You better, you better, you bet

Yeah, more song titles as blog titles, am thinking about my poorly SK860 carriage and having to traipse down the M5 with the rest of my kit in a few weeks to see if we can't get to the bottom of it. There's no way I'm posting a knitting machine AND my EC1, because if the latter got wrecked, then the SK840 is left high and dry also. I'm hoping we can replicate the fault and that this isn't just some stupid operator error I'm making. Anyway, by the time I'd paid for postage and insurance, I might just as well go in person anyway. At least the schools are back so the M5 might actually be moving.

No, I don't have Designaknit, although that might be a future option. I'd need three different cables for my various electronic machines though, so to buy three cables and the software would be teetering on the edge of £1k. Who said machine knitting saves you money again?! Guess if I go that route I'll have to work my way up to it - I've another 40 years I reckon! :)

Yesterday I had three more classes (I opted out of the trip to Chester - I'm maximising my machine knitting time this week!). First thing was Bill King - an amazing array of samples and mockups using a myriad of techniques. He showed us how to do godets, which I believe was in a previous issue of MKM. Full fisherman's rib (every needle), move to half fisherman's rib, then gradually transfer every 10th stitch to the main bed and knit 4-6 rows. On the next row, transfer a needle either side of this and repeat until all needles are on the main bed. This produces an interesting godet and the changing ribs mean the knitting width drops and produces a flare. You could also change this about for different effects.

After lunch it was Erica talking about her tuck lace skirt. The pattern for the skirt goes from a tuck diamond into EON fabric with a column of tucks - an interesting idea. Despite having a helper I somehow managed to mess it up a bit and got out of synch, also had to wait for the second card to become available. Kudos to Erica for doing all the punching she did, though - that was a LOT of punching! Ended up with a big hole in mine too somehow - the machine wasn't playing entirely fair methinks! There might be a picture but it's a rather embarrassing swatch to be honest!

We overran a bit so I only got a few gulps of coffee before going into my last class, which was a hands-on with Iris Bishop. I'm always telling folks to RTFM but I wasted time knitting a sample and didn't realise it continued on the second sheet. Duh - not even the staple clued me in. We did two techniques - knitting squares onto the purl side of a base fabric marked with a grid, and using columns and rows of lace holes to rehang the base fabric and produce mini hems that give a basketweave effect. Very effective and I did manage to get enough done to hopefully remind me about it later (pictures to follow)

I may have accidentally bought some James C Brett Marble chunky in peacock blues - Nick from Uppinghams was in attendance. Fatal (to my bank account).

The evening's entertainment was a chap from the "Colour me beautiful" people. He was very funny and had us in stitches. I think I have the book somewhere. Said he was Gok's dad - ie the Gokfather (groan).

Ojolly, I accidentally hit delete on your comment when I was trying to accept it. Am surfing in bed and my finger slipped - many apologies! Please feel free to comment again and I'll try not to be such a doofus next time! :)