use it or lose it....

Gosh, I feel like I’ve been sweating over that freakin’ pattern for the Church Cardi for the whole darn month! What’s the big deal? Between visitors, our crappy summer and family stuff, it’s been hard to concentrate and when I look back, it’s been a while since I’ve actually written a pattern from scratch. It was like I forgot what to do. I almost gave up but that’s not my nature and I did promise, so I knew I had to deliver. I was having trouble deciding on the sizing and then my numbers weren’t adding up. The break-through? Yesterday, it dawned on me! Just draw the darn thing out and you’ll be able to see what the problem is – oh man, then it was a cake walk! I used the full width KR half scale paper that is charted in half scale centimetres for the Silver Reed charting device and had green, black, blue and red ink lines for each of the four sizes and I feel so good and virtuous – this pattern will be perfect!
I even knit a sleeve to check the final lace pattern details and I know you’ll be happy with all the extras! Truth, of course, I didn’t just happen to have enough of the same yarn just laying around and, I didn’t want another one for me, but, since sister Janet booked our next hiking holiday to Ireland for next June, you know it…Janet is getting a Church Pullover for Christmas! ;-) I’d hate to waste a good sleeve! I’ve had this huge cone of cashmere/wool in ivory – yeah, I know it’s not her favourite colour but if she really doesn’t like it, I’ll dye it for her and likely, she’ll love it just because it fits! You may remember, she’s a little vertically challenged and before I started knitting for her, she’d never had a sweater that had the right sleeve length!
I know you might not have the exact yarn either so here’s my stashbusters tip. My original yarn is Cascade Ultra Pima, a 100% mercerised cotton with a beautiful drape and sheen that I used at T3.5 stockinette for a gauge of 23 sts and 30 rows to 10 cm. This is an unknown cone that I’ve had for eons and who knows what yardage or whatever it is, but it looks like about the same thickness. I knit 3 swatches, starting with T4 (because I could go up or down from there) and it seemed a little tight to knit and I didn’t want to have to sweat that much, so I made one at T4.5. After I washed and dried those I saw I still had a little leeway – T5 proved to be the magic number – my gauge is exact, it was smooth to knit and the finished, washed swatch is lovely, with a nice drape, so that’s what Janet is getting! I know I’ll be regretting giving up this lovely yarn but there should be an expiry date on some of this stuff anyway!
The Church Cardi/Pullover pattern is ready! I’ll post it here for sale, next week when I get back from St Cloud!

it really wasn't a secret...

But for some reason, I never told you about this.  In the last published issue of KnitStyle magazine, #194, July 2014, my mid gauge design 'Bold Shoulder' appeared. I had used a ribbon yarn knit quite loosely  in a manual-selected 1X1 tuck stitch. I felt I had a 'history' with the design (blogpost http://knitwords.blogspot.ca/2014/07/bad-news.html )and I was pleased with how it turned out. They did eventually return it to me but as it was a 34" finished size, it certainly didn't work for me so I gave it to my niece Lauren as a birthday gift last year. She loved it.
Anyway, in the meantime, I had decided to make it for myself but on the standard gauge machine. Main reason, although I like using the LK150 mid gauge, I don't particularly like the finished weight of the garments, especially for an 'indoor-wear' design - too thick and heavy for my short, curvy (read chubby  ;-)) body! I had some of this marsh-print Wool Crepe Deluxe that I decided would do for the experiment, meaning that I should have enough to complete the garment without stressing out about running out, but not a big deal if I did as I had plenty of old swatches that I could possibly salvage if necessary. Also I wanted to use the loose-knit tuck stitch (same needle tucking every other row with a plain knit row between which I programmed in instead of hand selecting, of course!) that was my original design. On the KS/mid gauge version, I had wanted the extra width that the tuck stitch would provide and the stability that it would add to the loose gauge (eliminate any potential for biasing of the fabric). The added bonus - either side could be used as the right side. In the mid gauge version, I did use the knit side as the outside but with this one, the variegated yarn looked nicer to me on the purl side so mine has the purl side as the right side. In the accompanying article in KnitStyle, I had given a few other similar manual patterns as options and also advice on seaming and edges depending on which side was the outside of your garment.
I used the shape from the mid gauge pattern (in my size, of course) but instead of the elliptical hemline (curved lines, shorter in front, longer in back using shortrowing) I simply made mine straight across, back and front the same which created the dipped points at the side seams - I love that look and it seems to work for me (in my mind anyway!). Also I had given the finished pieces a really hard press to flatten and widen the fabric.
My friend Cathy came by the other day with her camera and I got her to snap a few photos just for you! I don't even mind the diamond pattern that appeared in the yarn automatically - at least they are consistent! I think it's a really fun top, I've enjoyed wearing it and had lots of compliments! I do plan to reknit it in a solid colour WCD and use the knit side!

I'm pretty excited...

I finally got around to placing an order for a real mid gauge 7-prong adjustable tool and it's arrived! I'm so happy I could just knit!
Let me explain...a few years ago, I was at a machine knitting seminar and a dealer there had a 'mid gauge' adjustable tool. I asked her if it would work on my LK150 which is a 6.5mm gauge - the distance between the needles. She assured me it would and I happily parted with cash, anticipating new, easier stitch patterns on my LK150 once I returned home. It didn't take long to realize that it was actually a 7mm tool - I was sorely disappointed. That half mm doesn't seem like much but when you try to hang it on all 7 needles or every other needle, you can wiggle it and get it to finally fit but it takes so long it's just not worth it!
You might remember last fall, I was bragging about doing a mid gauge version of the RTR cardi ('rash promises' Oct 28/16)...I did the sleeves and the front/side panels and then kinda lost steam when it came to the more labour intensive transfers for the back panel and the front shawl edges (I was transferring 7 stitches and having to use the 3 prong tool twice and then 1 for each operation) and the project had technically become a UFO (unfinished object).
I recently found out that Mike Becker at dknits.com has a bona fide 6.5mm tool - I placed my order with my fingers crossed. YES!! it is 6.5 mm!! It works perfectly! Thanks Mike, you're wonderful! He has lots of other goodies too - make sure and order a new foam strip while you're at it! 
That UFO is back on my to-do list!
If you know anyone who needs a 7mm...I've marked them so I know the difference!
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you - I'm going to Dallas! The DFW machine knitters guild has invited me to do a two day seminar October 15 and 16, 2016. Hope to see you there!

purging and stuff...

I had some technical stuff - telephone/cable/internet service changes- to take care of which meant moving stuff around in my office - always a slightly traumatic experience - cables and phone lines getting rerouted here and there means moving things that have been in place for a long time - good excuse to carry it a bit further and purge a bit - get rid of stuff I’ve been meaning to but have been putting off...I went through my yarn stash and came up with 3 large boxes of stuff I’m never going to knit - I took the easy way out and called Lucie, from our local machine knitting club and asked her if I could donate it all to the club - they could use it however for some sort of charity fund-raiser - she said yes and by the time she got here, I have 5 boxes of stuff!! Oh, this feels so good! Now I have room on my shelves for more - new colours, new yarns and I don’t have to feel guilty about not using all that other stuff!

I just checked the Knit’n Style website - http://www.knitnstyle.com/ -

 the new issue is out! And they didn’t use my title for the new series (W5) - oh well, no big deal - I guess it was too out-there for them...but anyway the new issue is available and early again!! Kudos to them - I am working on my #180 garment - I think it’s for the August issue that comes out maybe in June??? - I’m doing a summer cardigan with a hand-transferred lace border, using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece DK in peridot which is a nice mid-green shade. I love this yarn. It gives nice definition to detailed stitches and is perfect for the border pattern. Needles are left out of work for a few rows after the transfers and then are brought back in on every other row - pretty easy to do and I like the wide-open effect - after several swatches to nail the edging combined with the border lace, I just need to work on the closures/buttonholes...

The swatch at the top is a 14 stitch repeat with a picot hem, similar to one I did on the standard gauge machine a few years ago, but this yarn doesn't do well with the picot so I played a bit and decided the chain cast-on was more effective, altered it to a 12 stitch  repeat - I'm happy!

more slip cord experiments....

I did some more experimenting and used some of the other Slip Cord edges from 'Knitting on the EDGE' by MAO - then I wanted to make something that I could use the original knot loop edge - it should be added to a selvedge instead of open stitches so I made a triangle and added it - the first one didn’t work very well (Berroco Boboli - leftover from KnS#177 project) because my cast-on wasn’t loose enough and it restricted the drop of the triangle and the triangle was a little small- but my second one (see below) came out perfect!!! Looks good from both sides and much easier than the pompoms I’ve seen - have fun, I did!!

Triangular Shawl/Scarf

MACHINE: LK150 mid gauge

YARN: fine alpaca (lace weight, used double stranded).

75-0-75 n’s. Cast on WY and ravel cord. This will be the outside edges of the Vee of the triangle and it needs to be very stretchy or it will shorten up the selvedges. To get a really stretchy cast-on for the main yarn use double e-wrap: Bring n’s out, CAR. Starting at left, loop last needle and take yarn under and around second needle and back into hook of first. Manually knit the stitch back, making extra large stitch. Take yarn under and around third needle, back into hook of second stitch and knit it back large. Continue across to right. Put yarn into feeder. Carefully bring n’s out to make sure everything knits. T7, K2R. ( I knit this very loosely because I wanted it thin and drapey and I knew it would 'full' somewhat when washed and alarger stitch would allow for that). Carriage at right. Set to hold. RC000. Place left side except #1 left to HP. K1R. Place right side except #1 right to HP - 2 n’s in work. Knit to right. *at side opposite carriage, return 1 needle to UWP, K1R*. Without wrapping, repeat from * to * to all n’s in work, RC152, end CAL. Cast off very loosely.

Knot and Loop Edging ( #11 from Knitting on the EDGE by MAO!)

Slip Cord: Set carriage to slip to the left and knit right - LK150, left side lever forward.

1. Cast on 3 sts with WY. Knit several rows.

2. MC, T4, K1R. Set for slip cord. K24R. CAL.

3. Pick up first row in MC and hang on same needles to make loop. Put back stitches behind latches and front set in hooks. Push back on needle butts to knit through.

4. Working from right to left, with knit side facing, pick up selvedge edge (because of the double e-wrap, this is not exact, but just push the 3 prong tool in the edge to pick up whatever, just be consistent), onto another 3 needles to right.

5. Pick up cord sts, place over edge sts and pull through so open sts of cord are in hooks. CAL, bring needles forward to ensure next row knits. Always put empty needles out of work.

6. K30R (loop).

7. Turn shawl to knit side. Poke tool into the selvedge and hang on 3 new n’s to right of cord, leaving about half an inch from last edge pick-up. Put cord sts onto edge needles and knit through. Bring needles out.

8. K24R (knot).

9. Turn shawl to purl side. Pick up cord with transfer tool.

10 . Pull the last loop made (that is already attached - the 30 rows knit in #6), open, bring forward and to the right so you are looking at the purl sts of where you joined it to the edge in #7. Pick up the same edge sts (or as close as you can) that you joined loop with - the joined loop will be under the tool as you are picking up this part - this makes the knot.

Repeat #6 to #10. Always stop with CAL and bring needles out after knitting through so that you get a row of knit stitches after the join.

 

You will keep moving along needle bed. Every so often, as in #9, move back toward centre of needle bed. Try this out on a solid colour first to get the hang of it and after you know what you’re doing, you’ll be able to eliminate hanging the edge on new needles. Pick up the cord, put a finger over to hold the sts on the tool and go into the edge so the edge is hung first and the sts of cord can be pulled through selvedge...

garter bar practise

I liked the knotted loops so much, I decided to go all in and make an adult scarf!

Knotted Loops Adult Scarf for Mid Gauge by Mary Anne Oger

DK yarn, scarf looks same on both sides and doesn’t curl - not so quick and easy, but fun! Knotted Loop Trim from Mid Gauge Magic by MAO!

Finished size: 6 inch wide; length, approx 44 inches.

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Tonas Silk, DK weight (83% Peruvian Cotton, 17% silk) 100g/337 yds skein

Machine: Mid gauge 6.5mm, LK150 used.

Knotted Loops Edge, 8 stitch repeat.

Make cord: WY, cast on 5 sts. K10R. CAL, break WY. Put CAR, MC, T3. *Set to slip (left side lever forward to circle, so that carriage slips to left and knits to right). Bring needles out past the latches so first row will knit. K42R. Take out MC without breaking and anchor at right side. Put CAL. Cancel slip. WY, K8R. Break WY. Put CAR, rethread MC. Pull up on yarn as you start to knit across so no loop occurs between this and last part of MC knitting*.

Repeat from * to * 4 times more for 5 knotted loops. Remove on WY. Cut MC and make second piece same.

20-0-21 n’s in work. Starting at one side, hang last end of cord, the way it came off machine, on 5 n’s. Remove WY. Make knot in that section, by pulling entire cord through. Hang other end of this 42 row section, putting edge stitch on last needle used. There are 2 stitches on the 5th needle from edge. You will be able to tell which way to turn the cord to hang as the link of yarn between the waste yarn won't allow you to hang it the wrong way. After it is all hung, remove all WY. K1R This is wrong side facing. Bring n’s out, sts behind latches to make sure all knits. MC, T3, K1R.

RC000. *K3R. RTR (remove, turn, rehang). K3R. RTR. K2R. From right, take 3rd and then every other stitch to right for EON lace, empty n’s in work. K3R. RC011*. Repeat these 11 rows for pattern. Knit 300 rows (or more for desired length), ending row 11 of pattern. RTR. K2R. Remove on WY.

To get the knotted loops sitting right for the last end of the scarf, you need to make the knots and then graft the whole thing onto the scarf:

Using second set of cords, hang and make knots same as beginning. MC, T3, K1R. Remove on WY. Putting knit side to knit side of last rows, graft together.

This is really cute!! And it didn’t really take that long, but I do have a mid gauge garter bar... I'm going to have to make another one - this isn't long enough to wrap around neck and have tails hanging in front - need another 50 rows or so for that...measurements from the hand knit pattern must be wrong...or I have a fat neck...

last minute idea...

I received a hand knit pattern by email yesterday from MistiAlpaca.com- I guess I’ve ordered yarn from them and they automatically put you on their mailing list and every couple of days, I get a new blurb, glance at it and then delete...anyway, this latest one had a scarf with these knitted balls as an edging. I read the instructions and thought, ‘good luck with that one!’ Although I can hand knit basics, when reading instructions, sometimes it seems like reading Greek to me. Making 7 stitches out of one stitch and knitting a few rows and then decreasing back down to one stitch, repeated across the row sounds a lot easier than it really is after I sorted through it a few times...But I was intrigued with the idea for having a different edging on a scarf. After the edging, there were 2 rows of making eyelets then 3 rows of stockinette, 3 rows of reverse stockinette and this was repeated throughout to make a scarf that was same on each side - nice idea, but I wanted something easier. I was going to make my granddaughter, Rhiana, a scarf to go with her new winter coat - the coat is grey with large, bright pink polka dots and I had some leftover yarn that would be just perfect. I know, my knotted loops edging would be cute added to a quick tube that would make it finished both sides! - Here’s a really quick last minute gift! Make it wider and twice as long, for a grown-up!!

Child’s Tube Scarf for Mid Gauge by Mary Anne Oger
The variegated or space dyed yarn adds lots of colour and the drop stitch technique makes big stitches and large colour blocks. Super easy and super fast! Knotted Loop Trim from Mid Gauge Magic by MAO!
Finished size: 3 inch wide; length, approx 40 inches. This one is child size, meant to wrap around neck once with knotted loop edges hanging in front.

Yarn: Coats & Clark Moda Dea Sassy Stripes, 100% acrylic, 1 - 135 m/50g ball.

Machine: Mid gauge 6.5mm, LK150 used.
Knotted Loops Edge, 8 stitch repeat.
Make cord: WY, cast on 5 sts. K10R. CAL, break WY. Put CAR, MC, T3. *Set to slip (left side lever forward to circle, so that carriage slips to left and knits to right). Bring needles out past the latches so first row will knit. K42R. Take out MC without breaking and anchor at right side. Put CAL. Cancel slip. WY, K8R. Break WY. Put CAR, rethread MC. Pull up on yarn as you start to knit across so no loop occurs between this and last part of MC knitting*.
Repeat from * to * 4 times more for 5 knotted loops. Remove on WY. Cut MC and make second piece same.
20-0-21 n’s in work. Starting at one side, hang last end of cord, the way it came off machine, on 5 n’s. Remove WY. Make knot in that section, by pulling entire cord through. Hang other end of this 42 row section, putting edge stitch on last needle used. There are 2 stitches on the 5th needle from edge. You will be able to tell which way to turn the cord to hang as the link of yarn between the waste yarn won't allow you to hang it the wrong way. After it is all hung, remove all WY. K1R This is wrong side facing. Bring n’s out, sts behind latches to make sure all knits. MC, T3, K1R. From right, transfer 2nd st and then every other to right. Leave empty n’s in work. RC000. Knit 150 rows or until you almost run out of yarn. Save approx 60 inch to seam with. Don’t cut it!
From right, drop second and then every other stitch. Put empty n’s out of work.
Take off on WY, turn and rehang, still on EON. Bring empty n’s to work.
Using second set of cords, hang and make knots same as beginning. T9, K1R. Chain off. Piece will be approx 20 inches long.
Pull on fabric to unladder dropped stitches down to cast-on side.
Use tails to seam fabric into a tube. I found this easiest to do from purl side, taking half outside edge of ‘knot’ stitch of one side to next ‘knot’ stitch on other side. Turn scarf to right side.
Abbreviations
CAL (R) - carriage at left (right)
EON - every other needle
K1R - knit 1 row
MAO - Mary Anne Oger
MC - main colour
WY - waste yarn

Heads Up...

Crochet-Look Skullcap (revised from KW#26)
If you hate the ‘c’ word or are just crochet-impaired like me, you’ll love this! Some great stuff, even if you don’t want a skull cap. Take time to do a few swatches and experiment. A little manual knitting on the machine to make different size stitches across same row; lace made with shortrows; a bit of every-other-needle tucks and eyelets; a few RTR’s (remove, turn and rehang) to get the purl side showing for a few rows and you’ll be amazed at the crochet-look your knitting machine can produce!
Machine: 6.5mm. Silver Reed LK150 was used. Finished size, head measures 55 cm/21.5 in.
Yarn: Rowan Calmer, 74% cotton, 26% polyester, 1 - 50g/175yds ball.

45-0-46 n’s to work. Using MC double stranded, loosely chain across. Anchor last loop on end needle. Single strand, T4, K1R.
Manually knit next row, one tight stitch, 5 very loose (Put yarn into hook of needle and pull needle back to A position); repeat across row, ending with one tight stitch.
The 5 big stitches now need to be gathered and put on centre needle of each group. Starting at right side, manually knit very small stitch in end needle. Next 2 n’s are empty. Bring out and wrap them one at a time. Knit small stitch through all 5 loops on next n and then another very small st again to ‘tie’ it up; wrap next 2 empty n’s, individually. Repeat across to left side.
T5, K1R. Wrong side/purl side is facing.
Tucked Eyelets: RC000. CAR.
T9, K1R. Set to hold. From second needle from left, bring EON (every other needle) to HP (hold position).
T5, K3R. Cancel hold. Carefully bring all n’s to D position (to make sure they all knit).
K1R. Beginning with third stitch from left, transfer to EON, picking up untucked stitch onto tucked stitch, empty needles in work.
T9, K1R. T5. Set to hold. Bring EON (loops) to HP.
T5, K3R. Cancel hold and bring all n’s out. K2R. RC011.
RTR (Remove, turn, rehang). Repeat 11 rows of Tucked Eyelets.
RTR. CAR.
Shortrowed lace, 2 sts and 3 rows across: Set to hold. Bring all n’s to hold. At carriage side, return 3 n’s to work. K4R. Return next 2 n’s at carriage side to work. K1R. Put first 3 n’s to HP. K3R. Bring next 2 n’s to work, K1R. Put last 2 in hold. Repeat across row, doing 4 rows on last one. Cancel hold. K2R.
RTR. Outside is now facing.
Repeat 11 rows of Tucked Eyelets.
RTR. Inside is facing. Repeat 11 rows of Tucked Eyelets.
RTR. CAR K1R. Set to hold. Bring EON to HP. K3R. Cancel hold. T9, K1R. RTR. Inside of hat facing you now.
Repeat Shortrowed Lace, 2 sts and 3 rows.
RTR. K1R. Outside is now facing. Decrease 15 sts evenly spaced across row. This is every sixth stitch.
To do this:
Starting at right side, pick up 4th stitch and move to 3rd needle. Count over and pick up next 6th stitch (leaving 5 in work) and move to right, all across row. Put empty n’s out of work. MC, K1R. Remove on WY or garter bar. Bring 30-0-46 n’s to work and rehang.
RTR. Wrong side of hat facing.
Shortrow lace, 3 sts and 5 rows across the row: Set to hold. Bring all n’s to hold. At carriage side, return 4 n’s to work. K6R. Return next 3 n’s at carriage side to work. K1R. Put first 4 n’s to HP. K5R. Bring next 3 n’s to work, K1R. Put last 3 in hold. Repeat across row, doing 6 rows o last 3 n’s.. Cancel hold. K1R.
RTR. K1R. Transfer to EON. K2R. RTR.
Dec 24 sts across row. That is every third stitch to 6-0-46 n’s. K1R.
Repeat Shortrow lace 2 sts and 3 rows across sequence. K2R.
Shape Crown: transfer to EON. Put empty n’s out of work. K2R. 26 sts. Remove and rehang, decreasing every third stitch (i.e. 1 st; 2 together; 1 st; 2 together, across row) to 0-17 sts. K2R.
Transfer to EON. Put empty n’s out of work. T3, K1R. Rehang again, decreasing every other stitch. T3, K1R. Cut yarn leaving 24 inch tail for seaming. Thread tail in blunt end needle and remove remaining stitches, tie off.
Seam to form  into hat/touque/whatever. Darn in ends.
Feel free to use this pattern for personal use and maybe mention where you got it, thanks!

Freebie for mid gaugers

I was playing around with this nice sock yarn and decided that the LK-ers should have socks too - I thought they turned out pretty good - they are a little heavier (thicker) than I would wear with shoes but they are nice to wear around the house insteads of slippers or to wear with sport sandals - and there are a lot of good techniques for beginners! Try them out!
LK150 Socks
Ankle sock, knit flat, with heel and toe shortrowed. Stitches are grafted over top of toe. Seamed on one side to make a neat, one piece sock.
MACHINE: 6.5mm flat bed, sample made on Silver Reed LK150. 
Level - Beginner
YARN: Plymouth Yarns, Happy Feet DK,
90% superwash wool, 10% nylon; 100g/262 yds.
GAUGE: Stockinette, T3, 22 sts and 35 rows to 10 cm/4 inches.

SIZE: Ladies 7.5, med-wide foot. Adjust as necessary for your correct sizing.

LEFT FOOT
1. 26-0-26 n’s. Cast on waste yarn. T3, knit several rows, ending carriage at right. Ravel cord, K1R.
2. RC000. MC, hold 24" tail (use to seam side later), K19R, ending CAR.

3. Shape heel. Set to hold - russell levers both to l. Bring all left of 0 to D (hold position). RC000. Working on needles at right of 0 only, at carriage side, bring 1 needle to hold, K1R, 16X to 10 needles in work. RC016.

4. Reverse shaping. At side opposite carriage, return 1 needle to C (upper working position), K1R, 16X, ending CAR. RC032.

5. Cancel hold by returning russell levers to ll. Reset RC000. At centre, pick up heel stitch (purl bump of row below) from #1 left ( the held stitch) and hang on #1 right to fill in hole from shortrowing. K1R. All needles back in work. Knit to RC050 (or desired length), ending CAR.

6. Remove left side on waste yarn: set to hold. Remove MC and set aside without cutting. Place right of 0 to hold. Thread up waste yarn and K6-8R on left side and drop from machine.

7. Place carriage at right. Rethread MC and shape toe by repeating step 3 and 4. Measure out MC 4X width of needles in work to leave tail of MC (to graft toe) and remove on waste yarn.

To finish top with stockinette roll: rehang cast-on side, purl side facing. T2, K14R. T9, K1R. Chain off stitches.

To finish top with 1X1 rib: rehang cast-on side with knit side facing, have an uneven number of stitches. T3, K14R. T9, K1R. Drop every other stitch for 15 rows -down to the beginning of the knit stitches and reform with latch tool, then chain off - this will make a ribwise cast-off.

Make sock for right foot, opposite to above, exchanging right and left, so seams face each other on inside of foot.

Graft toe stitches.

Try my modified mattress stitch to seam sock. This makes a very neat, flat, almost invisible seam with no ridge inside. Thread yarn into bodkin. Working from knit side, go into half outside edge on one side, across to corresponding row on opposite side; move up one row on same side; across into stitch one row above previous stitch on same side; up one row on same side, across, etc. Or another way to put it, go from the knot on one side to the loop on opposite, up into the knot on same side, across to loop, etc.

To adjust for size, use one or two less stitches each side for a narrower width and  add/subtract 3 to 4 rows per half size in length before making the toe part.

have gun case, can travel...

I’m packing to go west and I have this nice little gun case that is perfect for my LK150 - I bought it a long time ago - they used to be available at Wal-Mart in the USA, but someone told me they are no longer there - I did check on-line and this one is still available in Canada anyway - at Canadian Tire, of course! 

 

This one is the perfect size for my stock LK150 - it is almost the exact size of the original box - I’m a box saver, what can I say! I’ve been pushing the envelope to see what I can really pack into this thing...getting all the essentials plus whatever else will fit in.

When I got the gun case, I cut away the ‘egg carton’ portions to make it fit (click on the photo and it will enlarge) - notice one side is almost all cut away and on the other side, I just made a slot for the width of the carriage.

So in goes the machine, the hanger combs are underneath the bed and all the little bits, like claw weights, 2 row counters, tension mast, clamps, etc are around the edges - it all looks good, but I need something to knit, so might as well see how much yarn will fit - it should compress when I attempt to close - ah! good, enough for a garment project and a couple of skeins of sock yarn from Plymouth Yarns to experiment with - the wool winder, some waste yarn and my tool kit can go into my suitcase - I’ll let you know how I make out at the airport on Monday. I have some electrical tie wraps to ‘lock’ it but I’ll see if I can do that after they check it in security...

addendum

Knit’nStyle #175 is out!! The new issue is on their website and again, I’m happy! My design, ‘Lacey Blues’ (well, actually, they changed it - I called it ‘Lacy Blues’) looks great. Of course, I’ll have to wait to see the actual magazine in print, which should be on the local newsstand pretty soon, before I’m totally satisfied. The yarn is Misti Alpaca Tonas Pima Silk, a cotton and silk blend, DK weight that knit beautifully and had a very pretty bluesy colourway. The yarn was in 100g hanks, which is great - less ends to deal with and I like that! I loved the feel of the finished fabric - adding silk to cotton is a really good mix because the silk is less heavy than cotton and it makes a lighter garment than pure cotton.

The accompanying article on manual lace patterning has some great tips for following the charts and what to do to make the edges and seaming go well with lace patterning but I had more to say than they had space for so I’m throwing it in here!

Just a short note on that Every Other Needle Hem - to make sure you are hanging the right stitches to the correct needles, start a little bit over from the right and say, on the fourth loop - pull the bottom edge down and follow the hole up to the correct needle, hang that one and then back track to the right - you don’t want to be out even one stitch because that will make the hem hang crooked. So, the loop you’re picking up should go on the stitch/needle directly above the hole/empty needle of the picot. Hope that helps!

a true oxymoron?

Now, seriously! is it 'ravel' or 'unravel'? 'ladder' or 'un-ladder'?

I’m working on my article on cables for Knit'nStyle - this will be in #176, Dec 2011 - I’ve made an cute cuddly cabled cardigan using some absolutely awesome alpaca from The Alpaca Yarn Company (http://www.thealpacayarnco.com/) - they will actually cone up your order for you!!! no ends - get it? How good is that? Anyway, I made the garment, wrote the pattern and now am trying to finish up the accompanying article - making a bunch of swatches to show different cables on the LK150, of course, and mulling it over in my mind - sometimes it’s good to do a little research...I go on the ‘net and check out ravel and unravel - it doesn’t seem to be clear - you’d think one would be the opposite of the other, but not really. I decided 'unravel' must be an oxymoron - usually it takes two words to make a true oxymoron, but, checking the list, ‘unravel’ is not there - no knitters were on the selection committee - but, ‘unthaw’ is! So, even though ‘un-ladder’ and ‘ladder’, ‘ravel’ and unravel’ are almost exactly the same, I’m clearly confused. In my unbiased opinion (it’s really an educated guess) it’s the same difference and my only choice is to make a deliberate mistake, act natural and rephrase.

Some of my favourite oxymorons:

- ribbed stockinette

- stockinette rib
- natural synthetic
- loose knot
- user friendly
- one size fits all - ha!
You can probably tell I'm wasting time....

My tricked-out LK!

I got this cute email the other day:
Dear Mary Anne, I had a question I hope you could find time to answer. I follow your columns in Knit N Style magazine, and notice you use the LK150 for your featured projects. I wondered if you do anything to your LK150 to "beef" it up?
I've heard of people putting stronger magnets on the bottom of the carriage, so I wondered if you had any similar mods to your machine? My LK150 seems kind of cheap and flimsy after knitting on steel bed machines so maybe it’s just a matter of getting used to the different feel of a plastic machine.
Thanks and keep up the good work, I look forward to the wonderful projects you come up with.
Sincerely, Linda J

Hi Linda, I use the LK150 for KnS because I want to show hand knitters what they could do with a machine and I know they are not ready for standard gauge garments! By taking the same yarns they use with sticks, I can produce a garment they can relate to and want to make, rather than the finer knits we, as machine knitters, are used to - hand knitters look at them and say’ ‘that looks store-bought’ and they make it sound like not a good thing, if you know what I mean.
The only 'mods' I have on my LK is a second row counter (when doing a hand-manipulated pattern I use one to keep track of the pattern rows and the other to keep track of the garment rows) and a second tension mast/assembly (for 2 or 3 colour work and then you always have waste yarn ready - I do this on my other machines too) - otherwise, I think it's perfect the way it is.
As for the magnet thing I haven't heard this and don't know what it would do - I would be leery of making a change like that - but notice, I do stick with light DK to DK weight yarn, maybe occasionally a worsted weight but nothing heavier (I’d use a bulky machine for the thicker stuff). I like yarns that knit in the T3 to T5 or 6 range and I think that is optimum for the LK150. You are right - there is a big difference between a metal bed and the plastic machine (my son used to call it my ‘fisher price knitter’!), but when you stick within that range, it is lovely and a pleasure to use (especially when the foam strip/needle retainer is good!), in my opinion!! Also, notice the heavier the yarn, the more weight you will need for it to knit properly. I am lucky in that I do have all the ‘toys’ for my little baby - an intarsia carriage, the fairisle carriage, the 8 st-needle selector, a weaving tool, 9/18-st EON tools and the old garter bar (nah-nah-na-na-nah!!) and of course, my favourite accessory, the KR11 knit contour. When I was at the North Carolina seminar in May, I was totally excited to find an adjustable 7-prong tool that the dealer told me was a 6.5mm gauge and I scooped it up. It turned out to be a 7mm tool from http://www.dknits.com/ but it’s close enough that it does work!
Hope this helps and answers your questions.
-Mary Anne

the hood's up...

I had a little time on my hands over the weekend and just couldn’t help myself - I knit the green thing again, for me! I had emailed Sonia at http://www.knittinggallery.com/ and got her to send me some more yarn, but I couldn’t wait - I had a full cone and a bit of Thistledown Silk in this nice, subtle, pale blue shade - it’s the lighter, fingering weight of Touch of Silk and I used it double stranded - this gave the same gauge as the green one.

Now, I always say ‘I can’t make the same thing twice.’ What’s the point? I guess I need to keep experimenting!’ So, I changed up the stitch pattern slightly - added another eyelet to the top of the motif and took out 2 rows of the plain knitting so this one’s a tad more work, not a big deal and it doesn’t really change the garment too much. Overall, not too many people would spot the difference between them, other than the colour.

Now, the green one is a hoodie and I know, not everyone likes hoodies, but have you seen the younger girl’s closet lately? They usually have 30 to 40 hoodies on the go at any given time, so what’s the big deal? Well, anyway, I decided to add the option of a plain neckline for those who don’t appreciate the hoodie fashion statement and I finished mine with the picot band around the neck, but I did knit the hood and once the photos are taken, I’ll be changing it.
The patterns are almost ready - hope to have them out late next week.

you'll be green with envy...

I’ve finished the green hoodie - it’s so cute! the only thing I don’t like about it, it doesn’t fit me! Because the colour isn’t really me, I made it to fit my daughter-in-law, Agnieszka (cover of No 53 and Mom of Nathan and Rhiana). She’s just enough smaller than me, that it’s too snug, especially you know where. But, I have to say, I impressed myself and I’m going to make it again in another colour! The techniques are amazing and I finished up with coming up with a great little buttonhole that is awesome!
The hem and bands are started with every other needle, for two reasons - to create an easy picot hem, but also to reduce the thickness on the back side of the hem - the EON will make it lay flatter and be less bulky, which was great until I came to make the buttonhole band. I thought bholes would be a snap because I only needed a one stitch hole for the 15mm buttons I had - they are a nice pewter shade and surprise, I happened to have 9 in my stash - because the band is narrow - only 4 rows - I wanted a small button and lots of them would do the job nicely. I already had the holes in the lace to test out for size - what could be simpler? well, think again, MA!

The first swatch, I merely transferred a stitch over on the top side of the band, figuring that with the EON on the back (facing) side, the hole would go right through both sides - Not! On my second attempt, I decided I needed to incorporate the buttonhole into the facing and use 2 stitches - the hole was way too big, lumpy, stretched out and was awful. Okay, so rethink and play around a bit - the lightbulb came on and it was absolute brilliance - well, I’m not going to go on and on - you’ll see when you get the pattern!
Anyway, check out the lace - there’s another special technique here, where, to keep the pattern going near the edge of the knitting, you still want the travelling path of the stitches when they are moved with the 3 prong tool, but you don’t want a hole near or at the edge of the fabric, especially where the front band will go - it will all be in the pattern - I promise it will be ready for the end of March. The yarn I used is Touch of Silk, a DK yarn by Forsell from http://www.knittinggallery.com/

On designing....

When I’m drawing a blank on what to make next, I fall back on my old standard question - what kind of garment would I like to pull out of my closet right now? How can I put a different spin on yet another cardigan on the mid gauge? Spring is coming, I’m sure, and I love lace and doing it on the mid gauge means hand transfers. Therefore, I don’t want anything too complicated. I looked through some old hand knit magazines for some inspiration for a lace pattern - I wanted to avoid vertical and horizontal lines and have a pattern that wouldn’t take forever to do.

I found a fairly simple one that in hand knit was a 12 st X 18 row pattern - in hand knits they do yarn overs and K2tog, which make the eyelets, on every row. In machine knitting, transfer the stitch to the next needle and leave the empty needle in work does the same thing. As a machine knitter, being basically lazy, I generally try to set up patterns that require transfers on every row - I find it’s easier to follow, less chance of error and it gets the job done quicker when you can knit 2 rows between the work.

So, my first try resulted in this (the blue) - it looks very close to the hand knit version, but I found it
kind of boring - after I got the piece off the machine to really look at it,
I’m thinking, what can I do to spice this up??

I decided to go with a 2-step full fashioned transfer - so, in the green swatch - still did the very same eyelets, but took the 4th stitch from where the hole was to be, moved it one needle toward the hole needle, then took 3 stitches with the 3 prong tool and moved them together away one needle space to make the first hole (like what I call an 'outlined 4 to 3 full fashioned decrease'). Knit 2 rows. Did the same thing on either side of the single hole, K2R and repeated that again to make the bottom V. Then on row 8, put 3 sts on centre needle of the motif, making 2 more eyelets. Then knit six rows (this can be varied, less if you want more holes in the piece). Repeated the motif but offset it to be between the first set of motifs. Notice how the travelling stitches between the motifs create a new dimension to the fabric - it reminds me of paper lanterns. I also played with the bottom pattern to make it match better with the overall pattern. My overall pattern ended up to be a 12 st X 24 row repeat with transfers on 8 rows, so it is still a pretty quick knit but with a nice overall effect.

Now, shall I do make it a hoodie or not?

Button Day

Actually, today in Ontario, is ‘Family Day’ - a new stat holiday I think only us in Ontario  - and Alberta and Sask- maybe - get, because some politician was looking for votes - kind of dumb, I think because everything is closed (even Home Depot) so what are you supposed to do - can't even go stateside because it's Presidents Day and the post office is closed...I did go out to go snow shoeing with my niece and saw our poor mail carriers doing their routes - ha! ha! they are federal employees and don’t get this day off (yet)!

Just finishing up the February Pattern of the Month designs - this means all the little finishing details, darning in ends and sewing on buttons - and doing the final tweaking of the actual patterns. Thought I’d give you a quick preview of what’s coming if you’ve subscribed to my Serial Stuff (thanks if you have - if not, you still have a week to get on board!).

Marsh Print (working title) is a new sideways knit, for the standard gauge - well, actually I did wear it last fall in Cleveland so it’s not really new, new - everyone loved it, but I didn’t have the pattern ready then, so if you’ve been waiting, here it is. The yarn is woolray/velveen, aka Wool Crepe Deluxe and Sue at ‘Knit It Now’ (used to be BT Yarns) had it on sale again, I noticed... anyway, this design features back and front knit cuff to cuff - I’m giving several variations - I’ve actually knit it 4 different ways, playing with sleeve length, and size and placement of the gores which add fullness in the hip region - this variation has a box pleat 3/4 length sleeve - I also made it in Mini Dina and in Tamm Diamante - I did get same gauge with each of these yarns, so you’ll have a variety of yarn choices. The pattern will include various edge finishes and different bands. On this marsh print, I used the purl side as the right side, because I liked it better - I thought the purl side didn’t look as stripey - but the other versions use the knit side as right side. The full-peplum-look from waist to hem is created with gores and again, I experimented with a very large gore (this one) to a much smaller gore, resulting in a less full bottom. This garment can look very fancy or relatively casual, depending on how you pair it.

For mid gaugers, the Red Raglan (working title) is it for February - an A-line shape cardigan with fancy detail in the raglan decreases and rib and cable combination hand transferred hems, cuffs and collar - lots of nice details for the intermediate/advanced knitter - there is a plain version for the beginner knitter - knit in a DK weight wool. A great button loop technique that really makes the front band outstanding, will solve the buttonhole dilemma for many. It’s always a challenge to find the perfect button to go with something you’ve made - one tip - I am hardly ever able to find an exact colour match for buttons, so I usually opt for metallic or wooden buttons - these buttons are just laying on the garment right now - I’ll look at them for a bit before deciding - I usually pin them on and try on the cardigan to get a better idea - my other option is a flat wooden button the same size that I’ll paint to match if I don’t like these...

Yardage isn’t everything...

So, I mailed my garment off to Knit’nStyle for the August issue and belatedly realized I’d never see it again - they keep it. So what? you say...well, it's totally full of great new techniques and now, I'll need the garment for some of my classes at the upcoming spring seminars:

Knit Knack Shop’s 33rd Annual Spring Fling in Peru, In - a good, little seminar in the middle of the country, very budget friendly - get a road trip going and see you there!! check it out at http://www.knitknackshop.com/ - I’ll also be at the Carolinas Guild Seminar in Raleigh, NC; and at the Pacifically Passap Plus, teaching Japanese machine stuff, of course, near Portland, OR on the Memorial Day weekend - check out my seminar list at http://www.knitwords.com/ for links and dates - east coast, west coast & the middle!!! don’t miss them!

So back to the problem at hand - I figured I may as well knit it again right away while it was all still fresh in my mind (also wanted to check my pattern and wording by re-knitting it before submitting it) - of course, I don't have the same yarn - I used Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima Cotton in a bright corn yellow, 7 skeins, 100g/220yds - I know, you’re going to say that’s not really an MAO colour, but I don’t always get to choose, I take what’s given - it has a lovely sheen and drape and I knew my stitch pattern would show up well in that colour - so, checking my stock on hand, found 14 balls of Eqyptian cotton, 50g/105m and it has the same recommended gauge as the Cascade, so I figure I’m good. I shorten the sleeve and length, because this is to fit me while the sample I send off to KnS is for the size I wish I was - 5’9, 36 bust (in my dreams is right!!) - and I get one front done (1/4 of the project - it’s a sideways knit crochet-look cardigan on the LK150 in a hand selected tuck stitch - not exactly a quick & easy project) and I’m already into the 5th ball - I know I’m not going to make it. Abandon that...

Next plan - with no other hand knitting yarn of that amount or likeness around here, I decide to put together 2 finer coned yarns that are leftovers from standard gauge projects - a linen and a Mini Dina in the same beigy shade - WOW, something more to add to the workshops - how to substitute successfully!!! I’m only telling you this now because I have it all finished, bands and everything and there's at least 3 yds of the Mini Dina left! Darn lucky, I’d say...

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!

Jaded...NOT!

Did you ever feel like you know it all? Once in a while, I feel like I get sort of complacent - or maybe, in a rut, I think , and it’s not like I think I know it all, but I think I’ve been knitting so long that I’m not really going to learn anything new...Ha!!! I love it when I do come up with something new - or is it that I knew it already and just forgot???....I hate when that happens!!
Okay, I’ll be honest - I was trying to ‘fix’ something - you know, try to get away without having to re-knit the whole thing because I never should have added those extra stitches to the front anyway without thinking it through...you probably think I’m rambling here and you’re right, I am - I’m trying to say something without full disclosure, but it’s not working... but the point here is what I learned!!!

Did you know that when you chain cast off, the nice line of the chain lies on the side away from you? Well, I know that. Sometimes it doesn’t matter - in fact most times, it doesn’t. Getting back to my fix-up, I added a strip of stockinette to the front side of this piece, in an opposing direction - like, I’m adding a strip of stitches to the row edge and making a facing on the outside of the piece - the first side was okay, but after looking at it closely, I thought, G! that would look so much better if the final chain was on the front of the outside edge. So, I still had to finish, er, fix the other side, so while I was making the stockinette strip, I 'm running it through my head and trying to figure out what to do. I want the stockinette strip on the knit side of the piece, so I hang the selvedge edge -

(can you believe it?? almost the only thing they changed in my KnS article was the spelling of selvedge - they changed it to selvage - hummmph... Americans! always dropping letters! I never knew there was a US spelling for that...)
-knit side facing me, hanging the whole outside edge stitch (which means both sides/the whole stitch!). Then I hang the open stitches of the strip, knit side facing me, pull the open stitches through the closed edge. Now, here’s the problem. If I just knit my loose row and chain off the stitches, the chain lies on the side away...the light bulb comes on!!! If I take it off now, turn it around  (one of those RTR's!!) and then knit my loose row, the chain will be on the KNIT side. OMG!!! Life is good - you better write this down because I may forget about it!

Looking at those swatches, you might think I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but you gotta trust me here, it does looks better in person!