Alexander's Hoodie

Finished in the nik of time. Below are his "I'm a model, Grandma!" pictures :) Thank goodness for my machines, I broke my hand last week and would not have been able to create the promised sweater in time if it weren't for them. Proof, a casted hand can still push a carriage! This one was knit on the Singer HK100 an 8mm machine using dial setting 7.

Oh, this sweater is done in Red Heart Soft and the pattern I used was one I posted to the Bond List patterns page on Stephanie's site years ago. I made a few changes and found a few errors in the original post. I'll have to talk to Lea-Ann to see about how to get it fixed.

His new socks were also finished and are posted at http://clarissesocks.blogspot.com .

Toyota SK858

My first punch card swatch! Wow, I have been really missing out. I thought hand manipulating stitches and patterns on my very basic manual machines was so cool, now I feel like a complete dope. I wonder how long I'll be satisfied with punch cards now that I understand how this all works. Electronics ... here we come!!! Nah, I'll be satisfied with the punch cards for awhile, I still like the rythem and the process, but you can bet that I won't be automatically skipping the more sofisticated machines on ebay anymore. This is just awesome!

Oh Brother! Profile 588 is out of the closet.

I recently acquired a Profile 588 to go with all the books and manuals that my mother in law saved from going into a dumpster a few years ago. I gave like $10 for the machine, the carriage was broken but I was able to purchase one from the UK and it just arrived the other day. A fellow knitter from the Machine Knitters Yahoo group mentioned a stitch pattern book, a light bulb went off "I have that book!" I had glanced at it but didn't understand it at all. Now even though I've been studying my White 1602, I had to set up the 588 and try out this old machine and WOW!


This is the first lace, I did a couple of tuck patterns too, but frogged them before I realized I wanted to post pictures. You can see where I started to mess up. You have to really pay attention to what line of the instruction you are on. I'm thinking I might want to copy the chart to a bigger piece of paper and then use a ruler to help keep track of where I'm at.

As I was amazing myself with what can be done on these machines, I remembered the first time I saw a knitting machine. There was yarn shop in the little strip mall that we used to buy cards of angora yarn to wrap our boyfriends class rings with so they would fit our fingers. We would brush and brush that yarn until all you could see was a gem stone in a nest of fur, then we started using dental floss and embroidery thread coated with clear nail polish. We'd build the layers up and end with setting words like LOVE or PEACE or little peace signs using snips of colored embroidery thread and burying it under more coats of clear nail polish so we could flash our boyfriends ring around. Sorry, guess I'm having some sort of flash back LOL!!!

Anyway, this machine was plugged into the wall and the carriage just went back and forth all by itself. It was astonishing to see, the price was pretty astonishing too and I never gave it another thought. That was for rich people. Funny how things impress us when we are young and how those impressions stay with us. Little did I know!

Now my Grandson wants to know if I can knit anything else except swatches! "You sure have to practice alot Grandma, are you ever going to just make something?" Kids, gotta love 'em.

Even a Ripple!

This is from the White 1602. I did it last night with the racking lever. What fun! The hardest part is remembering which way you just clicked the lever.

Fancy Stitches!

Woo-Hoo! It's not right but it's a start! The curvy lines are supposed to be on either side of the straight line, but the point is that I got curvy lines!!!! This racking thing is awesome!!!

Success!

2 x 2 Rib and 2 x 2 Double Sided Fisherman Rib!!!

Thanks to the help of some very talented, generous, giving, wonderful and every other nice thing I could possibly think of to say about someone, I have 2x2 ribs and 2x2 double sided fisherman ribs from my White double bed knitting machine! Happy Happy Happy!!! I could kiss everyone of you! Remember that song from To Sir With Love? " How do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to perfume?" That is just a little of how I feel right now. This is wonderful and I would never have figured it out. So much for manuals! Alan, Alison, Patrick... you are the best! I hope you're ready because now I want to try the fancy stitches in the back of the book :) Thank you so very much.


Here's a picture of the 1st pass for the cast on. I sure hope it looks right because it worked :)

Here is after hanging the comb and the 2 circular passes and before re-racking to opposite normal knitting position. This is just sooo great. I can't wait to share pictures of the fancy stitches I'm about to embark on. Then after all this swatching and experimenting, maybe I'll actually make something :)