Knitting machine update

I didn't do any practice yesterday as we worked on the fishtank all day as stated in my previous post. I did make progress on Sunday though. I mastered the e-loop casting on method which I was having so many problems with.....yeah me! I was getting over confidant though and thought maybe I should start on a garment lol. Well, I wanted to use the punchcard and try a pattern for the grand daughter and see how the two colours went together so I followed the instructions but it didn't work, so I tried again and it still didn't work. In hind site, I think I had the second yarn threaded wrong but it was time to quit at that point so I will try again, probably after the hospital stay is over and done with.

Who knows, maybe the treatment will work and my husband will be as he was and we will be so busy catching up with all the jobs that have not got done the past couple of years that I won't get chance to be on the knitting machine for months.........a small price to pay!

The new addition....the knitting machine

Just a couple of shots of the new machine and a piece of practice work.

Had the perfect spot for it in the spare bedroom complete with seat right by it so Edward can come up and observe lol

Note the instruction manual isn't far away!

a practice piece, casted on using the instructions in the book but haven't mastered casting on every other stitch yet. That's tomorrow's project. I did make it into a double hem to see how it looks.

Remembered how to make holes and I casted it all off afterwards.

Some mowing done, shopping next and hopefully some knitting m/c practice in later

Yesterday's plans got thwarted so no shopping or mowing got done yesterday afternoon. (that wasn't a bad thing though and that's all I'm saying about that lol)

Did get some mowing done this morning and just having lunch now then shopping this afternoon. Hopefully will get some knitting practice in later but if not, for sure will tomorrow. Had some good tips from my knitting friend Julie and have watched a couple of Youtube videos so am raring to go on the casting on. The knitting, increasing, decreasing and casting off I remembered well from before but for some reason casting on successfully and neatly is evading me for the time being.

Will take some pictures of the machine and post them later for my good buddy Laura who I have known now for a number of years and had somehow with held my obsession of knitting machines from. She is my best friend and confidante too so how that never got out I have no idea!

Off I go..........

An amazing kindness shown by a total stranger

Back to the knitting machine for this post. The ribber didn't have a manual which I knew when I bought it. I thought it would be easy to find one on the internet but I had searched relentlessly for over a week to no avail. Somewhere in my search though I came across a knitting forum and someone who had bought a similar machine to mine had asked a question and another lady, Julie, who was familiar with the machine had responded to her. Based on the remote chance that Julie might also have a ribber I sent her a message and asked if by any chance she did and did she have a manual for it. She replied the same day saying that she did have a manual, albeit a little old and worn but she would try to get it copied the next day. She did and put it in a pdf file and emailed it to me last night.

How amazing that this total stranger took time out of her busy life to do that for me?

I was blown away by her kindness.

Julie, if you ever read this blog, please know that I am eternally grateful to you.

Shopping on the cards for today and if it dries up a little some mowing then hopefully some knitting practise time later today.

Check out Alibris second hand books

I have used Alibris before to buy used books but had forgotten about it until today when I was googling knitting machine books. I found some real bargains, 3 hardback and one paperback for $14 plus shipping of $14 as they were coming from three different bookshops but still a great bargain.

Did get some mowing done this morning and my husband did manage to get down and check the blades, all of which need replacing but he did it. He is such a trooper. We will pick up new blades tomorrow on our way to the VA hospital.

Appointment with the neurologist tomorrow, keeping all fingers and toes crossed for some better news and/or a course of treatment.

I called the nurse on Monday and told her we had been to see the neuro surgeon at the University hospital last Thursday so the neurologist would have a heads up and she advised us to go and pick up the notes before coming to see him as the VA takes forever to scan in notes from other hospitals....as we are well aware! so we will do that.

Off to practise on the knitting machine again......

Yeah, the knitting machine arrived.

I spent yesterday catching up with correspondence, filing, making phone calls and bill paying so when it arrived I would be free to enjoy it. Well, I waited and waited and waited and finally at 7pm the UPS guy showed up with it. I was like a kid at Christmas. I opened it up and checked it was what the seller on ebay had purported it to be and it was. I read the manuals to familiarize myself with the parts and terminology etc. I was exhausted by the time I went to bed and actually slept like a log.

This morning I took it upstairs and assembled the main bed. I decided to play around with that before attempting to incorporate the ribber. Well, what can I say?....I dropped stitches, I got tangles, you name it I did it wrong. So many different levers to keep changing but I'll get the hang of it. I tried the punch card and it seems to work OK, but haven't got the hang of the correct tensions and hanging on the weights yet. All in good time.

I was happy with today's progress but realize I have to practice a lot more before I embark on a garment.

The grass needs mowing and I just haven't felt like doing it, have to go to town to get gas and the blades need sharpening which involves my husband and he just hasn't felt up to it. He is just so exhausted all the time and is finding it more difficult to get up and down even out of chairs so getting down to lie on the shop floor and take the blades off doesn't look like it will be on the cards for much longer, if at all. Maybe he will feel a little better tomorrow and it is supposed to be cooler too.

Will try to get out and do a little mowing in the morning. We have a bit of gas in it and if the blades hold out I should get some done. Maybe a trip into town later in the day for gas but to be honest I have enjoyed the past few days of going 'nowhere' so am a little loathe to go out tomorrow. We have to go to Columbia Thursday so could pick up gas on the way home......if we remember to take the gas cans with us lol.