Raglan Schmaglan

Tried (and failed) to make a raglan cardigan for a premature baby this weekend. The fifth Long Buckby Regional Day is running a charity drive for them, and I thought maybe just for once I'dremember in time, and contribute. Alas, it was not to be. Something went wrong with one of the fronts - possibly stretched, being left hanging on the machine, with weights, for two days, although I am skeptical it would have stretched by 4cm. I didn't spot the problem until I'd already done the neckband and both front bands. Unpicked the bands and re-did the front. Almost finished sewing it up a second time, and heck, there was something wrong with the sleeve head on that side too. Either I also went wrong on the sleeve (and read the pattern for a front halfway through) or, well, I dunno. A second frogging was out of the question, so the whole lot got binned.

I reckon I should give up machine knitting altogether sometimes, and do something far less complicated, like study relativity theory, Laplace transforms, or calculus! Am now trying to calculate a simple T shape cardigan, and possibly make it in one piece using holding position.

Cheered myself up somewhat designing the heart slip stitch pattern and creating some dbj swatches. Then did a lot of messing about with my laptop, to try and get email working. Got Outlook Express working satisfactorily but Apple's Mail program insists on deleting stuff from the server, which was not the idea. This is all in preparation for exporting my info from Outlook on the home PC, because it desperately needs wiping and rebuilding. My smartphone is rather windows-centric in terms of what it will synchronise with, and doesn't really support Apple, which is a bit of a pain.

Also did some tidying up of the MK treasure chest links page, which is getting almost too long to keep as one page. Found an excellent bit of HTML software (Kompozer) as my copy of Dreamweaver has (a) lost its registration code and (b) was probably written for Windows 95.

Started making a small sheep from a kit I got at My Baboo - mine will be blue. So very cute! The body is garter stitch, and the head is stocking stitch, I should be able to knit it without ending up with an extra leg (one hopes!)

Long Bucky Knit and Natter Day Oct 16th 2010

Long Buckby Community Centre, 41 Station Road, Long Buckby, Northants NN6 7QB.
10.30am-4.30pm

Tunisian crochet, machine knitting, Gloria Thomas "Whizzy knitting", Sock machine in action, patchwork knitting (use up those odds and ends), plus more. Uppingham Yarns and Wendy's Knits and Bits (MK spares) to buy.

Guest Speaker: Bill King.

Limited tickets (£5), send SAE to Brenda Adams, 10 Squires Walk, Northampton NN3 6AL
Contact: Pat on 01788 822091

Bring your own packed lunch.

Experiments with double-bed jacquard

I created a DBJ cheat sheet based on a handout I used to have, not sure who did it originally. I've added two of my own versions - reversible and vertical lined backing. These were all done on the SK840/SRP60N, so I cannot produce the reversible version, as Silver machines do not pre-select for the next row. There are some pictures of a previous experiment with reversible backing here and here.

Two-row backing


Front


Back

Two-row backing tends to elongate the pattern somewhat, so you might have to adjust your pattern to compensate.

One-row backing


Front


Back

Plain backing


Front


Back

Bird's eye backing


Front


Back

Vertical striped backing


Front - went a bit wrong and dropped some stitches


Back

Two-colour slip stitch

Been trying to work out a two-colour slip stitch heart design. Worked one out a while ago but it didn't come out correctly. Finally had another go yesterday and was successful. You have to design the card on paper, and then invert the colours on every other row, and use height elongation on the knitting machine. It's also quicker if you have a colour changer.


Front


Back

Two-colour slip stitch (sometimes called maze or mosaic) is useful because it produces a fabric with very short floats on the reverse side. Useful for garments where fingers or toes might get caught

Ruby

I bought Mum some red roses, and a paperweight, both with the theme of Ruby, for your fortieth wedding anniversary. It's been five years, and sometimes it seems like forever, sometimes just a few months, since you passed away. It will always be a bittersweet memory from now on. You never enjoyed very good health whilst you were here, I hope things are better up there! You are never far from my thoughts.

Miss you, dad.

Your daughter.

FO: Simple shorts

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

This is a cotton material with embroidery on it, I bought 3m of it as it wasn't wide enough on the bolt to cut out two pieces. I think I might have enough for either a matching top or a matching skirt. :)

I need to make a cord for the drawstring waist and then it's done.

Dress form

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

If you've ever wondered what my face looks like, tough. Had a creepy experience aeons ago when a bloke spotted me in a bar and started emailing me. Bit creepy.

However, this is my torso! Had a scream making this last night with a friend. Had duck tape left over and we debated doing the cat.... :)

Yes, I do need to lose some weight, and no, I do not have a dimpled bosom - this needs stuffing with newspaper.

All sewn up

Went into Hobbycraft a few weeks ago (always fatal - nearly always come out with some yarn or something) and picked up this book:



There are about 20 basic patterns, from a wrap skirt, beret, trousers, shift dress, jackets. This is the book I made the shorts from - it has a basic copy of "Patternmaker" software with it. By basic, I mean you can enter your measurements into the provided macros, and it draws them up for you. You can add an offset all around (ie for the bottom hem) and you can arrange the pieces to minimise on paper usage. When you print it out, it's a cut and stick job (luckily I have an A0 plotter at work). I thought I'd have a go at the shorts, because I'm very sturdy and a bit overweight, I am the classic English pear shaped figure, so finding things to fit my bottom half (big hips, small waist) can be very tricky. Plus I want some shorts for my holiday - the only pair I have, were bought in the "low rider" craze - and they're practically indecent when I sit down. I know they're not exactly fashionable, but drawstring and elasticated waists work best for me. If I don't wear a belt with my jeans, you could probably get a coffee mug into my waistband when I'm sitting down! :)

Anyway, the shorts pictured yesterday came out pretty well. I need to get some slightly thicker fabric and make some more - I'm thinking I'll add a pocket or two this time :)

You can get various different options of this software, going rapidly up in price - I wouldn't buy the top end program for designing my own stuff, but only because I can use CAD in my spare time at work and draw things up that way (and I don't need to learn any new software).

Current mood: happy

KnitCamp 2010: review

This was my classroom set up in room 44. The two standard Brothers are nearest, Jo's chunky is nearest the windows on the left (she lets her cat sleep on it! Argh!), and the convertible is furthest. Around the walls I put my MK work folders and some sample garments - Amelia the mannequin is just out of shot on the right. Not a bad little room, but rather warm (no aircon and windows that hardly open).

I had two students at 9.30am and we just about managed to get everything in, in 90 minutes. They were both thinking about getting machines, so I hope I inspired them enough to start shopping around. If you spot me on Rav, guys, say hi! :)

The KC staff put a piece of paper outside my door so that students could sign themselves up for a slot - I also put a quick advert on the noticeboard. My name actually disappeared from the Knit Camp website for months - I did ask to have it put back on, because I was pretty sure I wasn't fully booked, but I did not reappear until last week. Consequently nobody knew about me to book me, which is a darned shame. I could have taught 16 in a day!

Anyway, no students appeared for the second slot so I wandered over to Pathfoot to have a look at the marketplace. I had brought £50 and was very good, didn't get the plastic out once. I got a lovely giant button from Toft, which I'm using as a coaster, a knitted sheep kit from My Baboo, a flower loom, and some lovely buttons from Injabulo. Although I had managed to get a food voucher by this point, I had left it in my classroom, and it was getting too late to get it and then get to the one dining room that would accept it, so I had lunch in the Pathfoot cafeteria. Wandered back over to my classroom for 2pm, hung around until 2.30pm, still no students, so back over to the marketplace to see the other part. One of my students was Renee from Vogue Knitting magazine - alas, she was manning a stand so had cancelled and wasn't sure she could get time off.

At 3.30pm I had two more students - local ladies who had somehow found out about the event (they have no internet). We got through the basics very quickly, because they'd got knitting machines under beds, so had done it before - and I got to show them lace, fairisle, knitweave etc. It was a lot of fun! They hadn't booked in advance, so I took them to the KnitCamp office hoping to get payment sorted out, but there was nobody there, so we swapped details and they'll be putting a cheque in the post.

Went and had some dinner (some vegetarian pasta) and then went and sat in the bar and knitted for a while. Made a pear cider last over an hour - well, Cottrell and Pathfoot are a 15 minute walk apart (with a bit of a hill) and I'd done that trip four times, so I was bushed! Went back to the chalet and tried to sleep, which wasn't easy as I could hear someone on their mobile in the next room, and wooden chalets are kind of creaky!

Decided to start packing up on Saturday morning, as no more names appeared on my booking sheet. I felt really mean for packing up, but as most of the classes etc were all now in Pathfoot it was pretty deserted in Cottrell - designed by a prison designer apparently - the room numbering was certainly interesting!. I was done by 10.30 - discovered the service ramp I'd been directed to (and not found) on the first day, was actually down the far end of the carpark I'd been in originally. No wonder I never found it the first time!

Found my way back to the motorway (some new roadworks slowed me up on the A74M), and after a quick stop at Tebay for cheese (Greg) and purse (me - they didn't have any), I just kept my foot down until Rugby hove into view.

All in all, a good event. All the students I spoke to (bearing in mind, I got there late Thursday) were very happy with their courses, and some had even taken ones they hadn't originally planned, because of the disruption on the first day. I've seen suggestions on Rav that the "happy campers" have been somehow brainwashed, that actually they weren't happy. If you think someone could brainwash 200 odd people then, well, you watch too much science fiction and should probably get out more. Some folks seem rather unhappy that things went so well, an addiction to schadenfreude perhaps? I wouldn't mind, but a lot of those weren't attending, but "I might want to attend next year so I need to know what is going on!". Sorry, I've not had any suggestion that this is now an annual event. That's just a poor excuse for sticking your nose in, in my opinion. If the students are happy, the students being the final "customer", then the event was a success I think.

From my point of view, I would have preferred to teach more students to make it worth the physical effort and travel, and nobody had been sent my notes - luckily I printed off a load of handouts just in case. I would prefer not to have to advertise myself last minute, when everybody is already booked on other courses. But, that minor gripe aside, it was fun and I met Lucy Neatby (fantastic fairisle cardigan!) and a few other folks who've only been names on websites.

Was quite glad to get home to pizza and beer and my own bed, though! :)

FO: Simple shorts

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

Ran these up last night - not a bad fit, either! These are actually supposed to be a toile (practise), made from an old duvet cover, but they are good enough to wear around the house I think. Need to see if I can find some thicker fabric, and make another pair for my holiday.

Tie belt is knitted nylon cord "borrowed" from a tent peg set! :)

Arrival

There's been a lot of discussion and aggro on the Rav boards about Knit Camp. Work permits for non-EU tutors failed to materialise on time, meaning a lot of Tuesday's classes had to be rescheduled. I'm not going to go into the rows that caused. I can see both sides of the situation - I know how upset I'd be if I'd booked something I couldn't attend. But on the other side, to err is human, and it's probably just the kind of detail I'd screw up. It is a shame that this cock-up brought out the nastier pack element in a lot of folks, some of whom aren't even attending. But I see faults on both sides and do not wish to add further fuel. The KC organisers have put heart and soul into this, and kudos to them for that. They all look a bit stressed but have gone above and beyond to help everyone. So. 'nuff said.

I had a pleasant enough drive up to Stirling - the scattered showers kept things interesting, and I was ably accompanied by Abba on the stereo. Found the place no problem. Found the knit camp office too. Had trouble locating the "correct" loading bay, so used my initiative, some elbow grease and some cursing (my trolley steered like a brick). Cottrell is bigger than it looks from the plan, and surrounded by carparks. Had a bit of trouble locating digs, partly my eyesight, partly not much signage. The chalet I'm in sleeps 5, and it's very Centerparcs. I love it! Almost makes me wished I'd stayed in halls of residence in my uni days! I have about 6 kid's books in my room, which is surreal. Wish I'd had room for my bike, too, but the car was already pretty full.

So I went back to Cottrell and got all my machines set up in the KC office. There was yarn everywhere, it was doubling as a shop, so I couldn't lay out properly. Found the dining room and had a salad - I resisted dessert, but that won't happen tonight I promise you!

Found a little atrium area where people were knitting, so did a few rounds on picovoli. Went back to finish settting up, and a flustered Kate said she'd been looking all over for me, could I swap classrooms?! She has my mobile number but forgot! Argh! So much for a jog round the lake - I got my exercise last night, lugging all my kit down corridors that get progressively narrower. Five trips with that blasted trolley again, ably helped by Amy!

But it actually works better this way - we can shut the door, we won't upset the spinners, and we won't have students wandering in and out. I might even have more students - there's been a lot of interest because of the reschedulings. I know I said I'd leave midday tomorrow, but if there are more students I'm more than happy to teach until I collapse in a heap somewhere. So. I am in room 44 today if anyone wants to know! :)

Everyone I've spoken to has been very friendly and very happy. Yes, there've been problems, but we knitters are a resilient lot. Quite a few US accents and other nationalities here, which is a pleasant surpise. I thought *I* was coming a long way! :)

Didn't sleep well, but I never do in a strange bed, and my mattress feels slightly tilted towards the wall. Stayed up 'til gone midnight chatting with the other tutors (the white wine I brought went down very well, although I probably had the lion's share).

Brekko isn't until 8.30 which is late for me (I start work at 8.30!) so it might be a bit of a mad dash, but I think part of the reason for my insomnia is that I'm excited like a big kid on xmas eve. I'm passionate about machine knitting and I hope to spark that passion in my students.

It's 7.45 now - gonna have another coffee and knit. Let's see what the day brings. I honestly can't wait! :D

Off to Scotland

I spent a large part of last night packing away certain bits of knitting machine kit, before my student arrived for her lesson. There's a pile of stuff in the hallway waiting to be loaded into the car tonight. I'm probably taking a standard, a chunky, and a convertible machine (which is a spare in case we get another student).

I've got to sort out some DK and 4ply coned yarn (not got a lot of either), make sure to pack needles, punch cards, doodads and tools. Oh, and pack some clothes/toiletries, ha!

I'm going to be on the road most of tomorrow, and then most of Saturday afternoon (or possibly Sunday, it depends on how everything pans out). If I leave not long after midday on Saturday, I might just about get home for bedtime. If it was just me, I'd've considered taking the train or a 'plane, but there's no way I can carry three machines, three tables and the assorted paraphernalia that goes with them, on my own.

I am really looking forward to teaching at Knit Camp. It's just a pity about the long unaccompanied drive either side of it! I've never done such a long drive before, without someone else to take turns. If you are on the M6 north tomorrow, look for a nutter in a silver Fiesta, singing along to Absolute radio and eating jellybabies. :)

After packing away all the Brother kit, it was like coming home to an old friend, using the SK840 again. It was the first chance I've had to try my lace carriage out - Andee of Andeeknits adjusted the timing for me - and now it does lace perfectly, nary a dropped stitch in sight. Result!

Fantasy fairisle

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

Just to prove I can knit something, this was a test swatch on the Passap - pity I somehow reversed the colours part way up!

I should have photographed the reverse side, actually - the colours are reversed, although the pattern is not as clear on the reverse side.

That's the one problem with the Passap manual - there are no pictures of the reverse of the knitting, which is a pity.

A series of unfortunate jumpers...

Heh. I have no luck when it comes to making jumpers for my sweetie.

I made him a bottle green jumper ages back. That actually turned out ok, but I think there was a mistake in the instructions, because it advised you to use holding position for the back shoulder shaping in such a way as to make it finish up diagonal? Which would be fine except that the front shoulders were shaped as you would normally. Think it might have been a typo. Weird!

I made him a lovely navy lambswool sweater with sky blue cuffs. It was actually a nice jumper, until somebody who shall remain nameless tumble-dried it.

Making the second version I ran out of the navy yarn so one of the arms has a slightly different coloured shoulder. I managed to shrink that one I think, by over-spinning it in the washing machine.

I made him a cardigan out of dark green acrylic. “Make it really long”, he said. “I want it to cover my bottom”, he said (dunno why, he has a lovely bottom!). It used up so much yarn I had to make the cuffs and collar in another colour. I couldn’t get a zip long enough for it (without contacting a camping store, haha!). Took many attempts to set the zip in, and it was a good 6” too short at the neck, anyway. Needless to say he never wore it and it went into the bin.

Fast forward to today - finally finished a jumper made in a brown tweed 2x2 rib. Yeah, it’s kinda figure-hugging (I did warn him it would be). One sleeve is about 6” too long. One sleeve is about 9” too long. The front and the back are a different length, for some reason, so when I sewed it up, the shoulder seam is actually 3-4” down his front. Ahem. I know I could cut the sleeves and make them shorter, but I’m really not sure I want to! It looks terrible!

Maybe I should just stick to baby clothes. I’m getting quite tired of his pained expression - “I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I’m never going to wear this monstrosity!”.

Yes, I did swatch, and yes, I used Knitware. Yep, I can screw it up with the help of a computer! I suspect 2x2 is just too stretchy to calculate an accurate swatch….

Oh well. I’m taking the Brother ribber to KnitCamp next week along with two Bro machines, so the whole machine is being put away, I have another lambswool jumper to make on the SK840, swatched and ready. Maybe this will be the one that fits and doesn’t get shrunk?! :)

Summertime...

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

When the most colourful thing in the picture is the boot of your own car, you know you'r enjoying yet another miserable British summer! This was the view from the tent at the weekend, went for a brief two-night camping trip with my sister and her kids. Had a fun day at Kingsbury Water park, where the weather went from this (cold enough to wear a fleece) to sunny (warm enough to apply suncream) and back, in the space of a few hours.

Took my Picovoli vest along to knit on, but didn't get much done; kids take a lot of attention. Apart from a minor accident with the stove where I nearly set light to the tent making pancakes, everything went ok.

Sewed up the Nina Miklin wrap on Tuesday, it took all night to sew up with the linker. I think it needs a good washing/steaming now to improve it. Tonight I want to sew up the shoulder on the Cog's brown jumper, so that I can finish the neckline and (a) free up the table for the Silver machine to be put up instead, and (b) get my best super-long circular needle back.

Need to make a packing list for Knitcamp next week - 2 knitting machines plus attendant paraphernalia; yarn; change of clothes. My free time during the week is limited to about 4 hours, and there is always so much to do that often I do not know where to start. I'm going to be busy most of this weekend, and I'm not sure when I'm getting back from Stirling next weekend. I was planning on coming back down on the Saturday, but it depends on whether I have more students to teach or not. The Cog wanted to go see the UK GNR tribute band at Nottingham next Saturday, and I was going to meet him on the way home, but I'm not sure that's possible now (it's a good 8 hour drive home). Oh well, I'm sure they'll come round again.