Knitting and leatherwork update and $50 well spent!

Since my last post I have hand knitted the top.  It's a new concept.  A square and a rectangle then stitched together in such a way that they make a vest (waistcoat for my English friends)  I have yet to stitch them together but the knitting is all done.

Nothing done on the machines lately but feeling good that I got some hand knitting done.

With the improvement in the weather we can now get out and work in the workshop.  It is quite big and way too costly to heat in the winter.

My husband has an autoimmune disease which attacks his muscles and nerves.  Just before Christmas they started him on a regimen of a chemo drug that they use to treat blood cancers.  They found it helps with his type of disease.  He is doing much better and has improved so much that he is doing projects again.  He is delighted as am I.

We have been working on better organizing the workshop and getting rid of excess 'stuff' and building an L shaped work bench with shelving for a new project he is looking to undertake. We also did some rewiring in the house and put in a water softener and a new toilet.

In between all that and trying to get one of our riding mowers working we have done a few leather projects.

We made a belt for our neighbour last year who helps us out a lot. He really likes it and wears it all the time.  This year he came up with a brass buckle that had sentimental value to him and asked if we could make a belt for it too.  We were happy to oblige as it was a way to say Thank You again to him.

It was a combined effort.  My husband cut the leather for the strap.  I did the patterning , he did the coloring and I did the finishing.

Then I made a couple of keyrings for my two brothers.  As ususal I forgot to take pictures when they were totally finished but here a couple of their work in progress.

Then we ventured onto our latest project and work in progress.  A quiver for my husband's crossbow arrows.

This has been quite a lengthy project which still has quite a bit to do to complete it.  Pictures at the stage we're at with final pictures to follow.

It is lined with shearling.  Again, a joint effort.  His design, my stitching and patterning  but his logo design based on his McTavish roots.

And now to the $50 well spent part.

Doing the patterning requires metal stamps and a mallet.  This process can be very iffy.  If the stamp moves you get a double imprint and it is difficult to get an even and good embedded imprint.  Sometimes, your fingers get pinched holding the stamp.  All in all not a satisfactory process not to mention the noise when you thump a stamp 20 or so times to get the imprint.

I had drooled over a stamp press in the Tandy catalogue but it is $600.  We don't have that sort of money to spend on a tool for our hobby so we just soldiered on with the mallets.  One day I was looking on ebay and looking through the leather tools, something I do quite often to get ideas for our leatherwork.  Someone was selling a metal plate and a rubber pad together with a press for $150.  Now it wasn't the Tandy press but the person had put together a video on how to use the press with the plate and rubber pad.  It was amazing to see how much easier it is to do the patterning with a press.

Then I did more research on presses and found that Harbor Freight sold the very same press for a lot less money and it was on sale for $50.

The guy on ebay also sold the metal plate and rubber pad without the press for $15 so I bought those from him and the press from Harbor Freight.

Here is my new press and my re-arranged work area.

My husband bolted it down for me which was very hard on him as he had to get underneath the bench to strengthen it but he is such a sweetheart, I just love him to bits.

Didn't go quite as I planned but I found a gem of a pattern to use instead

Well, my attempt to make the cardigan I blogged about in my last post was not successful.  I misread the pattern and started the ribbing down the front at the wrong place so I had to unwind it all about a quarter of the way down.  So the hunt for another pattern was on.  I wanted something simple.  I knit without looking if its ribbing or plain knitting but when increasing/decreasing or patterns come into play then I need to concentrate and look and that pattern involved a lot of that.  I knit at night when watching TV so I wanted easy.

After a lot of searching both in stores and online I finally found a simple pattern.

One that can be made any size and use a variety of pattern stitches or just plain old knitting.  It's a novel idea and I am so happy I found it.  I decided to knit it in moss (seed) stitch. I started it two nights ago and I am already a third of the way through the first rectangle.

Here is the link to it: 

http://www.laylock.org/blog/2012/10/coze-easy-knit-vest-pattern/

Picking up the knitting needles again

Because of time restraints to machine knit I have decided to do some hand knitting.  We usually sit down for an hour or so at night to watch TV so I thought I could knit by hand again.  This is what I used to do before getting my machines.  I have wrestled with going back to hand knitting when I have three knitting machines which knit so much faster but when you consider that I haven't completed anything on them in over a year then that argument seem a tad futile.  So I found a pattern to knit for my 6 yr old grand daughter.  I owe her an item as I made the two grandsons the vests I blogged about earlier.

I love the pattern I have found but it will be a challenge as it is knitted all in one from the neck down.  Usually I knit the back and fronts separately from the bottom up.  So something a bit different.  I bought the yarn and found the pattern online.  I had all the listed needles except one set of double pointed needles size 6 but I can pick them up on my next trip into town.  They are not needed straight away.  Also the main body is knitted on those weird needles attached by wire.  I have never used those before either so it will be interesting!  Fortunately, I inherited a supply of those type of needles from my mum in law along with some sets of double pointed ones.

My grand daughter is 6 and a half and it will probably take me a few months to knit so I am making it in size 8.  They usually come to visit at the end of June when she will be almost 7 so the size 6 would be too small.  Also they live in California so the short sleeves are perfect for her.

I am excited to start this project but also sad that I won't be making it on the machine.

Also the weather is beginning to warm up so we will be able to get out to the workshop again to make some leather things. It has been a long winter and our workshop is too big to heat so we don't get out there to work.  Working on leather is something my husband can do sitting down.  On the upside, the chemo treatment seems to be working and he is regaining some of his strength.  We have managed over the winter to do some much needed plumbing jobs and some rewiring.  This fulfills his need to be doing things but not so much mine.  He suffers greatly after working a couple of hours but his self esteem is bolstered.

I like my knitting, sewing and leather work.  That's where I get my satisfaction.  As my blog title says.....'I like making things'

This is how it has to be.

I have just read a post on Suzy's blog.  A great and detailed post about her Bond machine.  She is a very talented lady who owns several knitting machines and uses them all.  She has made many garments and other things on her machines.  I envy her.  I don't have the time I would like to spend with my machines.

I think about knitting all the time, I research a lot and read blogs etc about knitting.  That is easy for me to do, my computer is in my kitchen in a custom made computer hutch.  I can take five minutes here and there to do that and if I have to stop it's no big deal.  I blog too because I can do that in bits and pieces.

My knitting room is upstairs and I have two machines set up in the spare bedroom.  When I am up there I am in a world of my own, oblivious to anything else.  Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of the time to spend in there.

My husband is sick.  He has a chronic auto immune disease which is very debilitating.  He is currently having chemo treatment in a bid to slow it down.  This takes up a lot of our time going back and forth to the hospital 150 miles away.  Then on days he feels a bit better we try and catch up with the many jobs around the place that need doing.

My knitting is on a back burner. I do what I can when I can.  I just have time to try things right now but not complete anything.

This is how it has to be.  I am not going to grieve any more over not being able to machine knit as much as I'd like. Might have to go back to the knitting needles lol.

A life without machine knitting is much better than the alternative.

I know, I know, a lot of excuses and not much knitting!

Things have been busy here.  My husband is undergoing a regimen of chemo treatment in a bid to try and slow down the auto immune disease that is attacking him.  That has meant a lot of trips to the hospital 150 miles away.  Also in between those trips we have been dealing with plumbing and electrical problems and some days we are just too plain tuckered to do anything.

I did do a little on the machines yesterday.  I tried ribbing on standard using every fourth stitch with thicker yarn.  It was not too successful although not a total failure either, so more work needed to perfect that.  I also tried mock rib on the bulky machine and that turned out well.  I need to try tuck stitch on it with the thicker yarn to see how that goes, that's a job for another day.

I think that worsted weight (double knitting) will be the best to use on it overall but I do want to make a bulky cardigan for my husband as that is what he wants.  Haven't found the yarn for that yet. It will knit '5' yarn OK but not the super bulky '6'.

I need to revisit Suzy's video on Cricketer's cable.  I tried some cable on the bulky yesterday but it was pulling on the needles too much.  I think her cable will be better to do on it.

Changing the subject, here are a few photos of leather stuff I did for Christmas gifts.  I forgot to take pictures of a lot of the things I made though.

New handy dandy hole puncher made life a lot simpler

The last keyring was one I had rejected as I made a mistake on it but I salvaged it for myself and managed to disguise the error.  I really like it.    

That's all for now.  Another hospital trip tomorrow and then hopefully a little warmer weather coming in.

The LC2 is working!

Thanks to Suzy whose blog is I follow, the LC2 is working.  She put up a video for me on how to use the LC2 on her blog.  From that I was able to ascertain where I might have gone wrong.  After replacing all the 70 needles that I had bent the latches on, I tried again.  This time I only used 50 needles. Unfortunately though, I still had problems.  At least this time I knew it wasn't down to user error.  This time I only bent the latches on about 20 needles as I could tell pretty quickly it wasn't knitting correctly and stopped. When I slowly ran the carriage over the knitting I could see that it was the sinker plate that was bending the latches.

So, I examined the sinker plate and spotted that the left and right underside of it were not symmetrical.  I asked Suzy if she would post pictures of the underside of her LC2 sinker plate, which she most graciously did.

From the pictures I could identify which side of mine was incorrect.

Where the arrow is pointing is where it had gone wrong on mine.  The large metal plate below and to the left of the arrow has a piece that bends downward at the arrow and it had somehow hooked itself over the metal plate that is just to the right of it.  I was able to unhook it quite easily.

So, after replacing those 20 needles, gingerly, I tried it again.

This time I used even less, just 40 needles.  I had just paid $55 for 100 needles and wasn't wanting to shell out another $55. I had at this point replaced 90 needles!

I also used a different lace punch card just in case the first one was somehow compromised.

So, I followed all the steps as per Suzy's video and joy oh joy, it worked this time.  I did a full round of the punch card and then some stockinette then casted off.  And NO bent latches.

I was flying high.  I was so excited.


I did notice one place where the hole didn't form properly but overall it did just fine.

I am sure with practice I will get better at it.

When I showed my husband the knitted piece he burst out laughing.  He thought it was hilarious that I had spent all this time, effort and money to make knitting with holes in.  He was very happy for me but totally bemused.

I have actually had the lace carriage for over a year.  It came with a knitting machine I had purchased in August 2012.  I have been pondering since then on whether or not it was repairable, looking at it from time to time to see if I could get the top off to look underneath  and had just about given up on it when I found the website on how to strip it down and free the drums and also found the supplier that I can get parts from.

It was this past November that I actually started the repairs on it. It was not without it's moments (see previous posts).  But now, two months later I have it working.

I became a bit obsessed with getting it to work.  It became a challenge! Suzy aptly said that us women won't let these machines beat us and she is right.

I don't have anything that I need in a hurry to make using it so I am going to get back onto the SK155 and make my poor husband the sweater or cardigan I have been promising him forever.  When I have done that I will make something for my youngest grand daughter using the lace carriage.

With respect to the SK155, the insurance cheque went through OK and I have decided just to repair the lid by buying the two plastic ends for it.  The needle bed is attached to the bottom, not quite as it should be but it is functional and I have to glue on the end plastic thing which is just cosmetic.  The machine knits just fine.  I also bought the missing left RC lever and holder and can put that in now I know how to take off the cover.

This has been quite a learning period for me.  I feel better knowing that I can make simple repairs and obtain parts.

My thanks go out again to Suzy whose help was invaluable to me.

Her blog is listed down the right hand side of my home page.  It is called 'My knitting machines and me"  Check it out, she has an amazing set of videos she has made and lots of patterns posted.  Also she has photos of garments and other things she has knitted.  She is a very talented lady.

Also thank you to 'Pieces of Kate' blog who has a post on how to strip down the carriage to clean the drums.  There is a link to her post in previous posts of mine.

Good news and bad news!

I finally got the LC2 lace carriage re-assembled on Christmas Eve.  That is the good news.

Yesterday, the 28th, I sat down to try it. Detailed below is the bad news!

I started off knitting 70 stitches using the main carriage, I did about 20 rows.  Then I changed over to the lace carriage.  Something distracted me and when I came back I started to knit with it thinking I still had the main carriage on.  I knitted about 4 rows and it was really tight.  Then I remembered I had changed the carriage over.  The tension setting was at 0.  Well OK then!  I changed it up to 7, put in the punchcard LC1.  I did my first row to remember the changed the settings accordingly and gingerly started to knit.  It seemed to be going ok but after a few rows I could see some holes weren't appearing where they should, then it got worse and the stitches were getting caught on gate pegs and all sorts of things were happening.  I stopped!

I took the knitting off and noticed that it had bent all the latches on the needles in use.  Yes, all 70 of them.  aarrgghh!!!!!

So that was my first LC2 experience.  I was so disappointed as I had waited a long time to get it operational. (see previous posts for all the gory details)

I have ordered 100 new needles at a cost of $55 so a costly experience.

I think knitting on the '0' tension at the beginning didn't help.  Also, I think I should have done more plain rows after I changed it up to '7' before I started to use the punchcard.

I had put in a brand new sponge bar yesterday as I had read that for lace it needs to be a good one.

I am going to take out the needles with the bent latches and move some from the outer edges in and give it another go.  But this time I will only use 40 max needles in case it happens again.  I have 30 spare needles on hand so with the 100 I ordered I should be covered if I bend any more.

Any tips anyone??????????

An update on the SK 155 and the LC2 lace carriage

Writing this while my husband is getting his second chemo treatment. Thankfully he doesn't have cancer but he does have a nasty autoimmune disease and this treatment has had some good results in slowing this type of disease down.

The other parts for the lace carriage arrived but I just haven't had the time to resume the repairs. After Christmas I am hoping for some respite to get on and do it. It has been a very busy month or so with a lot of time spent at the hospital.

The insurance claim for the damaged Sk155 was settled but I still haven't received a cheque yet. But I am sure I will get it eventually. I can get the ends of the top cover and try and get some of the bumps out of it. I will not buy a new cover as it is not my intent to sell it anytime soon. At least the cover will be functional.

I also got the left RC lever base and lever for it that was missing. It is the left one used to operate a knit radar. As yet I do not have one for it but at least the carriage will be complete.

I have a question. Does anyone know if you can use double knitting yarn on a standard machine with a ribber to do ribbing by using fewer needles?

I would like to get a ribber for the SK155 but they are hard to come by. I got the brainwave that I might be able to do the rib on the standard and transfer it to the SK155 but not sure if it would work. Any input would be much appreciated. I do have a garter bar so I could transfer the stitches from one to the other.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.

Another technical hitch.

The parts arrived as scheduled and were perfectly correct.  I set about doing the last repairs and had two problems.  First, I couldn't get one of the screws out to take off the broken handle bracket.  Secondly, when I pried off the snap clip on the RC lever so I could replace the RC lever base it flew off into oblivion.  And it is tiny!  And I can't find it.

So another order into Siver Reed Canada for snap clips and screws.  So another delay on getting the lace carriage functional.

But I am still very happy that I can get all the parts I need and it will get fixed eventually.

The parts to repair the lace carriage will be here tomorrow

I can't say enough about this company.

Silver Reed Canada

I ordered the parts on the 14th and they will be here tomorrow, the 20th.  From Canada.  Some US companies take way longer than that.

I am excited to get the lace carriage working.  I had given up on it before as the lever at the back was flopping around and some chunks of metal fell out of it.  Also the drums were frozen.  I thought it was beyond repair or would cost a fortune to fix.  I was so inspired by the Diane Sullivan video about using the lace carriage I watched that I set about looking at it again.  I have been lamenting over this lace carriage for a long time.  I even considered buying a new one but heck, they are expensive!

What I have realized is that knitting machines are made up of lots of parts and if one breaks it can be replaced.  So this carriage needed the drums freeing up, which I was able to do after watching another video put up by Kate in her blog 'Pieces of Kate'. It also needed the handle holder unit L (which is what the chunks of metal were) and a Row counter lever base which was broken and hence the floppy lever.

Pieces of Kate. How to clean the drums on a knitting machine

I know I am repeating myself but I am so impressed by the Canada company and Pieces of Kate's blog entry.

So tomorrow or the next day (as UPS usually delivers around 6pm here) I will know if the lace carriage will work with all the repairs.  I really hope so.  It came with all the weights and punchcards etc so it will be fully functional if it works. Fingers and toes crossed!

Will post after I have tried it with pictures if all goes well.

A better week all round

I decided to list the Singer 700 machine again last Saturday.  I reduced the Buy it now price and the opening bid price.  Someone bought it on Sunday at the Buy it now price.

I think I broke even on it because although I didn't pay as much as I sold it for I did spend a lot of money on it. I replaced most of the needles, I bought paper patterns, the missing latch guide and a brand new sponge bar for it and punched up the missing punchcards and replaced some missing tools.

I spent probably $10 on extra packing materials and spent 5 hours packaging it up so that the buyer wouldn't experience the same trauma I did a month ago when the SK155 I bought got damaged in transit.  They confirmed this evening that it arrived safe and sound and it looked like a new machine so that made both them and me very happy.

With regard to the SK155 the insurance claim still hasn't been settled but after many phone calls and sending in lots of photos, receipts etc. I think it may get settled soon.  Then I will be able to get rid of the packaging that is occupying a sofa in our sun room and set up the machine properly and try and fix some of the damage.

I found a wonderful business in Canada that sell parts for knitting machines.  It is where I bought the missing items for the machine I just sold.

Silver Reed Canada

I was checking out their site and found they sold parts for the lace carriage too.  Now all I had to do was find out how to dismantle it and find out exactly what was broken in it.

Well I found another blog that had details on how to take a carriage apart to clean the drums so I was able to dismantle the lace carriage and ascertain the damaged parts and free up the drums.  I ordered the parts from the above company today and they should get here in about a week.  I am so excited and happy about that.

This is a link to that blog. It is the post made November 2012, just scroll down to it, it is a very detailed post with some great tips. Well worth a look.

'Pieces of Kate' blog with post of how to dismantle a machine carriage

So maybe soon I'll have a functioning lace carriage and a usable bulky machine.  The bulky does actually knit but I couldn't set it up properly incase they wanted to come and inspect it.  Whether I replace the lid for $200 or just try and repair it is dependant on how much I get from the claim.  I know I can replace the ends of the lid which sustained all the breaks and cracks and maybe I can knock out some of the dents and replace the clasp.

I found out I could replace the base too for $149 but even though I was feeling pretty good about stripping down the lace carriage I don't think I'm up to a full blown dismantle of a machine to replace the base so I will likely just leave that with the fix I was able to do.  Like I said in a previous post the machine doesn't really have any value now with the damage but it is functional so I will just use it and enjoy knitting on it.  And maybe my husband will finally get his much yearned after bulky sweater lol. (if I had a pound or dollar for every time I have said that I'd be pretty well off by now).

So a much better week all round.

Dealing with knitting machines/selling/looking up parts/stripping down/cleaning/packaging/mailing has taken a lot of time this past couple of weeks.  I am so ready to just start knitting again and not have to deal with all the other stuff.

But wait!!!! What is looming in the not so distant future?  Oh yes, Christmas.....so that has to be dealt with too over the next few weeks..... so, maybe, in the New year I can get down to some serious knitting.

How fast this year has flown!

My Singer 700 didn't sell and no news yet on the insurance claim for the SK155 damage

Well, the title just about sums it all up.

My Singer 700 didn't sell on ebay......no big deal as far as I'm concerned although I was hoping to get something to offset the cost of the bulky machine.

With regard to the bulky I am kind of in limbo.  I can't try and make any repairs until they decide the claim.  They may want to come and inspect it so it is just sitting on my desk not doing anything.  I have knitted on it to test the punchcard operations and they seem to work just fine.

We updated our internet to satelite this past weekend so I was able to watch a Youtube video all the way through today.  It was a Diane Sullivan one on doing lace with the lace carriage so now I am all eager to get mine fixed or get another one.

So a lot of thinking about but not doing much knitting lately.

Still have leather things to make before Christmas and there just doesn't seem to be enough time.  Always something to do!

I have listed the Singer 700 Memomatic on ebay

I have listed the Singer 700 on ebay.  Listing isn't as stressful as buying lol.  In this case, I really do not care if it sells or not.  Does that make me a hoarder?.............maybe.

here is the link to it if anyone wants to have a look.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181248628444?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Would appreciate any feedback on the presentation and price.  I only have it listed for sale in the USA  as I wasn't sure what was involved with Customs etc. to sell overseas.

Thanks.

With regard to the bulky machine, there is a claim in for damage.  I haven't heard anything yet.   

Will let you know the outcome of the sale and the claim when I know more.

Pictures of the damage

Here are the photos of the damage to the machine.  I have lot's more than I am posting but don't want to bore the pants off of anyone.

I am totally upset!

My SK155 arrived as promised on Wednesday.  When the delivery man was carrying it in I could hear rattling.  I told him it wasn't a good sign!

I opened it straight away and was distraught.  The lid was all bashed in, cracked and broken in three corners and the bed had the front right corner broken off and a screw holding the bed to the base had ripped out in the same right corner. This is where a ribber would attach.  Also without the screw attached you can lift the needle bed up from the base.

I found the piece from the base and a piece from the lid that had broken off in the packaging.

I took lots of photos and sent them off to the seller through ebay.

He was upset too.  He had packaged it well but it would have been better if he had wrapped the whole thing in large bubble wrap.  It was not in it's original box but the box he used was a good strong one.  Clearly, the box had been bashed about in transit.

The lid won't attach  to the machine now so I carried the base up  to my knitting room and put it on the desk.  I could see where the screw had ripped out and it wouldn't re-attach.

I found a nut in our workshop that fitted the screw and was able to get the screw to stay in using the nut on the backside of the ripped out hole.  So at least the bed was now fully attached to the base.

Miraculously, it knits just fine.  I tested it out yesterday and it functions well.  Cosmetically though, it's a bit of a mess.  For sure I couldn't re sell it for the same $300.  Now that wasn't my intent but I am very upset about the damage.

The seller insured it for the price I paid for it.  So I have been trying to sort out making a claim for the damage.  You would think that would be simple. NOT!!!!!!!

The shipper has to make the claim but as he shipped it through a mailing company he isn't deemed the be the shipper anymore, they are and they have to make the claim or give a waiver for me to be able to make the claim.

So I called them today and the owner of the store is on vacation so I can't do anymore until Monday when she gets back.  If she won't issue a waiver then I am stuck with it being damaged with no compensation for the damage.  She could claim and get a full refund and Fedex could demand the machine back.  She is deemed to be the shipper and could make the claim rather than give a waiver for me to claim!  She would be obliged I am sure to refund me but I want to keep the machine and get compensated for the damage.

I don't know what rights I have as the buyer and now owner of the machine and payer of everything!  Would it be out of my hands if she made the claim?  Guess I'll find out.

Will post photos tomorrow.

I bought an Singer SK155 bulky machine

Well, I went and did it.  I bought a 9mm bulky punchcard machine on ebay.  A Singer SK155.

I haven't got it yet but will post pictures when it arrives.

It was on auction with an option to buy it now.  It had a couple of bids on it which hadn't met the reserve so I bit the bullet and did the buy it now.

Ebay really flusters me and as I have recently been put on medication to keep my blood pressure down I thought it would save me the stress of bidding.

I am sooooo excited and my husband will get the sweater he wants now.  He wants one knitted in bulky yarn.

Plus I have lots of double knit yarn I inherited from my Mum in law so I will be able to use it up now.

I know I have the Knitsmart which is a 8mm but it doesn't feel like a proper knitting machine to me.  I know that is totally silly but at my age I allow myself some idiosyncrasies.

Now I will sell one of my SK700's.  Not the Studio one as it is my favourite.  I will sell the Singer which knits perfectly and I tested it well. I have, or are in the process of obtaining the couple of missing items as I want to get a good price for it and I have noticed that the ones I have seen for sale which have all the accesories, punchcards and patterns usually go for more.

I will also sell the SRP50 ribber and keep the SRP60.

I have seen posts by my buddies on here that obtained a ribber after they got their SK155's and I will keep an eye out for one although I realise they are hard to come by.  Meantime I will either hand knit the rib or drop the stitches and pick them back up.  I think mock rib will be too thick on it.

The last decision will be whether to sell the Knitsmart, but that is a decision for another day.      

Off to send a message to see if the seller has shipped it yet.

I am very excited...........                                                   

Made a few more Christmas gifts

When the weather has been cool enough to work in the shop I have got out and made a few more things.

The above is a luggage identifier tag.  You know when you are waiting at the carousel in the airport for your luggage and a suitcase comes out that looks like yours and you intend to grab it when it gets to you but someone else does.  So you get all flustered and chase them down only to find it isn't yours. I don't want to put labels on that show my full name and/or address and I have tried marking my luggage by attaching pom poms etc but they always seem to get ripped off. So I came up with this idea.  Something that will stand a lot of handling and is personal to only you.  Attached to a handle they are virtually indestructible.

                This is a Porsche badge. Good for a little street cred!

Tried some different things on the Knitsmart

I wanted to know if I could cast on differently than using the ravel chord and plastic strip with weights on the Knitsmart.  I used  the e-wrap method and individual weights and it worked fine.  Now I only had 20 stitches in play so whether it would be so easy with a full bed of stitches I have yet to find out.

I also did some ribbing, I had never tried it before.  I found it a bit cumbersome to do but think that with practice I will get better.

Here is my little effort and guess what?  I will be sewing it up to make yet another Barbie dress lol.  Going to put a fancy edge to the bottom too.


With regard to the leatherwork, we made a wristband for my husband.  He had bought some leather which still had the hair on and wanted to try something so he came up with the idea to wrap it with some thin leather and leave a strip showing. It was a joint effort, his design and cutting out with me doing the trimming and stitching.

It has been too hot to work in the workshop lately plus the wasps have got in there.  We usually go out first thing in the morning when it is a little cooler and the darned wasps are less active.  Hoping for a cooling down soon.

I want to get on and make more Christmas gifts.

Have been following Alex's blog and he is so quick with the things he makes. Put's this old lady to shame he does!

I got out the Knitsmart!

After seeing Alex's blog and the sweater he made on his Ultimate sweater machine I dragged out my Knitsmart and set it up.

I had to re read the manual because it's the first time in two years that I have set it up and the first time was only to check it out and test it.

I decided to try the Cricketers cable that he did and I only boo booed once!  I did two left transfers instead of alternate ones.  I realised my mistake and did some more just to see how it looked and I was very happy.  My husband liked it too so maybe he will get something I make soon after all.  He liked the sweater Alex made so I will try and make him one similar.  Just need to google Bond patterns as the Knitsmart one didn't have raglan sleeves and I prefer the look of raglan.

I can set mu Knitsmart up easily on my kitchen island so can knit downstairs on it.  It has wheels too so I could even wheel it into the living room and knit while watching TV.  How cool is that?  The stool is a bit uncomfortable after a while, have to put a cushion on it lol.

Alex saw the Cricketer's cable on Suzy's blog so credit to her excellent instructional video.

More leather working but no knitting! Been thinking about it a lot though.

I have been working on leather stuff.  I am trying to make Christmas gifts in a timely manner.  The problem is my husband, bless him, keeps thinking of more and more things he would like to make for family.  I told him that too much becomes a chore and not a pleasure.  This is my hobby and making gifts is something I choose to do and I don't want to feel pressured and obligated.  Is that selfish? Maybe!

Rant over!  I'll get over it lol.

This is what I have been working on.  The squares are for coasters.  I make sets of four.  There is a lot of work involved with them.  Each of the holes have to be marked, matched up and then punched out so I can sew them together.  That's a lot of holes by the time you've done 8. Then I have to decide on the design, stamp them and then stain them.

Stamping isn't as easy as it sounds.  Getting things lined up and symmetrical is harder than you think.  Also, once a mark is made on leather it's pretty permanent.  If you can't disguise it in the patterning then you have to discard it and start all over again.  

This is another bracelet for a female.  At this stage I have just stamped out the pattern.

Now I have stained and dyed it.  I am waiting for actual wrist measurements before I put in the snaps.

Here is another I have made for a teenage boy.

As for the knitting, I am at a stuck phase.  I so desperately want a lace carriage for my 700 but they are not cheap, even on ebay.  I let one go that I could have got for $100 plus mailing but I couldn't justify even that.  We have so many other things we need that are more of a priority.  I also want a bulky punchcard machine with a ribber.

I have to make the sacrifice and put up the spare Singer 700 up for sale and the SRP 50 ribber.  Then I can use the proceeds towards a bulky machine and/or a lace carriage.

I have thought about buying a Brother which has a lace carriage come with it.  There was one on ebay last night that went for $152.50. It was a bargain, but again, I couldn't justify it to myself.  Not when I have two 700's and two ribbers lol.  I used to have a Brother with a lace carriage so I know they make nice lace.  I only need a machine as I could do the ribbing on my other set up and transfer it to the Brother machine to do the lacework.

That should give me the incentive to take some photos and put the spare machine and ribber up for sale. 

I also thought some more about setting up the hobby bulky machine but am procrastinating on that too for some unknown reason.

So for now I am keeping busy with the leather work and trying not to be a spoilt brat about not having a working lace carriage or bulky punchcard machine and ribber.................it's not easy lol.

I cleaned and oiled my machines yesterday and other news

It's been a weird year.  We have had a string of things go wrong.  Water and plumbing problems, computer problems, roof leaks, health issues. I could go on but what the heck, complaining doesn't fix things.

I have been working on Christmas projects with the leather work and have made some things.  Trying not to leave things to the last moment this year.  A tad reluctant to put them up incase my family see them but I don't think any of them actually look at my blog so I will put up some pictures.  I know a good friend looks on here sometimes so I won't put hers up.  The little penny purse was actually just a gift of the moment and has already been given ready for her starting full time school in first grade.

penny purse front

penny purse back

coffee coasters

female bracelet

keyring and my birthday present of a Barry King maul in the background

This is a men's wristband/bracelet.  This was taken before I put the snaps on.

This was a joint effort between my husband and me for a belt for him.  The antique look is deliberate.

more of the belt

and more.

We built another workbench in the workshop so that we could both work on the leather stuff.  We were trying to work off one bench before and were tripping over each other.

this is my new workbench which backs onto the original one

Also, I did some maintenance on my knitting machines yesterday.  I cleaned the one I had set up and then took it down.  It was the Singer 700 I bought last year.  It had been left standing for a long time by the previous owner and when I got it I had to change out most of the needles as they wouldn't flick properly.  Not even after soaking in mineral spirits for days on end. I also had to replace the plastic things at the ends of the rail.  I gave it a good cleaning and testing.  It works like a charm.  I made several items on it.  It just needs a new sponge bar as I had borrowed the one from my original machine to test it.  I won't buy one until I am ready to either sell it or use it again.

I cleaned my SRP 60 ribber which had been set up with the Singer 700.

I then got out my other 700, the Studio and set it up and cleaned it.  She was always my favourite and I call her Betsy.  The other one is Betsy's sister.  What can I say, I am an old lady and have some idiosyncrasies!

I paired the Studio with the SRP 60 and they work perfectly together.

The SRP50 ribber is boxed up, I cleaned it before I put it away last year.

So now I have the Studio 700 and SRP 60 ribber set up and working well together and a Singer 700 and and SRP 50 ribber to either sell or retain as backups.

The SRP 50 never really worked well with Betsy.  I now think I didn't have it connected properly.  I think the things I were using to attach them were not the correct ones as the beds were too close together.  One day I will try again with the SRP50.........but not today.  I have a good working set up so why spoil it?  My posts of a couple of years ago tell only too well of the struggles I was having with ribbing!

I have to assemble the Knitsmart 3 in 1 hobby bulky machine I bought a couple of years ago and test it out again.  It was cleaned and oiled before I put it away.  I only tried a couple of trial pieces on it.  I didn't have anywhere to set it up and leave it.  I did reorganise my knitting space last year so I could attach it to the back of the desk where I have the other one set up but have never got round to doing it. I have a lot of double knitting wool I could use on it.  My poor husband still hasn't got anything I have made yet. 

I still haven't used the garter bar yet.  The little sweater I was making for my youngest granddaughter  was going to be way too big so I unravelled it and haven't restarted it yet.  I was going to use it on that.

I did finish the little tank top for my youngest grandson.  So each of the two little ones got a tank top and if I can find it I will add a photo of them wearing them.

grandson's tanktops

Found the photo albeit the grandsons were not too eager to pose lol. 

So that is my update.  I haven't been blogging very much lately so it's a long post I'm afraid.  Will try and post more regularly in the future.

A new hobby

Well I haven't been around in a long time.  Many reasons, haven't been knitting, husband's health, my arthritis, been busy, etc. etc.  You know how it goes.

Trouble with me it is either a famine of a feast so this will be a looooong post.  So much to write about.

During the past few months we have come up with a hobby that we can do together.  My knitting involves me being off alone in my knitting room for hours at a time.  Added to that, my knitting room is upstairs and stairs are a problem for me.  So, sadly,  knitting has taken a back burner for now.  Usually my hips and knees get better during the hotter dryer weather so will likely get back to it when the rain stops here!  It has been a very wet year so far and isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

My husband is a very creative person but his illness has curbed his big project abilities so we decided to look for something we could do that would be small project like. That lead us to a wonderful store in Springfield, MO.  "The Springfield Leather Company"

Who knew there were so many things you could do with leather!

That lead us to many hours of internet research for ideas and tool requirements etc.

My husband's stepfather had a saddle shop so my husband was familiar with leather.  We found a few leather tools that my husband had kept from that era and we bought some more from ebay.  Many everyday tools can be utilised also so we now have a basic set of leather tools.

One of my ebay purchases had six wooden mallets.  Hey! what can I say,  they were really cheap and there were other tools included. What does one do with six mallets?  well, I can tell you they aren't going to waste.  I am down to only two spare right now.  Also they were 'buy it now'. So much less stress than bidding!

We have his and her mallets in the workshop, I have one I keep in my little toolbox that I carry back and forth to the shop and one we transformed into a tooling maul.

I saw someone doing leatherwork at a craft show using one of these mauls for stamping leather to decorate it.  I thought it would be a useful addition but when we researched it online they are $80!!!!!  That was way out of our budget!  I asked my husband if we should sacrifice one of our wooden mallets and see if we could make one.  Between us we came up with the way to do it.  My husband did the bulk of the work.

So we started off with one plain old wooden mallet.  We cut off the head.  We found a big old screw and washer in the shop and screwed the head back on lengthways.

 

Then I stitched up the piece of leather we cut to encase the head.  We cut another piece of leather to shape the handle.

 

My husband attached the shaping to the handle.

Then he covered the handle with leather.

We cut it down to size and found a little wooden wheel that I stained and varnished and he attached it to the end.

Also, to harden the leather we boiled it for about 15 seconds.  The hardening worked well but the leather shrank a little.  It is still fully functional though.  The coaster is one I made.  Not bad for a first attempt eh?

 

One thing  I can't get right yet (and believe me I've practiced) is getting the lettering straight.  Guess I need to keep on trying!

My husband is such a sweetheart.  I told him that the washer was yukky looking as it was a recycled one and spoiled the photos so he went and sanded it for me.

As you can see it has been well used already.

Merry Christmas

Just popped in to wish all my knitting friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

I am planning on getting back to the knitting  in the New Year.  It has been a very busy past few months and I just haven't been in the mindset to knit but I still have to make something for the youngest grand daughter.

So everyone, have fun, eat way too much and watch lots of old movies on the TV.

Ground to a halt

My knitting has ground to a halt.  These past couple of weeks have been hectic with my husband being in the hospital again and not being too well.  Thankfully, he is feeling a bit better now so hopefully I can get back to my machine.  I need to knit one more item in time for Thanksgiving so that I can give each of the grandchildren, who we will be seeing, something I have knitted.

If I don't make it in time I will just include them with their Christmas presents so not too much of a panic.  He has a lot of hospital appts scheduled over the next few weeks and as the hospital is 150 miles away it's always a day trip.

I have yet to try the new garter bar set I bought and plan to use it to make the third item.  Hopefully, I'll get to it soon.

The second tank top is finished

Here is the second tank top.  I made the neckline a little deeper on this one.  The contrast is a lighter colour as opposed to the first one which was a lighter body with a dark contrast.

The Garter bar set should arrive today. I am excited.

I have purchased a garter bar set on ebay

I was thinking about my next project for my 5 year old grand daughter.  I wanted to knit a band of  tuck stitch around it in the variegated yarn I bought but tuck stitch knits back to front.  So I was wondering how I could reverse my knitting so that the better side of the tuck stitch would come out on the front.

Reading one of my knitting books and saw the garter bar.  There was my answer!

So, off to the computer  I went.  I looked up some youtube videos on how to use a garter bar and what they consist of then proceeded to ebay with trepidation.  You know I have a love hate relationship with ebay  ☺.

I found one that was ending in two hours and it was a full set.  Two bars that join together to make it long enough to do all 200 needles.  The two adjustable needle stoppers to lock the needles, a shorter bar, something with some sponge on, the two weird plastic clothes peg looking things and the instructions in English.  Still had the original box too. The start off price was $35.  It seemed a lot but the postage was only $9.  No bidders at that timebut someone had asked a question so there had been interest.

I sweated for the nearly two hours, had intense conversation with my husband about my bidding strategy and the maximum price I would pay.  Only a few minutes to go so I put in my $35 bid and hoped no one else was sitting in front of their computer too.    I put in my maximum price, encouraged by my husband I put in $62.59.  I thought that was a bit rash but heck, it's his ebay account and he pays.

I walked away and sat down to watch TV, the tension is just too much for me lol.  Anyway, I went back after the time elapsed and I won it for $53. Phew!  So much for no one else sitting at their computer waiting to grab it at the last minute.  They gave up at $52.

I had looked at others too.  One was a buy it now price and was for sale in the UK at £80.  I thought that was a bit steep plus there would be postage on top of that.  Another was in Canada and it only had one bid of $25 but there were three more days to go and the postage was quite high too. (Just out of interest I added that to my watch list and it finally went for $120.....I was blown away by how much it went for)

So I am eagerly awaiting it's arrival.

I have just the armbands to do on the second tank top which I will finish probably today then I will wait for the garter bar set to arrive and start on the top for my grand daughter.

Here is the tank top pre-armbands.  I did the neck a little deeper than the last one and it came out quite well this time.

Yesterday's bug of the day!  I think it is a preying mantis

When I get the garter bar I may have to set up the original Studio 700 too as I read it was easier to use a garter bar on a flat bed as opposed to one set up with the ribber attached (which is how mine is set up now).  Oh darn!, I won't have to sell it after all.  The desk I use for my machine has a deep lip on the back  so I could attach it to that.

But, and there is a but, I would like to get a better chunky machine than the one I bought last year which is like a Bond and to afford that I will have to sell one of the 700's.  Decisions, decisions!

But for now I will set it up on the back of the desk so I can use the garter bar on the flat bed.

Also, as a side note, I discovered symbols using the alt key.  No more GBP for this old gal, I know how to make a pound sign now, and a smiley face and a bunch of other things.  Progress indeed!