I like making things: October 2014

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Just in the nick of time!

Tuesday morning I spent doing the final sewing up and got finished by lunchtime. My husband's birthday was yesterday (Wednesday).

He loves the cardigan.

Next project a belt for my son's 24th birthday in November. I need to get on with that as it has to be mailed to the UK.

No rest for the wicked!

Friday, October 17, 2014

I have the the back, fronts and sleeves all done for my husband's cardigan. His birthday is Wednesday. I will tackle the neckband and front bands over the weekend and try and get it all sewn up. Have to get the buttons for it on Monday along with a birthday card so fingers crossed all will be done in time.

As a birthday treat my stepson from NJ is flying in and taking him to the second game of the Basketball World Series in Kansas City. They lived many years in KC so it will be very emotional for them. I declined to go as I really don't know a lot about baseball and I don't hail from KC. They can have the quality father and son time together and enjoy the game without having to explain it me on a ball by ball basis. I will have a chill night and watch a chic flick.

Hopefully he will get to wear the cardigan as it will cool right down at night.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Well, flippin' heck!

It took me two sessions to complete a sleeve. Getting set up always takes me a while as I put everything away after each session and cover my machines etc. etc. So I knitted one sleeve up to the shaping in one session and finished it off in the second. I was really happy how it turned out. I got the patterning correct so it was central, followed the instructions (which I write out so I can tick off as I go) and it all went fine. Then when I got it off the machine I could see that I had forgotten to to put the right side punchcard lever to 'L' to make it elongated. I really need to get a light somehow on the actual knitting. I am using navy wool and the back of the desk is dark wood so you can barely see it as it is growing. I think I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I could have seen it.

Methinks one of those newfangled LED lights which attach magnetically is in order. I can attach it behind the knitting and it will light it up......hopefully. I have one somewhere in the workshop. Off to find it before I start on the sleeves again.

Have to unwind the done one first though as I don't have enough yarn to finish without doing that.

Had a disastrous morning in the kitchen too so I think I will put off any knitting until tomorrow.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Just a quick post and a question

I have started on the long promised cardigan for my husband. The back is done. Fronts and sleeves to follow........

I have to say I am impressed with how the SK155 bulky machine functions. It is a lot easier to correct a mistake than the SK700 4.5mm machine. It, of course, knits quicker too. All that said, I personally prefer garments knitted at ths finer guage so will continue to use the SK700 too. (it is my fave!)

I do have a question if anyone knows the answer. When you do tuck stitch can you put the little orange thingies on the knitting bed to stop the pattern and start it again like you an with lace knitting?

I would like to have a few stitches at each side that doesn't knit in tuck stitch, just stockinette but not sure if it is possible.

Thanks in advance.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

October already!

Where has the year gone? It seems like my life is just flying by but I don't feel like I am achieving much.

The Knitware program is working fine on the old computer I bought. Nothing much else works on it as I said in my previous post it seems to missing a lot of the Windows components but as it's sole purpose was to run the Knitware program on it, it is doing what I want it to.

I purchased a license for the sweaters program. Here in the US it cost $32.95. I also purchased a disc with the Knitware programs on to keep as backup. That was $10. I have yet to try it as the newly acquired XP computer's CD drive doesn't work. I bought a plug and play DVD/CD/RW drive on ebay. It was ridiculously cheap. It works for CD's but I couldn't download my Office program using it so not sure if it's the new drive or the missing Windows components. Not going to mess with it though as the Knitware program is working. I can save the patterns in 'Notepad' which does work, then put them on a flash drive and load then onto my main PC and modify and print them etc.

So that is all I have done in the knitting department this past couple of weeks. We have been busy outside trying to get the outside work all wrapped up for winter. Not sure if it will ever come though as the heat is dragging on and on this year. They keep promising a cooling down but it doesn't happen!

We did finish the two belts though for the eldest two son's birthdays. We tried something new on the second belt. I had an old leather belt I had bought way back when from a garage sale and we liked it's design. We modified it quite a bit and were happy with the outcome but some credit must go to the original belt maker.

Slight technical hitch with the finished photos of the first belt as we somehow dropped the tablet that we took them on. It is away for repair right now and we hope we can retrieve them when it comes back.

I have a couple of the early stages pictures of the first one and a couple of the second finished one. These were taken with my trusty old digital camera.

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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