Murphy's Law

How do you know when it’s time to get a new sponge/needle retainer strip for your LK150? Murphy says usually when you’re under the gun...I have been thinking lately that my beloved LK wasn’t quite performing up to par, but I’m so adaptable that I adjust to almost anything. Karma Chameleon could be my theme song!

Yes, the last 2 garments - I haven’t actually been zipping through them like usual and, yes, I have been hand knitting rows that should have knit just fine at a loose tension, usually - but I’ve been chalking it up to other things (not enough weight, hard twist to the yarn, wrong tension) - truth be told, I’m sure I haven’t changed this thing in at least 5 or 6 years - it isn’t really something I think about a lot...anyway, here I am working to someone else’s deadline - the yarn was a scramble to get and was left last minute and they needed this garment in their hands by the 10th of this month...I made my swatches for this project last November and have knit 5 other projects on my baby since then...

I remember now, thinking when I did the test samples - I was doing 3 rows of 1X1 tuck using hold, which means you bring every other needle out to hold, set the levers to hold, knit 3 rows and then cancel hold and knit 1 row and then throw in a loose tension row - something’s not quite right. Well, what’s happening now is that most of the row doesn’t knit, it floats the stitches and makes a lot of clinking and ticking noises as the carriage goes across - the clinking and ticking is the latches touching the magnets in the carriage because the foam strip is not holding the needles as firmly, and, generally  floating (not knitting) and dropping some stitches too...what a mess...
Good thing I have a replacement sponge strip in stock...or do I? Hummmm...there are lines on the ‘new’ sponge strip...oh, gosh, it’s not new - the lines are from the needles!! why would I keep a used sponge strip??? Oh well, I did get the job done by working carefully and adding extra weight and I’ve ordered a couple of new sponges just to have!