Fiddling knitting patterns!!

Witzend - I've just given up on a lacey baby blanket pattern. I pulled the first 5 rows back several times before deciding life is too short. I'm knitting a basic easy baby blanket instead. We need a support group where we can go along and knit with experts. I went along to a local knit and knitter group to find it was dominated by a woman who decided we all had to knit squares for premature babies. If that's what I wanted, I could do that easily - I was looking for a sharing of skills

I can't be doing with fiddly patterns these days either - I want to enjoy knitting, be relaxed by it, not stressed!
The other thing that irritates me about a lot of the online patterns these days is the trend for knitting things 'top down' or 'in the round'. I'm a competent knitter but have arthritic fingers now and don't want to have to struggle with the weight of zillions of stitches on the needle, nor with circular or double ended needles. Mostly I knit on the machine, so I want patterns for standard, knitted bottom up, knitted flat garments. But they are getting thin on the ground.

Have you had a look in Charity shops. Sometimes there will be a stash of knitting patterns, old and newer .

Glad it's not just me! Iam64, I almost despaired of finding a fairly simple baby blanket pattern when Gdd was on the way - eventually found one in a book at the library - lovely colourful moss stitch squares (didn't know whether we were expecting a Gdd or a Gds so multicoloured was best) with a border added. I think it was a Debbie Bliss book.

It's also not so easy to find non-fussy patterns for babies and toddlers. Quite apart from the fact that I can't manage them, I really don't like them!
I have found a few, but the fussy ones are far easier to find.

A nephew's MiL knitted a fantastic white lacy Christening outfit for their baby - a cold winter Christening - long robe, cape, hat and bootees - you name it. I honestly couldn't do that if my life depended on it!

I'm currently knitting a baby cardigan in a colourful yarn. I didn't want a fancy pattern because it won't show up with the yarn so I'm just using an old pattern I had and doing it in stocking stitch instead of lace.

It seems to be fine, although I noticed I dropped a stitch way back down so will have to do some surreptitious mending!

I recently gave all my baby patterns to DiL as she had become an auntie. Some had decorative stitches, but the bigger the garments were required to be, the plainer the patterns got, so that by the time he was about four, it was cables only. I can just about cope with cables! There are some lovely yarns about now that give an interesting texture to knits even with plain patterns. About three years ago I started knitting a cardigan for myself with some cabling on it. It is still not finished - I did the back and one and a half fronts, and lost the will to live. Trouble is now I’m not sure I can pick up where I left off. Anyone fancy a challenge?

I have just seen on Pinterest, that the V&A have vintage knitting patterns to dowload.

Don't ask me. I had to get some serious assistance ftom a couple of you knitters when faced with a pattern I found really difficuly to understand. The directions seemed really confusingly written. (Thanks again for the help.)

Sirdar do pattern books for their “baby crofter ” range but can be used with any wool. I hadn’t knitted for ages before 1st GC born then started again. First pattern useless, then found book 2 of baby crofter. A few patterns have cable, which I actually succeeded in doing for 1st time, but there are cardigans, hooded jackets and jumpers and each pattern is in sizes birth to 7 years. They are all conventional, bottom up, rib and stocking stitch (apart from a few with cable). Good fit and anything I’ve done has been worn a lot by GC.

Some of the variegated wool you can get now comes out in lovely patterns and it’s fun to see it developing

Well, I've done the back and 2 fronts of the doll's jacket in my own version of the super-fiddling pattern, just a seed stitch border and then garter stitch, and to me it looks a lot nicer than the picture on the pattern! Did it in a Sirdar Snuggly - white with little pale blue and green flecks.
Only the sleeves, front borders, collar, trousers, hat and bootees to go!