Setting up a Hague linker

I've recently had two requests on how to set up a Hague linker (it might be the same person, twice, of course).

There are some pictures here - took a picture of the handle positions at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. Not the easiest thing to photograph on a grey, wet day! Also made a short video

These instructions are based on a manual linker, I do not have any information about electric linkers. I did some sketches of my linker as it's rather hard to photograph.

1. The needle should be set so that 6mm protrudes from the back, and approx. 45mm protrudes from the front. The needle should curve down and to the left/right. If it were possible to view the needle from directly above, it would appear to be straight. If it is not straight it will not work properly.

2. The needle goes in and out directly above the groove in the linker point. There is a small gap of about 0.5mm to 1mm here.

3. The looper should be set so that it is almost horizontal. Mine appears to be perhaps 1 degree higher at the working end. The point of the looper is to the top. The looper arm is about 12mm out of its socket.

4. When the needle is fully extended (handle approx. 7 o'clock), the overlap between looper and needle is approx. 20mm. The vertical gap at this point is approx. 1mm

Advice for setting up - set the needle as in (1), then adjust the looper, there is lots more room to adjust the looper.

Continuing slowly onwards with Blusa and Kimi. Trying out a Clover soft-touch hook - not sure how I feel yet!

Odds and sods and Weavemasters

Spent a large part of Saturday sewing some trousers. They came out OK. I need to add a hook and eye to finish them (and some tape for hanging them up). I got a bit confused on the waistband, so put it together how I thought. I also did a lot of sample knitting and crocheting (for the fancy yarn afghan). I tried knitted the sari ribbon yarn I picked up at Woolfest, but it is really too stiff - it crochets up with a 10mm hook ok though!

Seem to have mislaid my 2mm hook since the Godiva festival, so that is on hold whilst I get a third replacement. Gah!

Weavemasters come up on Ebay from time to time - expect to pay silly money though (they originally retailed for £80). I advertised for mine in a machine knitting magazine. It's ok as a device, but a proper table loom is far better, the shed is bigger IMHO.

Finished a second lace bookmark yesterday (bar adding a fringe). This one has pink squares in whole stitch, and little "spiders". It was a lot of fun! Just had notice that the demo I was giving next week is cancelled, so I can go to the last class after all.


Current mood: happy

OT: Oasis at the Ricoh arena

It was chucking it down as we arrived .There were queues to get in, despite us being divided into gates. Inside? Hell on earth. There was a massive crush on the stairs - the design of the arena is such that seated and standing audience have to use the same route to get to their seats/the pitch. Made the mistake of popping to the loo before Oasis came on, and it took me half an hour to get around the stadium to the outside portaloos with only a small queue. The crush on the stairs broke into song: "You don't know what you're doing!".

I think a lot of the problems could have been solved by having admissions via the other side of the building (this has a swanky foyer), thus easing the load. Also having IN stairs and OUT stairs would help no end. Once you got inside the screens indicated the left hand side was less packed. Ah, bolting the gate afterwards, how kind!

The gig was great (apart from having unidentified liquids thrown over us at regular intervals), but the venue rather spoilt it for me. It even stopped raining. Liam got boos when he dedicated a song to "the real Sky Blues" (Man city). Uh, yeah, this is a football ground?

The carparking is £20 (or £10 for "park and walk to a field"). Plus another £2 if you help them out and prebook (surely they should reward people with planning?). The NEC charges £8 to park and is far better served by public transport and motorways - we often park at the next station and take the train. The Ricoh? They're having a laugh! Never going to a gig there ever again, I don't care who it is!

Enough said.

My crochet-a-day calendar is featuring a 3 part pattern on how to dress up a gingerbread cookie cutter. Why would anyone want to waste their time on making dresses for their cookie cutters? Whatever next - a cosy for all my spoons?! :)

Bit confused about a remark made at the MJ funeral - "he gave us "We are the World" before Live Aid" .... well, Band Aid was first in the UK and then became Live Aid....

Blusa Queen - more mods

Having attached both arms, I was quite dismayed to find that the jacket barely covers my dignity at the front - even once I've added the not inconsiderable ruffles.  I think I'm going to have to add a lot more crochet at the front to get it to work. Luckily I had to order a lot more of the crochet cotton than I needed.

I don't know who this pattern was designed for - a teenager with no curves, I think!

Working on a secret project for a work colleague. Funny how having a deadline demotivates me!

More sewing on the horizon

Bought some grey suiting material for a 4 piece suit I intend to make. This one involves zips and interfacings. I haven't bought any matching thread yet, but I will. Hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew - the jacket looks complicated, so I will do that last.

Godiva Festival 2009

Spent two days in a tent in a park in Coventry, promoting the Coventry Knit-Wits. Many thanks to Linda and Dawn for keeping me company and supplying snacks and chocolate digestives! Weather was beautiful for once.

Did the first cuff of Blusa Queen, and started the second, but spent yesterday on a secret knitting project which has stalled today because I've mislaid some yarn. Fingers crossed I didn't waste a day's knitting!


Current mood: hot

Blusa continues

The UK is having a bit of a heatwave at the moment. The weather was nice last Friday, but gradually got more and more close throughout the week, and no showers to freshen up. Just making sandwiches brought me out in a sweat! The house seems to be retaining the heat, it was actually quite pleasant sitting out on the patio last night at about 10pm. Seems to have broken today with some showers. I have found myself longing for snow, aren't I ungrateful?! :)

I have bought ingredients to make some low-fat ice-creams tonight. I might try honey and peppermint varieties (assuming we have some peppermint!).

Because it's been so hot, working with wool has been out of the question, although the bamboo is not too bad to knit with. So I have made serious inroads on the Blusa Queen cardigan. I finished the second sleeve last night, and joined up one half of the cardigan with a zigzag chain stitch, and now I am working on the ruffled cuff. I am working it in the round. I should get a big chunk of it done this weekend, as I am going to be sitting in a tent at the Coventry Godiva festival (annual free festival) all weekend, promoting the Coventry Knit Wits. Debating whether to take my knitting machine - it's a lot of hassle, and it's not really representative of the group's activities anyway. I might just pack a hodge-podge of kit and yarn and make more pieces for the patchwork blanket.

I made a drawstring bag for our picnic kit yesterday, from leftover skirt material - I just made it up as I went along, and it came out really well. I pinched the cord and toggle from the old bag, as it was falling apart anyway. I'm trying to track down two plastic mugs for camping and then we're all set. I think a trip to Jackson's of Old Arley might do the trick, they seem to have mugs on their website anyway.

Tomorrow is the last weekend I've definitely got something fibre-related going on. Might take a trip up to Ruddingtons, but that's about it for now. Maybe I will finally have time to get to grips with the CSM ribber?