I like making things: This time it was user error! and does two a collection make?

Monday, October 10, 2011

This time it was user error! and does two a collection make?

Yesterday afternoon while the Nascar race was on I went up stairs to knit a front for the jacket. I was doing great, I was up to the neckline shaping and started on it. I was feeling pretty good at this point until I noticed I had started to decrease on the smallest size on the pattern and it is the biggest size I am knitting!!!!! Pure unadulterated, can't blame it on any one but myself, user error lol. I wasn't mad because it was my own doing. The machine, my Betsy, was functioning perfectly. I have since marked in pencil on the pattern where I need to go to to avoid a repeat of this. I will erase it when I am done.

Now to my other news. Friday I bought another knitting machine. It was an impulse buy at a great price. (I bartered and got it for half the asking price) . The guy who was selling it is a local Policeman who bought it for his wife he said, about 15 years ago. But she left him 5 years ago and didn't take it so he wanted rid of it. He didn't think she had used it much but it has been used. He totally blew away any value in it being an antique collectible by throwing away the original box and storing it in a tool box but as I bought it to use and not resell, that's not a problem. Doing some research I think it is more like 20 years old but no matter.

It's a KnitSmart 3-in-1 system. Actually, it's a hobby machine. Everything is plastic except the needles. It's more like a toy but it knits double knitting and bulky yarn. It wouldn't do the super bulky 6 we bought to try though. Not surprised really, it's like flipping rope!!! I wouldn't even want to hand knit with it, it's so thick. I'm assuming this machine is like a Bond but never having seen one I don't know. It does have an electronic row counter which I don't think the Bond's have. I can't get over everything being plastic. Even the plates that move the needles are plastic and you have to wax them lol.

It has 104 needles on the original machine, and it came with an extension of 26 needles making it a total of 130 usable needles. It is an 8mm so bigger than a mid gauge but smaller than a regular chunky. Apparently, according to the manual, they were going to make modules to buy to be able to convert it to a 6.5mm or a 9.5mm machine. The modules being the needle beds, the carriage would work on all three sizes of them. Will keep a look out for them on the internet, might be able to pick one or both up cheaply somewhere one day.

Some extra thick double knit. I think they call it worsted weight here in the US.

Some bulky #5 yarn. I love this yarn, it knits with subtle changes of colour. The lilac is for comparison as it is what I am using on my Studio 700 to knit the little jacket.

I used plate #30 for the yellow and plate #35 for the purple. There are 8 different sizes, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45

The stitches are huge lol!

The carriages, end pieces and knitting plates all packed in the bottom of the toolbox. The tray with the accessories sits on top

There are a lot of great things to be said about this machine.

Great portability, not too heavy to carry around and quick to set up
Simplistic
Fits on my kitchen island so don't have to be upstairs to knit. The island is on casters too so can move it anywhere downstairs easily
Dropped stitches are easy to pick up
Knits thicker yarn of which I have a lot. We inherited my Mum in law's stash of yarn
My husband wants a chunky cardigan so I'll be able to knit him one on this machine
It was very inexpensive

The down side is I don't have a ribber for it and doing any sort of fancy stitch-work takes manual manipulation.

But it's a completely different type of machine and will be used to knit plainer bulkier things and I get to use up the stash! I will try ribbing on the machine by dropping the stitches and redoing them with the latch tool and if I can't manage that I will hand knit the rib and put it on the needles.

My 700 with ribber is my real pride and joy though. I love that machine and my personal preference is for finer knit garments.

Didn't get any sort of knitting done today as my husband was feeling up to doing some work on our sun room conversion so that's what we did. There's always tomorrow or the next day..............

3 comments:

AnonymousOctober 12, 2011 at 3:25 PM
It is very much like the Bond. I believe the Knitsmart carriage can be used on the Bond - not sure if the Bond carriage will work on the Knitsmart.
I know when I go from knitting on the standard gauge to the Bond the stitches do seem massive!
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AlexOctober 14, 2011 at 7:44 PM
Very nice maureen, yeah like Susan said it is very similar to the Bond but this is like the more top of the line, if you will.
Also going back to what susan and you said, the stitchs do seam massive once you have been using the standard machine for a while and then jump to the Bond, even the needle spacing as well, it never ceases to amaze me, lol.
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maureenlthompsonOctober 16, 2011 at 9:42 AM
Yes, it's going to take a bit of getting used to. Found a pattern I can use to make my husband his cardigan. I said only old men wear cardigans and he replied that he was an old man so he wanted one lol. (He is 67 next week)
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As in the words of Thumper: If you can't say 'nuffin nice don't say 'nuffin at all.

Glad you stopped by

I started this blog in 2011: Ever since my Mum taught me to knit at the age of about six or seven I have made things. Back then it was doll clothes. I was also inspired by Mrs Levitt an elderly lady who had a sewing room in a conservatory type room on the back of her house. I would sit and watch her in awe as she sewed.

When I was a child living in England the school system was such that you started at 5 years, did two years in Infant School, then four years in Primary School then five to seven years in Secondary School, depending on whether you chose to stay on after fifth form to get qualifications to go to University. I can't remember much of the Infant school other than making the standard square doily thingy from fabric that had holes in it so you could embroider patterns into it. A bit like the modern day cross stitch fabric but with bigger holes and spaces to make it easy for small hands to use. I also remember with great joy getting a toy sewing machine one Christmas which sewed only chain stitch but I did make doll clothes on it and that was before I started Primary school. I do have very vivid recollections of Primary school and having sewing and knitting lessons. In Primary school I knitted gloves and made a dress from scratch hand sewing it all.

Secondary school continued on with sewing by which time I had progressed to using full sized sewing machines and was making more intricate skirts and dresses. My parents bought me a proper sewing machine when I was thirteen. I used that same machine right up until I emigrated to Canada at age forty six years.

I have always had a fascination for sewing machines and knitting machines. I bought my first knitting machine at around age twenty one from an ad in a newspaper for twelve pounds. I had absolutely no idea what one was just that I wanted one. I trundled on the bus to the address in the advert and handed over my twelve pounds having absolutely no idea what I had really bought. Fortunately it came with a manual. It was an aged Knitmaster, very basic and I loved it. I wore it out. Next was a Brother push button one which I didn't keep because it was at a time in my life when things were difficult. Later on in my life, around forty, when things were better I bought a brand new Brother punchard machine with a ribber attachment. I loved it and made many things. Life took a different turn, I moved countries twice and along the way, regrettably I sold it.

Now, through the universe's blessing I now have another machine. It is a vintage one because they stopped making them early 90's but works perfectly and I love it. So I decided to make this blog to document my knitting progress and include sewing projects.

In 2013: we embarked on a new hobby, leather-work. My husband got started with it and it drew me in. It is something we can do together. We have a workshop so have plenty of room to work. We added another workbench for me to work on in 2013. We already had one but we were tripping over each other both trying to work at it. We only make things we want to make. It is strictly a hobby. We made some things for our good neighbours who help us out a lot. I am also working on Christmas presents. So this blog now incorporates the leather-work. Knitting and sewing will always be my first love though.

Fast forward to 2023 and now age almost 75 years. I have seven sewing machines, four knitting machines, several ribber attachments and a garter carriage for one of the machines. I am blessed beyond words, but I know that I have more than enough machines to keep me going in my lifetime so I don’t think I will be adding to my collection any time soon……….unless a nice embroidery machine manifests itself very cheaply.

I am a Brit living in the USA, sometimes I spell like a Brit and sometimes like an American. Sometimes I use slang and even make grammatical errors. I blog for the pleasure of it and to record my endeavours in the event that my memory fades, as I am sure it will with more age. I will be able to look back and remind myself of the things I have made along the way. So please forgive my mistakes when reading about my life making things here in the hinterlands and I hope you get as much enjoyment from my blog as I do from reading the blogs I follow.

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Monday, October 10, 2011

This time it was user error! and does two a collection make?

3 comments: