifi.

There were several new knitters this week including a first time learner mastering cast on and knit stitch and the others worked on a little bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and a snuggly cream cable knit scarf with little big yarn. We also welcomed back an old regular whose wrists had finally healed enough to allow to knit a mustard cardigan in a wool/acrylic mix intended to deter the attentions of persistent moths who know a good yarn when they eat it. Other recently taught knitters were making good progress with first project scarves, a dark green garter stitch scarf and a chunky cream and blue garter stitch. Some more experimentation was going on in the realm of crochet with single, double, and half triple stitches and tunisian crochet.

Some familiar pieces were scattered around. The cute black cable dog jumper was back (underside this time) and more little garter stitch squares for a baby blanket off-white coloured). There was the light blue child's poncho with pastel coloured bobbles and warm cosy socks from a gently graduating orange-green-red yarn. There were plenty of new projects to admire too: a moss stitch scarf with a diamond pattern in a bright blue soft merino, a warm looking icelandic sweater from Elizabeth Zimmermann's 'The Opinionated Knitter', a white moss stitch baby hat with a light green roll brim from 'Debbie Bliss Baby Knits' and a lace scarf to be made from the little arrow head or the lace in cable stitch patterns.

This was the last of the new venues and now we shall discuss and vote on our favourite. Next Wednesday we will have a last meeting at the City Cafe and discuss the results of our poll...


Clare & Jan