Knitting in the fastlane

Please identify this part

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:12:00 +0000

I was wondering if anyone could identify this part?

Click to enlarge

It just fell off my DM80 as I was casting on. I brought the lock to the left side of the machine, and this fell to the floor. There was no breaking sound. It looks as if it slipped off from under the beds or the lock or the Deco that was resting on the extension on the left.

Your help will be greatly appreciated. I'm afraid to do a pass of the lock without this thing, whatever it is.

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ETA 05June2013
The mystery has been solved. I received an outpouring of answers on Ravelry and Yahoo Groups and another in the comments below. Thanks so very much for your help!

Acquiring skills

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:07:00 +0000

I shall always be indebted to the many fine machine knitting teachers I've had along the way -- the ones who've taught me in person and the teacher-authors who've spent so much of their time translating their knowledge of this very physical craft into words and pictures and diagrams. I now have a wonderful library of their methods, techniques, inspiration and swatches in print form.

People learn in different ways. But no matter how much a teacher teaches and no matter how generous the teacher is, it's still necessary for me to practice what's given and to research and experiment by myself in order to really learn.

This is Day 3 of the 4th Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week. We are asked to make our own infographic. Perhaps you recognize my Crafting Fashion icon? ;)

4KCBWDAY3

Fashion crafting bee

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:40:00 +0000

It's Day 2 of the 4th Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and I've worked hard on today's assignment:

Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house. Alternatively it could be a type or colour of yarn, or a single button. Whatever you choose, decide upon a project and blog about how and why it relates to your house/creature. You do not have to make this project!

But what if I've already made the project? If you follow my blog Crafting Fashion, you know that that's where I experiment with cutting and sewing the knit fabrics that I've created. For those machine knitters who are fully committed to fully fashioned garments, I know that it may be difficult to watch. I, too, was skeptical at first, but I'm having a grand time now!

Now getting back to today's assignment, at the time that I designed the fabric and constructed this, my first cut and sew sweater, I had no idea that I was styling a uniform fit for the House of Bee, (my declared house/style from yesterday's post). It's in bee colors! My yellow Providence sweater, paired with a pair of black jeans makes a stylish and practical ensemble for this worker bee.

100% Merino wool

And if I'm feeling extremely bee-like, I imagine a simple vest created with a plain jersey striped fabric -- solid black wool stripes, alternating with transparent nylon thread stripes. Worn over the above sweater, it would look like this.

It might work. 4KCBWDAY2

Like a bee

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:41:00 +0000

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I'm happily taking part in the 4th Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week! I may not be able to post every day this week, but I'll post when I can. :)

Today, Day One, is when we declare our crafting outlook or style. In my younger days I was House of the Peacock ("buttons, embellishments and a bit of sparkle"), actually sewing feathers (and leather) on my sweaters. Today I straddle two styles.

In my heart I am in the House of the Monkey. In fact, this is the way I learned to machine knit, each project (always a sweater) was designed to learn and thoroughly explore a new skill. I found it easier and less complicated to design my own projects, built around the new technique, rather than follow a pattern. This is the way I learned intarsia, double-bed knitting, multi-color knitting etc. I had no cohesive design style because each project was another learning opportunity. And honestly, I still enjoy exploring new (to me) stitches and techniques that way, though now I prefer the rectangle (swatch, scarf, shawl, yardage) as my finished object.

In practice, however, I flit from one interesting project to another, like those in the House of Bee. It's not just because the project is bright and shiny; it's often because as a professional knit designer, I'm working on the project I've been contracted to complete.

And as a bee is attracted to flowers, so am I when I venture beyond the rectangle -- especially in my non-professional knitting life. Here are flowers recently knitted for Handcrafting and Paying It Forward.

A rose pin for Robin

A posy garland for Virginia

Instructions for the machine knitted posy are posted here. I'll post the instructions for the rose another day.

“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
― Albert Einstein

Hmmmm.... or should I say bzzzzzzzzz. 4KCBWDAY1

Knitting and crochet blog week IV

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:53:00 +0000

When I first started this blog in January 2011, I'd been away from machine knitting for so long that I was no longer in touch with any other machine knitters, and I knew of no machine knitting blogs! That changed quickly I'm happy to say. I was also thrilled to find the machine knitting groups on Ravelry and Yahoo.

I now subscribe to several knitting and sewing blogs. Besides the fantastic machine knitting blogs that I follow online, I've found a few hand knitting blogs which inspire and delight. One of these is eskimimimakes.com. I love viewing the beautiful and sometimes quirky projects on the blog. I've never knitted an Eskimimi pattern, but now I can participate in another way. And I'm inviting you, Machine Knitter, to participate, too. Eskimimi Makes has announced the 4th Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week to be held from the 22nd through the 28th of April 2013.

What exactly is Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, you ask? Below is an excerpt, but please be sure to visit this page on eskimimimakes.com for all the information.

Once a year knitters and crocheters that blog are invited from all over the world to take part in a community blog week in which they are presented with a number of topics to blog about over the period of seven days. The topics are very flexible and can be interpreted in many ways, so there is a good deal of variety in the posts that this inspires, which then provide wonderful reading for anyone who enjoys reading the blogs that it inspires.

As machine knitters I think it would be fun if we participated, too. I made sure to ask Eskimimi if it would be ok for machine knitters to take part, and she has welcomed us! There are really no strict rules for Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. We are simply invited to write on the suggested, very flexible topics. There's not even an official sign up.

If you decide to participate, here are some handy links to pages on Eskimimi Makes, Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Headquarters:

And here are the post tags! Please read the information on how to use them. (It's easy!) If you tweet, the Twitter hashtag is #KCBW4.

This will be my first time participating and I'm very excited. I hope that other machine knitters blog and read along, too!

Zen and the art of machine knitting

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:35:00 +0000

It's been quite awhile since I've posted here. It isn't due to a lack of machine knitting. For those who don't know, I've been blogging at Crafting Fashion, my site devoted to sweater knit fabrics and how to cut and sew them. Also I have a nascent enterprise selling my sweater knit fabrics. Already, I've had several inquiries and sales of my fancier fabrics. I have yet to sell anything of the plain variety, but even they are lovingly knitted of luxurious materials and may find their market yet. For now, fancy seems to be the way to go.

Back in the 90s when I worked professionally as a stitch pattern designer, my product was the 12 x 12-inch swatch. My product now is never that small. It averages a couple of yards long and however wide a full bed of needles lets that particular stitch pattern become. After the usual yarn selection, stitch pattern designing, pattern card programming, and gauge test swatching, I cast on. And after I cast on, I knit. And knit. And knit. Sometimes I change cam settings or yarn colors at regular intervals. But I never stop to increase or decrease or to put a few needles in non-working position. I just knit.

And the act of just machine knitting is sublime.

Proper posture

We've had this discussion in a couple of machine knitters' forums: It really is better to machine knit while standing. I'm aware that not everyone can stand while knitting. But for those who can, it's worth the extra effort to make it happen. Some people use spacers to raise their traditional knitting stands to a good standing height. Others have custom stands which hold the machines at a suitable height for standing while knitting. All the industrial hand frame machines I've ever seen are already at a height to be used while standing.

My Passap DM-80 remains on its official stand. I have managed to knit while standing without altering its height. Instead I rhythmically change my height with a series of lunges while I knit. (I was thrilled to learn on a couple of machine knitting forums that I'm not the only machine knitter, who's discovered this technique!)

I stand with my toes pointed straight ahead. My feet are parallel and slightly greater than shoulder width apart. My knees are soft -- not bent and not completely straight. A deeper bend of my knees in this position would bring my navel directly opposite the two numerals "1" on the front bed of the machine. (Japanese-style machines, I believe, have a "0" at the center point.) I hold the handle of the lock (carriage) with both hands. When the lock is on the right, I'm lunging to the right. As I bring the lock back to center, I return to my centered soft kneed position. My lunge to the left is synchronized with the passing of the lock to the left. It's important when lunging to keep the heels on the floor and knees over the toes, as one is told to do in a dance or yoga class. In other words, if I were to look down directly over my bent knee, I wouldn't be able to see my foot. My knee is blocking the view.

Those are the basics. Easy, yes? Machine knitting this way gives me an excellent workout, and I work up a sweat once I'm at it for a good bit of time.

So perhaps knitting in the fastlane has more in common with the Slow Movement than I originally thought. The process was always important. I suppose this is Intentional Machine Knitting. In ~~my next post~~ a future post I'll discuss variations and a few more details.

One cure for toppling cones

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 21:06:00 +0000

I've been machine knitting for many years and still I learn little tricks that I think should have been obvious to me sooner in my machine knitting career. A few months ago I discovered that trick about moving pushers on Passap knitting machines. And yesterday, decades after I should have known, I learned how to stabilize nearly empty cones of yarn.

Too light weight, they easily topple over.

I shouldn't be so hard on myself. Years ago (and still in storage out of state) I had several cone holders, similar to this one

And yes, they are nice, especially when the little cones get empty. But you know what works, and is readily available in the work areas of most machine knitters?

This!

A small weight from a Japanese machine works wonders to keep a lightweight cone in place as the yarn is pulled through the machine. And it fits perfectly!

Keeping and giving

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:23:00 +0000

Several decades ago I was the proud owner of a Singer SewHandy Electric Sewing Machine. It looked just like this.

Photo (C) Bruce Williams (handymanhowto on Etsy) - Used with permission.

It was "a toy", but it really worked. It was electric! It didn't have a bobbin and it made a chain stitch, so it was so easy to "un-sew" when a mistake was made. But at some point I stopped using it. I outgrew it. My mother had a sewing machine and she generously allowed me to use hers.

Every year when we did spring cleaning, clothing and toys that I'd outgrown got packed up and given to families with younger kids. The only thing I ever begged to keep was my SewHandy. It seems selfish and immature now. The SewHandy sat unused for a very long time. I don't know what eventually happened to it, but all those years that it sat unused in the storage room, some other little kid could have been using it.

Unfortunately, there are still things in my life in storage that go unused. I'm not talking about cones of yarn. (They are either marked as inventory or as materials for my work.) There are many other items. But I'm glad I didn't allow the green, sparkly yarn to stay hidden in storage. True, I had put it to good use at one point, but 11 unused balls of this lovely yarn sitting in storage are no good to anyone.

Almost two weeks ago I offered the Platina yarn for sale to benefit New York Cares. Sincere thanks to all who purchased this beautiful, green sparkly wool yarn from me and many thanks to those who contributed directly to the organization. A donation of $63 was made to New York Cares yesterday, the proceeds from the sale of Platina yarn. Additionally, a few of us made direct donations to the organization. Our contributions are specifically in support of post-Sandy relief, which is still so very much needed weeks after the storm. Yes, I had hoped to have sold all the Platina during this mini-drive. And yes, I was hoping to hear of an onslaught of direct donations as a result of my last post. But as I made this recent contribution online, I was reminded on the donation page that every dollar donated "amounts to $6 in service to the community". I'm glad that our contributions can do some good.

Platina yarn

There are still 4 balls of yarn left. 100% of proceeds derived from the sale of these last four balls of yarn will also be donated to New York Cares. And please remember it's no too late to make direct donations of time, money, food and clothing.

To all who contributed, through yarn purchases or directly, you guys are awesome! Since we didn't have enough participants for the giveaway this time, your virtual tickets will be placed back into the virtual hat for the next giveaway, sometime in early 2013. Thank you.

Next post, it's back to knitting. I plan do some sewing, too!
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ETA
Received a tweet back from New York Cares!

@ojollyknits Thanks for the support!
— New York Cares (@newyorkcares) December 6, 2012

A sparkly yarn and a giveaway for Sandy relief

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 04:39:00 +0000

I'll get right to the point. It's been about 4 weeks since Hurricane Sandy struck. Here in New York City, there are people, some within a few minutes walking distance of where I live and work, who are still displaced and cannot live in their homes. There are people, a train ride or ferry ride away from me, who just don't have homes anymore. I'd like you to help me raise money to donate to New York Cares, a NYC organization that mobilizes volunteers and supplies support services. (New York Cares is rated 4 Stars on Charity Navigator.) Here's one recent blog post from New York Cares regarding donations to support the Hurricane Sandy disaster relief effort.

If you have extra cash, cool. Just click on this link and donate.

Donate to New York Cares now

Every bit helps. If you feel your reasons for donating will encourage others to do so, please tell everyone about it in the comments section of this blog post. If you like, you can say how much you donated, but that's not required. Do save your receipt, however, you could win a prize. Please read to the end to learn more.

If you feel you can't afford to simply donate outright, I'd like to encourage you with a "thank you" gift -- Yarn! And not just any yarn. It's green wool with sparkles, perfect for the holiday season.

Some of you may remember I used it to knit last year's Christmas tree.

Click pic for a closeup look.

The yarn is called Platina and was produced in Finland by a company, which is no longer in operation, called Hyvinkää. It's a wonderful fingering weight, cabled yarn. It knits very smoothly on a standard gauge knitting machine, so we can assume that it can be easily used for hand knitting, crochet or any other yarn project. As I mentioned last year, despite the alluring 'tinsel', the yarn is very soft. The label states "100% villaa" (wool). This means the mystery tinsel fiber is most likely less than 5% of the total fiber content (or whatever the Finnish regulations state regarding unlisted fiber). The yarn is labeled 50 g and 220 m (about 240 yards). Please note: I have weighed each ball of this lovely yarn, and the actual weight comes in at between 47 grams and 49 grams!

I have ~~11 9 8 7~~ 6 4 balls of this fun yarn. I'm selling each ball for $9.00 each plus $1.95 shipping to US addresses. 100% of the proceeds derived from the sale of this yarn will go to New York Cares.

Let me repeat: 100% of the proceeds derived from the sale of this yarn will go to New York Cares. Click the link below to visit my online shop.

Buy Yarn Now

The Giveaway

If I can get 20 people to participate by either purchasing Platina green sparkly yarn or by donating directly to New York Cares between November 24 and December 4, 2012, there will be a giveaway! All participants will be automatically entered to win an O! Jolly! Jesse Scarf in grey. If you buy some yarn and make a separate direct donation to New York Cares, you get 2 chances to win. (No more than 2 chances to win per person.)

Here's the Jesse Scarf that you could win! It's super soft, super warm, natural grey baby alpaca wool with cream and golden tan bamboo embossing and fringe. Click for enlargement.

On December 5, if 20 or more people have participated, I'll choose one winner using Text Mechanic Random Line Picker. (If you're chosen as a winner and you're from the direct donation group, please have your receipt available to validate your donation.) The winner will be announced on December 8, 2012 and I'll ship your prize anywhere in the world. Be sure to check back on December 8!

Please be generous. Many people still need help. Thanks.
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Last update 27Nov2012

Machine art (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:47:00 +0000

Ok now, looks as if we have a series. I posted part 1 way back in June 2011. Today I received 3 wonderful links to Make's blog from my friend Robin. I just had to pass them along.

I'll start with my favorite. It's Rocking Knit and it's a rocking-powered knitting machine by Damien Ludi and Colin Peillex. It's a lot more fun to watch than to have me explain. Also, I think I want one!

Follow these links to view a sock knitting machine powered by the breath of the operator and another machine powered by a windmill. (Could the latter be a bit of a throwback to an earlier era?)

Thanks for sharing, Robin!

Goldilocks fit with a half fisherman

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:27:00 +0000

If you're following along on my new cut and sew project posted on craftingfashion.com (and I do hope you are :)), you know that I've been creating a fabric for my crazy, "crushed can" cowl. The original fabric I chose was a racked, zigzag stitch design. I first thought that would accentuate the "crushed" aspect. I now feel it will be too busy for the cowl's unusual shape.

My goal is for this accessory to have a goldilocks fit -- to fit comfortably about my neck (not too loose) and to also fit comfortably over my head (not too tight). This called for some tuck stitches to give horizontal stretch with good recovery. My solution? A half cardigan stitch a/k/a the half fisherman's rib. I've knitted it in two colors, a wonderful heathered tan wool and a pumpkin-colored solid merino.

I love the way that regular tucks make the knit stitches kind of poofy, adding a wonderful and consistent texture.

Below is the pattern card. Punched or blackened squares knit. (Passap users can just use pushers and the left arrow key. Pushers are in upper position on black squares, lower position on white squares. N/<AX, color 1 RC2, color 2 RC2.) Here's a direct link to pattern card.

Be sure to follow along on Crafting Fashion to see what happens when I take scissors to fabric.

The simplest things

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 03:33:00 +0000

Do you know what this is?

Some very slubby yarn was used to make this.

Obviously, it's some kind of fabric. But as I looked at this swatch from a distance, I first thought it was some type of woven cloth. As I got closer I decided it was some type of lay in (or "knitweave") that I had done years ago; the yarn was looking familiar.

I came across this swatch as I was unpacking boxes last week. This box was one from the old days and hadn't been opened in years. (Yes, for those keeping track, I've been moved back to my work space last Monday. My temporary relocation is officially over, but lots of stuff will probably be in boxes for a while. We are making a grand effort to get very organized and I can only organize in my "spare" time, as I've got my new cut and sew project going.)

This swatch is actually a 1x1 slip stitch pattern using 2 yarns, one a heathered, teal blue wool, the other a slubby rayon/wool/silk variegated blend of gold, olive green and aqua. Pictured above is the technical back and public side. Below is the technical front.

Though I tend to stay away from slubby, boucle or novelty yarns these days, I really like the uneven stitches in this swatch.

The slip stitches keep this swatch from having much sideways stretch, but that can be a good thing in certain applications. This stitch pattern is so easy to knit. It's pattern card #1 with most knitting machines and then it's just 2 carriage passes (RC2) with each yarn. Sometimes the simplest things are so effective. I may just have to shop for some new yarns to reproduce this.

Paradigm shift

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:41:00 +0000

Good news. I'll be back in my studio on Monday. It'll be quite awhile before I can actually work there because all must be unpacked, reassembled, and rearranged. But I will be back.

In the midst of all the construction and my temporary relocation, I did an odd thing: I started a new project -- a big, new project. It involves lovely yarns and lots of new knit fabrics that I get to develop, knit and play with. This project is getting the slow roll out: Many features are in the works, though not quite in place yet. Crafting Fashion has re-launched to contain it all.

If you're a sewist looking for information on how to work with sweater knit fabrics or if you're a machine knitter, who likes to cut and sew, read my first Crafting Fashion blog post to learn how this paradigm shift came about. And please visit soon for tips and techniques, my blunders and cautionary tales. I'm not abandoning Knitting in the fastlane, but if you don't see me here for a little while, you'll know where to find me. :)

MK sock knitters: a request

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:19:00 +0000

Attention all v-bed machine sock knitting enthusiasts! Most likely circular knitters will also find this of interest, but I'm asking v-bed, double bed, machine & ribber folks for purely selfish reasons. ;-)

Many of us adapt hand knitting techniques for our own purposes. I know many of you have adapted interesting sock heel- turning methods for our machines. A recent one is Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel. (See video and start of discussion here. Ravelry login required.)

Over the past couple of years I've been taking hand knitting lessons and I've had some great teachers: Ann Denton, Arnetta Kenney, Patty Lyons. In between the lessons with live teachers, I've been watching the Knit Freedom videos by Liat Gat. Her videos are high definition, close up, and easy to follow. Liat recently introduced what she calls the "The Faux Heel Flap Heel". I love the way it looks, and ~~I'm almost positive that the technique will easily translate to the machine.~~ (See edit below.) I admit that I could be missing something. The problem is that I'm still not back in my knitting studio and my temporary studio does not have internet.* Also, if I'm translating from hand knitting, I'd much rather translate from a video than pattern notes.

Machine knitters, if you haven't seen the video yet, please take a look below. Lovely heel, isn't it? How would you knit it on a double bed machine? If no one responds, I know I will tackle this myself. One day. But if someone else gets to it first, I'd really appreciate your directions. Thanks in advance.

How To Knit The Faux Heel Flap Heel from KNITFreedom on Vimeo.

Sept. 29, 2012 ETA
I received a wonderful reply from Urieka on Ravelry yesterday. Not the answer I wanted, but an answer nonetheless. In case you're not on Rav, it turns out that Urieka smartly downloaded and read through Liat's written instructions. She learned that one must create a gusset before the above video begins. Though gusseted socks can be created on the machine, the set up that the Faux Heel Flap demands may be impossible on the machine -- best to read Urieka's explanation.
__
*If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know my current predicament. The good news is that I should be back in my space soon -- knitting machines and internet, all in one place.

The good tuck

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:57:00 +0000

Ah, the tuck stitch. You gotta love it. Seriously. We machine knitters only have 4 basic "stitches" (knit, purl, tuck and miss). Two of them are actually the same stitch (knit and purl) seen from opposite sides. One of them (the miss, a/k/a slip or skip) isn't really a stitch, though knitting a stitch when you meant to miss the stitch would make a huge difference in most projects.

That leaves the tuck. It's made with the setting of a cam and the passing of the carriage. When the machine needle moves up enough to catch a loop of new yarn, but not far enough up for the old stitch to fall behind the latch, the tuck is made. After the carriage pass what's on the hook is the old stitch and a new loop of yarn. Not a fully formed stitch, the tuck is often referred to as a tuck loop. (See the blue tuck loop in the center of this animation from the Knowledge for Innovation website.) Since the old stitch remains in the hook while the adjacent stitches knit, the old stitch gets pulled and, by stealing a little yarn from the adjacent stitches, becomes elongated.

If you've made a fisherman's rib or half fisherman's rib on the machine, you've made many tucks. Needless to say, making repeated tucks and using the tuck in combination with other stitches is one of the major ways of developing stitch patterns. Taking another look at the animation, the single tuck loop isn't very noticeable when hidden behind knit stitches. You can see that in a jersey fabric, it's on the purl side that the tuck loop really shows.

Below are some tuck combinations on a rib fabric.

Yes, you can have tucks on adjacent needles. Click image to enlarge.

A tuck loop can be an awesome master of disguise. Tuck loops and racking combine to make the stitch pattern in this hat.

Right side

The inside of the hat

Hand knitted brioche patterns are made with the tuck. Hand knitters call it "knit 1 (or more) below".

When experimenting with the tuck loop on the machine, remember that depending on the thickness of your yarn, you can only tuck as many times as the hook of your needle will hold. Eventually you do have to knit the loops off the needle.

I can stop any time I want [Encore]

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Construction update: Demolition has come to a halt, but construction and renovations continue on the building where I live and work. In spite of the large exhaust fan, bad fumes (from the sealant being used in the re-construction of the sidewalk) sometimes waft through the closed window. Today is indeed a good day to drop an "encore" post into the feed.

"I can stop anytime I want" was originally posted on August 20, 2011.
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One of my favorite sites is Ravelry. My favorite place to lurk is on the forum topic "My name is .... I am a MK aholic." Here (Ravely sign-in required) people testify about recently acquired knitting machines and how they will explain, justify, or just plain hide them from their significant others. And yes, that's right. I said "lurk." Why would I join in? I don't have a problem.

I happen to be very happy with my one and only Passap DM-80.

It's a workhorse and very versatile too. Frankly, at this time, it's the only machine I have room for. And if you don't count my Brother KH-260 in storage far, far away in New Mexico, it's the only machine I own. Or rather it's the only machine I have set up. It was the only machine I owned until a of couple of weeks ago.

Reasons I acquired a new (to me) knitting machine
Reason #1 - I'm helping the environment
A longtime friend of mine, a spinner and weaver extraordinaire, called to ask if I wanted her knitting machine. Machine knitting was one of those things my friend thought she would eventually learn, but she had never gotten around to it. Now the family was moving to temporary smaller quarters, while their home was being renovated. Would I want the machine?

The first time she had asked, a few months ago, I wasn't sure. During this particular phone call I got the feeling that since they were moving the next day, either I took the machine or it might be orphaned and end up in a landfill. I said yes.

Reason #2 - I'm a designer
Well, it's a Brother KH-830, no ribber, but it has a lace carriage!!!

It's just perfect for doing hand manipulated work and traditional lace, equivalent to the lace that hand knitters make with yarns over and k2togs, as opposed to the kind of lace I make on the Passap with cross bed transfers and/or racking. (Yes, I know the casual observer does not care, but the real knitter cares!) Truly if I am to realize all this design stuff kicking around in my head and sketched in my notebooks, I will need more than one machine. I'm a designer, dammit! I need access to more than one tool. Whoever heard of a hand knitting designer with just one knitting needle?

Reason #3 - Historical significance
This machine's got provenance, baby. Here's the mailing label from the box that the Knitleader (a knitting accessory, used to guide the knitter with shaping) was packed in.

This machine obviously once belonged to famed knitter, fiber artist, author, and my former teacher, Susanna Lewis. Or at least the Knitleader accessory once belonged to her. Or at least the box that the Knitleader was packed in did....

***

When people in the MK-aholic forum discuss their six or eleven knitting machines, I know that three knitting machines are not too many. My ~~hoarder~~ collector DH actually encouraged me to take this machine, even though we don't quite have a place for it yet. I admit to the fact that I've started browsing eBay recently, but it's for informational purposes only. I don't have a problem. I can stop anytime I want.
---

Original post with comments can be found here.

Knitting machine update: It turns out that the KH-830 has a problem with the punchcard mechanism. I've been unable to fix it. When I'm able to return to my regular knitting studio, I'll set the machine up to use as a dedicated machine for hand-manipulation work.

Knitting a flower

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:12:00 +0000

Though the unofficial end of summer (Labor Day in the US) was yesterday, true summer isn't really over for another couple of weeks. The fruit of this summer's work will be presented soon, I hope. Last summer's work was very different, however. That was the summer I got my flower knitting jag. Just couldn't stop.

I knitted flowers just for the sake of knitting flowers. (Click to enlarge.)

I also knitted hats

and garlands.

The sunflower was knitted using a short row method, which I plan to describe one day.

All other flowers were knitted quickly and easily using a basic technique that I learned at a machine knitting conference many years ago. They can be knitted on any machine with a ribber and require just one seam at the end. Once you get the hang of it, you can make variations by changing the number of needles in each group and by varying the number of yarns used in each flower. Here's the basic pattern:

Machine knitted flower

Use 21 needles on the front bed and 21 needles on the back bed.

You will be starting from the outside of the flower. Loosely cast on using any method with the 1st color. (The racking cast on makes a nice edge for this flower.)
Set a good stitch size for a full needle rib, depending on your machine and yarn choice. Use weights.
Set your machine, as indicated by diagram, so that selected needles knit and non-selected needles slip. (Passap BX/BX, orange strippers)
Using indicated needle set-up, RC6 (6 passes of the carriage). (If the yarn is too heavy, you may only be able to do RC4 on a Japanese-style machine.)
Change to 2nd color.
Set machine to knit all needles (Passap N/N), RC2
Transfer all stitches to back bed. Set stitch size for a slightly loose stockinette stitch.
Knitting on back bed only, RC2 (Passap N/GX, black strippers)
Cut yarn leaving an end of about 18 inches and thread end through a tapestry needle.
Thread yarn end through stitches as you remove each stitch from the knitting machine needles.
Pull end like a drawstring and tie a knot. This is the center of the flower.
Stretch and pull cast on edge to create petals.
Sew side edges together 1/2 stitch in, steam well and let dry.
Optional: Add a stamen by tying a 2-inch length of yarn to the center of the flower. Fray the ends.

___
Corrected 23April2013 - Passap knitters should change to black strippers in Step 8, not Step 6.

Knitting ventures [Encore]

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:07:00 +0000

Since "knitting time" has become quite limited during the demolition and re-construction of my studio, I thought it might be a good idea to do an encore post or two. "Knitting Ventures" was originally posted on July 16, 2011, a little over a year ago.
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I like to swatch.

Until recently, that was my complete "About Me" bio on Ravelry. And it really does sum up what I enjoy most about knitting. I like choosing a beautiful yarn, then looping and manipulating it into intricate shapes, getting the rhythm going, repeating a motif. I like the fact that it can be created with a single thread. Once I've made my point with the design, I like to finish it up and be done with it.

And then, there it is -- a swatch, the physical documentation of a complex idea.

Rippled mosaic, 100% perle cotton (UKI Supreme mercerized cotton)

A dozen years ago, before my knitting hiatus, my job description was stitch development. I would knit swatches and my sales agent would sell them to knitwear designers. The designers would use my "documentations" in interesting ways to create fashion. It was great earning money doing what I liked.

A few months ago, not long after I returned to knitting, I learned that the industry had changed. I knew that many U.S. fashion designers now manufactured their garments in China. What I learned was that in China the service of stitch development is provided free with the manufacturing contract. When designers must choose whether to pay extra for a service or get the service included in an attractively priced manufacturing package, well, there really isn't much of a choice. And frankly, no one ever really needs a new stitch pattern. Stitch libraries exist; stitch patterns are endlessly recyclable. Needless to say, at the moment there is not much opportunity for a knitted swatch designer here in NYC!

Fancy ribs, 100% wool (JaggerSpun Maine Line)

There are no plans to return to the large wall pieces or sweater jackets from wa-a-ay back, before I discovered swatches as my end product. But I am very excited now to be working beyond the swatch. Yep, I am primed and ready for my new knitting ventures. (More about these ventures soon!)

Recently, I was discussing the knitting industry with a product development manager of an industrial knitting machine manufacturer. He told me that knitwear manufacturing was beginning to return to the U.S., because the price of manufacturing in China had risen greatly and because the turnaround time was too long for smaller U. S. knitwear designers.

Hmm.... Stay tuned.

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See original post with comments here.

Update: My new venture Crafting Fashion, which provides yarn on cones to designers/crafters with small businesses, is going well. I look forward to its expansion into a new area in 2013. Hint: I get to knit more. Yay!

One (by one) love

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:37:00 +0000

What does a machine knitter do when she needs a little break from the big project? She machine knits a little project, of course.

Unfortunately, the knitting machine, a Brother KH830, that I wanted to use for my little project is misbehaving. I'll not go into details, except to say that automatic needle selection is not operational at this time. But back in the day before electronic needle selection and before punchcard mechanical selection, there was manual selection. And manual selection is what I've set out to do.

It's been a long time since I've used a needle pusher to select needles for a pattern, and the only needle pusher that I have in my possession at this point is a 1x1. (That's one needle selected, one needle not selected, repeat.) So with my handy 1x1, I tucked and slipped. I transferred (with the lace carriage) and knitted 2 together. Below is my sampler of stitches.

Purl side (technical back), knitted with Lion Brand LB1828 at stitch size 8-1/3.
Inlay yarn at bottom is JaggerSpun Maine Line.

Here's the 1x1 with the lace carriage on the knit side (technical front).

I have plans to purchase a couple of complex needle pushers and will dig out my copy of Susan Guagliumi's Hand-Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitters.

Now we'll see what develops during my breaks.

Merino, bamboo, plastic, zippers

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:39:00 +0000

Merino and bamboo
The building renovations progress, and I'm able to do a little work, swatching for the project that I'm keeping kind of secret for the moment. Be forewarned: There may be an "encore" blog post soon.

Frankly, I'm just thrilled to be able to write this week about a project that's current.

This stitch pattern probably would fall under the category of tuck lace; it's a jersey tuck fabric and one of the yarns is much thinner than the other. The grey tone-on-tone was the original. I later knitted a teal version with the thin yarn as the darker color. (Swatches are rotated 180 degrees, the way I intend the fabric to be worn.)

Click pics for enlargement.

This is zoomed out a little.

Each swatch has a different effect depending on which weight yarn is the darker color. Because the tones are so close in the gold swatch (below), it's easier to decipher my actual, rather simple stitch pattern. I plan to reknit the gold version and choose a darker color for the thinner Merino.

This is zoomed out a little more.

Yarns used: JaggerSpun Super Lamb 2/20 (Merino wool) and Silk City Fibers Bambu 7 (bamboo), both available on cones through Crafting Fashion.

Plastic and zippers
Renovation update: This is the entrance to the "containment zone".

My studio area is through the plastic and in the back, totally enclosed in plastic. Workers enter through this plastic-walled vestibule with red zippers on each end. Fortunately, the landlord has provided me with a beautiful alternate space to work in. I continue to knit. :)

Southwest spectra

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:23:00 +0000

After two postponements, the work to my building, which I first wrote about in May, will begin shortly. There will be major disruptions to my knitting/design work, but I will continue posting a few old pics and perhaps few "encore" posts too. Hopefully, all will go smoothly, and I'll be back to my usual posts on current projects and knitting techniques soon.

Today's blast from the past is a sweater knitted using one of my favorite techniques, embossed rippled jacquard. (See this previous post for basic knitting guidelines.) The background fabric is 100% wool, while the embossed ripples are 100% cotton. The ripples are made more prominent by inserting a long thin rod and gently pulling each ripple away from the base fabric. The ripples hold their position relatively well since the cotton yarn does not have great recovery. Because wool has excellent recovery, it makes a good base fabric.

Southwest Spectra, 1987 (Click photo for a closer look.)

I-cords gone wild (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 02:51:00 +0000

In my last post I promised more hopelessly 80s sweaters featuring i-cords. I shall deliver.

Afterthought i-cords are a design element in Tangle Three, 100% wool.

Plain bulky-knit jersey with the neck, cuff, and bottom edges crocheted.

Not sure what makes me laugh more -- batwings or the matching Medusa hat?

I-cords gone wild

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:30:00 +0000

It was less than a year ago that I learned that the "i" in i-cord actually stands for "idiot" -- as in any idiot can knit this simple thing. I checked this new-to-me information on Twitter:

@ojollyknitting Some folks do refer to it as "idiot" but I prefer "ingenious":)
— Robin Ulrich (@RobinUlrich) September 25, 2011

Personally, I like i-cords. Yes, I'll think of them as ingenious-cords, too.

Back in the 80s, I tended to use them as a design element. A lot. As I prepare for my mandatory temporary move this month, it will be difficult to knit much of anything. Instead I'll be digging into the old photos and posting them when I get the chance.

Here are two i-cord sweaters from way back. Orchid Interlace was knitted with a regular pattern of eyelets up the front of the bodice, the top of one of the sleeves, and the top of the back. The two-color i-cords were interlaced through the fabric and used to trim the scoop neckline.

iPod, iPhone, iPad, iCord? Orchid Interlace, 100% cotton

Pink Tangle has "afterthought" i-cords, sewn onto the reverse jersey sweater.

Pink Tangle, 100% wool

The top ensemble, in off-white and beige (sorry, no pics), might possibly work in 2012. But if you think that Pink Tangle is hopelessly 80s, just wait for my next post.

Anemone knitweave stitch pattern

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:06:00 +0000

It's important to note that the "knitweave" that I'm discussing in this post is the same technique that's referred to as "laying in the yarn" or "inlay" in the knitting industry and "weaving" in some popular machine knitting books. I am not referring to the knitting industry's "knitweave" fabrics.

Here is a closer look at the knitweave stitch pattern from my last post Knitweave on a Japanese style machine.

This is the patterncard.

Depending on the weight of the "weaving" yarn, a stitch size just slightly larger than for plain jersey (stockinette) should be used. Follow the instructions for "weaving" or "knitweave" in your machine manual. The purl side is the public side of the fabric. Wherever there are blank squares (unselected needles) a float will be produced: a tiny one-stitch float at the single unselected needles and long floats where there are 13 unselected needles. When the fabric is complete, simply take your scissors to the long floats and cut right down the center to create the fringe.

If you tug hard enough on the end of a piece of fringe, it is possible to remove it from your fabric. Since the fringe is woven in (passing in front of or behind the stitches), the backing fabric will not run or drop stitches. Using a weaving yarn that is substantially thicker than the yarn used for the jersey backing will prevent any accidental pulls.
And what happens if you don't cut the floats?

This!

Knitweave on a Japanese style machine

noreply@blogger.com (O! Jolly!) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 22:59:00 +0000

I was sifting through some old photos last weekend and was reminded of a technique I hadn't used in years. It's called knitweave (a/k/a inlay knit in the industry). It's one way of introducing an exotic yarn into the fabric without using it to knit the entire fabric. Using this method you can also use a bulkier yarn than your machine could possibly knit. This is because the yarn that's used for inlay never passes through the hook of the machine needles; the yarn passes in front of and behind the stitch.

Other than with industrial machines, I thought that this technique could only be used with a Japanese style machine. Recently, however, I've discovered a method for this technique, or similar, that can be used on a Passap. It's described in A Second Resource Book for Machine Knitters (limited availability) by Kathleen Kinder (ETA: on page 101). ~~I'll be sure to add the page number for those of you who have the book, when I come across it again. (Or please let me know if you come across it first!)~~ I'll report back on this technique on the Passap, once I've given it a go.

The sweater below was knitted on my Brother knitting machine. Long floats were left between the actual knitweave needles. The floats were then cut, creating the fringe. I promise to give the details and the stitch pattern I used in a future post.

Anemone, 100% wool