FO: Sirdar Crofter socks

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

FO: Prototype xmas sock #2

100_3706
Originally uploaded by steel breeze

For Pen

In response to Pen,

I'm sorry you missed seeing me at Stirling. I can't respond personally, because you don't have a blog, but if you are still looking for machine knitting lessons, try the following links:

Guild of Machine Knitters

Scottish Machine Knitters

Depending on where you are. One of these organisations can put you in touch with either a college course, or a person that can give you one-to-one tuition (more likely and can be more tailored to your needs - a lot of colleges have dropped their machine knitting classes). I'm happy to teach, but it has to be somewhere I can get to within two hours, really - so within the West Midlands / Warwickshire / Northants / Leicestershire area.

Good luck!

Sock-tastic and fiddling with fine gauge

So I've been pretty busy lately with other things, but I'm desperately trying to make time for xmas knitting too. I made a second pair of red and white fairisle socks this weekend, with an all-over snowflake pattern of my own design. I went up a number on the tensions. On last week's prototype, the short-rowed rows tucked a lot - turns out I was knitting too tightly. I was beginning to wonder if I'd used the wrong ribber clamps, because I seem to have an extra pair of the square-edged Knitmaster S clamps (the Brother clamps have radiused edges I believe, although I may be wrong).

Of course, although loosening the tension (and adding 4 stitches) means that the sock now stretches enough to be put-on-able - it also made it longer. Yes, I need to knock about 12 rows off the length to make a size 7. I asked the Cog to try on the first one - before washing, it measured 28cm, which shrank to 26cm after washing. He tried it on and immediately claimed it (he is a size 9). You could have knocked me down with a feather - this is the man who eschews New Maine jumpers because they have a tiny sailor's wheel logo embroidered on them. This is the man who always wants navy blue or black jumpers, and they are always very, very plain. Not even a cable in sight. They weren't actually intended for him, but I guess it is a success of sorts. I'm loathe to take them off him, put it this way. He's already dropping big hints that he wishes I'd darn some of the socks I've knitted for him in the past, despite the fact that the leftover yarn is long gone. If I darn them, it will be with a primary coloured sock yarn - he said that was ok, but he might not like it when he sees it!

I also finished knitting the second sock (Sirdar Crofter pattern #7). They fit ok and would be great under wellies (if I owned any) or for around the house.

Both of these endeavours required that I remember how to graft (aka Kitchener Stitch) the toes. I used to have a little bookmark somewhere that had the instructions. I copied the instructions from the back of someone's book on knit night, but I was also talking, so the grafting wasn't entirely successful. It also needs very good light, which is only really available at my dining table at home.

Once I recalled Kate of Knit the knit's foolproof Kitchener instructions, and realized that occasionally I was accidentally catching the yarn and making a kind of blanket stitch, I was away. So I present for your information, Kate's foolproof Kitchener stitch principles.

Basically, each stitch to be grafted needs a "catching" stitch and a "finishing" stitch. The "catching" stitch is always worked in the OPPOSITE direction to the stitch being worked. For example, to catch a KNIT stitch, you sew through the stitch PURLWISE, and vice versa. The stitch remains on the needle after the "catching" stitch.

When working the "finishing" stitch, the needle is worked in the SAME direction as the stitch being worked. So a purl stitch is sewn in a purlwise direction, and a knit stitch in a knitwise direction. After each finishing stitch, the worked stitch is dropped off the needle.

So, working from right to left (I am right-handed), work a catching stitch on the purl side, a catching stitch on the knit side, * a finishing stitch on the purl side, drop stitch, a catching stitch on the purl side, a finishing stitch on the knit side, drop stitch, a catching stitch on the knit side, rep from * to end, ensuring both end stitches have both catch and finish stitches worked through them.

I don't know about you, but it's easier to think of it with this system for me. Well, I am easily distracted! :) I will post pictures of the socks as soon as I remember to take some pictures and unload the camera, haha.

I also made a start on a fine gauge knitted tunic. I have a lot of 2ply cornflower blue lambswool on cones - I'd actually call it a slate blue, but the label says cornflower. I tried swatching it on the standard gauge, two ends together, but really didn't like the fabric produced (this could be my over-tightening tendency). The wool didn't bloom in the wash - it felt as if it would make a hard-wearing fabric, but not a particularly nice fabric. So I made swatches on the fine gauge, and it was like some sort of magic - a lovely soft handle, just what you would expect with lambswool.

I've designed a simple knee-length tunic using Knitware, it has raglan sleeves and a cowl neck. Yes, you read that right, raglan. This baby has 600 rows. What was I thinking? I managed to get as far as doing one side of the neck, on the front, before I had to stop and give my eyes a rest. The daylight was fading. I will finish it - and to be fair, the front is the most complicated piece - but talk about not doing anything by halves! I probably should have started with something a bit smaller. I probably ought to get a better light in the knitting room, too!

PS Kate - hope you are well! Your blog is looking kind of abandoned these days!

Thankyou

Finally, suddenly received payment for KnitCamp. No explanation or apology (but that's not really a surprise anymore). So thankyou - it's a shame it had to take 4 months, and some rather sharp blog posts. Communication in all things is key, and where there is no communication, there will be speculation and gossip instead, and people will always tend to presume the worst. You reap what you sow, and if you sow nothing, you will get weeds. Knitting groups are not called Stitch 'n' Bitch for nothing! I'm happy that I can now move on. I hope the others owed will soon see some recompense.

Grumpy bum mode

I’ve been slogging away at the Sirdar Crofter socks. The first one is almost done and just needs grafting. The second one is about a third done. Progress has been slow, as I’ve somewhat lost my knitting mojo lately.

The red fairisle sock shrunk a bit when washed – I need to measure it and recalculate the width to make it work. I can get it on (just!) but need help getting it off again.

Chipped a molar last week and am still waiting to get it fixed. It’s not hurting, but I’m starting to worry there won’t be anything left to fix soon! Remembering to eat on one side is annoying and means breakfast muesli takes even longer than usual.

This time of the year I feel an urge to hibernate, to vegetate in front of the tv, no brain power required. I leave the house in the dark and I return in the dark. I’m fighting it, but I’m not sure I’m winning! Owing to various things going on, I’m a bit grumpy at the moment. I can’t fix anything and I can’t move forward – that kind of feeling.

Useful links - software and filing

In the past I've spent time making PDFs of things I've scanned (knitting machine punchcards and old manuals) and always did it by creating a blank word document and inserting each picture individually. This is very time-consuming, and if there are a large amount of images, the screwy way computers deal with numbers means that if you try to insert every picture at once, you'll spend another 20 minutes shuffling them into the right order.

With that end in mind, I found PDFArea's free "image to PDF convertor". You still need to have a sensible numbering system (scan01 works better than scan1), but it's easy enough to move files up and down. They do other software too (eg PDF to Image).

Now, sometimes I end up wanting to combine PDFs and I don't have Adobe Acrobat. I found PDFTK builder - this allows you to combine pages 1-20 of the first PDF with pages 35-40 of another. Again it's freeware, and very simple to use. You can also use it to split PDFs and add passwords etc.

Terri J recommends "Office convert PDF to Jpeg tiff" for splitting anything you've scanned that needs touching up, straightening etc. I'll be honest, I've installed it but haven't really used it yet.

Something else I've been doing lately is organising my knitting machine magazines into magazine binders. I found a great store - Modern Bookbinders - that does cordex and wirex magazine binders that you can buy online. So far I've tried the cordex binders - a plain navy blue with 13 cords, and they are very good for normal magazine thicknesses. I'm going to get two of the 25 cord ones for my Brother magazine collection, as those mags are a bit thicker and I'd like to have one set per binder (and just leave out every other cord). You can also buy spine labels I think, but I've got a label printer that works just fine for me. It's best to buy a few at once if you can - thanks to Royal Mail's pricing system the box is quite big (they fold flat) so postage for one is £2.50.

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So, back to our regular schedule of crafty stuff. Last night I gathered up the ends of the 6m tube we knitted on the CSM on Wednesday. I've got beads to string and decorations to dig out of the attic. It's all coming together!

Onwards and sideways...

I spent a few hours last night trying to make a flat fairisle sock. My first attempt started at the top of the heel - went ok until I tried to cast on the width for the ankle, and realized that trying to start fair-isle wasn't really going to work.

The second attempt I started with a ribbed top, scrapped off half of the sock on waste yarn when I got to the heel, and then knitted heel-sole-toe-top of foot. That one came out ok but needs sewing up.

Around 10pm, I realized I could have ditched the waste yarn and just held one side, thus making a sock with only one side seam. Yeah, I'm not the brightest of sparks, am I?! Serves me right for not planning it better.

My machine SK840 doesn't really like knitting with two ends of 2ply lambswool. I'm pretty sure the Brother could cope with it though. The SK840 just seems a lot tighter, somehow. You want a firm tension for a sock, ideally.

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I've got the CSM (Circular Sock Machine) on the back seat of my car today (the large suitcase it's in does not fit in my diddy boot). The manager of the bar where we meet has asked for a banner - nothing like a last minute challenge - and I got talked into taking my machine in. Hopefully someone'll bring some green yarn for the background. I've also brought some pompom makers. It might end up a bit kitsch!

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To the lady who commented on an old post about crochenit, I must confess I got the special hook and some books on it, and have done nothing. I don't have a lot of DK yarn in the house and I've a terrible habit of buying these gadgets and then not using them. I am a serial gadget and book collector. I'm sure there is probably a crochenit group on Ravelry though, you might have better luck there!

I will try to get playing with some of my redundant tools this Christmas - I've a table loom begging to be warped up too. Too many hobbies, not enough free time.

Addendum: finished sock above - needs a few more stitches in the leg area because it's a bit tight, and I need to design a smaller snowflake pattern I think.

Sad but true

You disgust me

Yes, the rumours are true. The KnitCamp Disorganiser has been overheard discussing her latest financial venture in a cafe in Coventry.

I seriously regret ever meeting her. She was alongside us at the Ricoh arena (Made in Coventry) event in 2007 - she was running some sort of crapbooking business, fancy pens and stamps, so I have to admit I didn't pay much attention. She has been nothing but trouble and has caused other members of my knitting club to stop attending (in case she turned up - she rarely did, and is now persona non grata as far as I am concerned).

Where's the money you owe us tutors? Yes, you remember, the £23k. You better hope you sell a lot of yarn on Ebay...

I honestly don't know how you sleep at night. You have no guilt and no shame. You were always banging on about Jesus (or how you prayed about something). I'm sorry, I don't recognise your version of that deity. Seems a mighty convenient God that would let you pull this kind of stunt and be forgiven, no questions asked. Better pray hard, woman - you pissed off a large amount of knitters both sides of the pond, so I can't imagine who you think will be your new customer base. Presumably only the folks without internet - mostly the older ladies who like acrylic?

I keep forgetting. You live in la-la land, with the fluffy bunnies. You're innocent, and we're all hateful, nasty people, who won't travel and won't buy your overpriced yarn. I never leave my house, ya know.

The internet shop made me laugh - "Coventry's best yarn shop, now open 7 days a week". Because before she went online, they used to close the internet at the weekend, ya know?! Well, nobody was using it...

It's like Mystic Yarns all over, except without the attempt to dye unsuitable yarns - but watch carefully, all bets are off! I'm fully expecting a new dyeing expert to emerge on the scene at any minute.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. My arse!

FO: Galena

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

Yeah, not a great picture, but it was 10pm when the photo was taken thus no natural light. Fits like a dream, very smooshy, I love Doris Chan's stuff! This is from "Everyday Crochet" - I want to make more things from this book! :)

I spent a happy hour or two messing about with the fine gauge knitting machine - the lace carriage works (mostly) - still the odd dropped stitch. Made a swatch which is now awaiting washing.

As soon as I finished Galena, I cast on a sock with the leftover Sirdar Crofter. Yes, I am incorrigible - I have yarn, still in the hallway, bought specifically for knitting xmas socks on the standard machine. And yet here I am, making a sock, in a probably highly unsuitable acrylic mix. It's not even a tubular pattern - guess Sirdar thought using DPNs was a bit too technical for the UK market? Alas, I don't have any of the bigger DPNS (above 3mm), so flat it shall remain. Looks like a kind of slouch sock.

No, I don't understand me sometimes, either! :)

Free pattern: Simple shopping bag with variations

Yarn: Peaches and Cream worsted cotton
Machine: LK150 or 6.5mm machine
Tension: T5

Cast on 80 stitches using the e-wrap cast on (leave an end of about 30cm for sewing up). RC000 Knit 10 rows.
*Set machine to HOLD. Put centre 20 needles into hold, plus the remainder of the needles on the opposite side from the carriage.
Knit 6 rows on the remaining stitches, then put them in hold. Break the yarn.
Put the centre stitches back to working position using the transfer tools, and cast them off with the single transfer tool. Leave the empty needles out of work.
Put the remaining held stitches to upper working position and knit 6 rows, starting and ending in the centre of the machine.
E-wrap cast on over the centre 20 needles, knit across the remaining held stitches.*
Reset row counter to RC18. Knit to R140.
T9 knit 1 row
T5 knit to R265.
Repeat handle section from * to *.
Knit 9 rows T5. Knit 1 row T10, latch tool cast off, leaving a 30cm tail for sewing up.
Sew up both side seams, weave in ends.

Variation #2:

* Instead of knitting 10 rows before making the handle, cast on in waste yarn, knit 1 row in ravel cord, then 10 rows T5, 1 row T max, 10 rows T5, and pick up the cast on row (ie make a hem). Repeat this for the other side (where it says Knit 9 rows T5).

Variation #3:

* Drop stitch variation - cast on 81 stitches instead of 80. After making the handle and resetting to RC18, knit 10 rows. Transfer every other stitch to its neighbour, leaving the empty needles in work. Knit to RC 255, and then drop every other stitch (make sure these are the ones you transferred originally). Knit 10 more rows and complete as before. When off the machine, pull the knitting to drop the stitches completely. You may need to experiment with this and knit less than 255 rows, as dropping stitches will make the knitting expand. (If I get chance I will experiment with this myself).

Bags of bags

I've been having a go at making bags lately. Seemed a nice change from garments that can have fitting problems.

So far I've made the following:



Take an old bag shopping (Knitwords 44)

This went ok, except I suspect two ends of cotton wasn't enough (and I didn't twist it, either). Love the tuck lace pattern, found the picking up of hems and picot hems a bit time consuming. Lots of ends to weave in, which is why it's only just been finished.



Susitna

This is a great pattern if your knitting machine knits circularly. Alas, my SK840 does not like to knit in the round, without much help. I also made the handle way too short (I admit it - I couldn't face 200 passes of both P carriage and main carriages), but the bag came out really long and I wasn't sure I wanted to make it much longer. Looks thinner than it actually is. I'm wondering now if I haven't somehow got the machine mounted using Brother ribber brackets, not Knitmaster ones, seeing as I seem to have a spare pair of Knitmaster brackets hanging around.



Drop stitch mesh bag

This works ok too, although I think I would like to make it a little larger and longer next time. Made on the LK150. Hard work to drop stitches in Peaches and Cream cotton.



Simple bag (my own design)

This is a very simple eyelet bag made on the LK150. I will post the pattern when I've taken a photograph of it. Pattern now written up, with variations!

I'm tempted to design a few more, using elements from the ones I've already tried.

FO: Coffee and cream jumper

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

This is with the re-knitted neck. Not great, but looks a lot better than it did...

Update

The Knit Camp tutors fund has raised £4454 which has been split between the tutors in a way agreed between themselves. Many thanks to all who have been involved in making this happen. The tutors are very grateful for your generosity.

The money has gone some way towards relieving financial difficulties. Tutors are still owed a total of around twenty thousand pounds but your kind words and moral support have been more beneficial than you can possibly imagine. To know that we are appreciated by so many people is a great boost.

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Finally finished the new neck on the Cog's jumper, just need to upload the photo. It looks a lot better. Completing the bands on the Noro Silk Garden cardigan, and will then need to add button bands and buttons. Trying desperately not to start any more projects, as I need to concentrate on xmas knitting now. We'll see how that goes! :) Anything I do knit for xmas will be a bonus - if I make the item the "main present" it's too much pressure and I find myself actually WANTING to clean the oven all of a sudden. Weird.

Using the knitleader

Don't complicate matters - this is all you need to draw on your knitleader sheet. Half a front/back and half a sleeve. The left design is for knitleaders that centre at 0, and the right is for devices that have 0 on the right (sleeve is in blue).

Obviously, this only works for symmetrical pieces - if you are making a ballet wrap then you would need to draw the whole piece, and then make one piece as drawn, and one piece reversing the shapings.

For knitleader read knitradar, knitracer or knit contour. Same device, different manufacturers.

You set the stitch scale to match your tension swatch (usually a cardboard or plastic ruler slotted into the front of the device) and your row scale to match your tension swatch (this will be a knob of some sort, that controls how fast the pattern sheet moves per row). Then you just follow the lines as they cross the ruler. Couldn't be easier!

I get schematics from old machine knitting magazines and modify them. You can also set the row and stitch gauge to match a handknitting pattern, air knit (ie with no yarn/needles in work) following the pattern, and add dots onto a blank sheet as you go. When you're done, join up the dots, and voila, you've converted the handknit pattern into a schematic you can use with your knitting machine.

You can also draw an intarsia design on the sheet, and use it to remind you where to change the colours - easier than trying to follow a graph.

FO: Bottle green jumper

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

Made on the LK150 from Forsells' Touch of Silk for the Cog. Hems and rolled collar.

The picture is at a funny angle I think - his legs aren't that skinny! :)