Look at the treasures I found!

I bought the tote containing my Mum in law's quilting stuff over from the workshop and set about going through it all.  I had looked in it briefly before but had never dug down to the bottom. I found several plastic cutting rulers of different shapes, several quilting books and magazines and lots of fabric.  Some of it is cut into different shapes.  There are squares of differing sizes and patterns, likewise triangles and rectangles.

The absolute treasure though was 36 of 12" x 12" squares all sewn up ready.  These were at the bottom of the tote and I had missed them before. What a treasure find!

This is just a fraction of the 12" squares.  No two are the same.

The problem is I am not sure what her game plan was as there aren't any two the same.  They are beautiful though, made up of all shapes and patterns.  Some are even hand sewn.

I am thinking about how to utilize them.  They are too precious just to lie unused for any more time. Goodness knows how many years old they are.  They have been in our workshop for 10 years.  She had been ill for many years prior to that so she must have made them when she was in her sixties or before so they are at least 40 years old.

What was her thinking?  I have no idea.  She was a very precise woman.  I imagine that any quilt she would have made would have been very uniform and symetric in design so not sure what she had in mind when she made these.

I think I am going to just join them all into a random patchwork quilt.  We need a new quilt for our queen size bed we use in the spring and summer downstairs in the sunroom.

To my reckoning I have 36 sq feet when made up which is 6' x 6'.  That isn't big enough so I will have to add some squares.  Mine will pale in comparison to hers.  I will not attempt to make them like she did, she had many, many years of practice on me in the quilt making field.  I will probably use some of the squares and rectangles and sew them together to make 12" x 12" squares.  I will add a border too.

But that is down the road a bit.  First I want to make the baby quilt I talked of in my previous post.

I looked at different tutorials online but found this to be the best suited for my immediate needs:-

Fiskars tutorial to make a baby quilt for beginners

I have everything I need I think except the fabric cutter.  I am really surprised I didn't find one in my Mum in law's things as she always had  the best of everything.  I did look for them in our local Walmart store and they sell the Fiskar's ones so I will purchase one soon.  Don't really need it right now as I have so many shapes already cut out in my treasure haul.

Finding all this stuff has made me want to re-do my sewing/knitting room.  It is really our spare bedroom so still has a bed in it.  I want to take it out and put in a big work table for projects.  Trouble is, it is our spare bedroom and may need to use it at some point so I am still pondering on that.  I use the bed now anyway to lay out projects but a table would be sooooo much better.  I thought about a sleeper bed but not really the answer due to space restrictions.  Taking the bed out and putting in a sofa wouldn't leave enough room for a nice work table.  There is a solution I know, just have to keep pondering.

Oh just had a brainwave of sorts. Blogging does so help me think things through.  Maybe I could get a folding table and place it over the bottom of the bed.  Have to go measure now and research folding tables.  That might just work. (Clapping hands in glee)

Thinking about making a baby quilt.

I have attained the age of 66 and never ever made a quilt.  Some will throw their hands up in sheer horror and be mortified and others will say "Me neither".  It matters not, I am past the point of worrying over such things.

So I have a mind to make a baby quilt.  I have looked at many articles about quilt making.  I don't want to be an expert, I just want to make a plain old patchwork quilt.  I don't have the time or the patience to make some of the absolutely fabulous quilts I have seen articles about.  Maybe if I had started in my twenties I would be at that point now, but I didn't.

So a simple patchwork quilt it will be.

I have the fabric, I even have some squares that my Mum in law had cut out at some point in her life and some fancy shaped pieces she had cut out.  I will look at them and see if I will use them.  They are stored out in the workshop.

So methinks that is going to be my next project.

My husband is researching making shoes and boots from leather so we will be working on that too.

So maybe we are over our funk!

I think a new sewing machine is out of the question, we worked on a list of things that we need and need to do yesterday and I realise a new sewing machine is not a priority.  Especially as I already have three.  (can't help smiling here).

Sometimes I am worse than a kid when I want something.  I obsess! But I think I have got over it now...................................maybe!

Trying to get out of the funk!

I decided as it is way too cold to go outside that I would try yet again to install Knitware on my Windows 64bit computer that runs Windows 7.  Well, same old, same old.  It will not install even following the instructions implicitly.  I do have it on the old Dell 32 bit I bought last year but I would really like it on my main computer which is much more accessible

So, I thought I would look at knitting blogs to try and get some inspiration.

Found this entry on a blog:-

http://machineknittingismylife.blogspot.com/2014/11/sweatermaker-easy-charting-

It is a software program called Sweater Maker that purports to run on all systems.

Has anyone tried it?

Not really happy about having to pay for a program I can't test but if other folks have tried and liked it I would splash out.

In a bit of a funk!

I am going through a post Christmas funk.  This is weird because right now I have a lot of time I could be spending knitting or sewing and I am doing, nothing, nought, nada!  It is very cold right now but the sun is shining so can't blame the lack of sunshine.  It is too cold to work in the workshop so leather work is out right now but even if it wasn't I don't feel like doing that either.

I think it is because I really don't have anything that desperately needs making.  Before Christmas I always have a load of things to make so I must burn out.  Also I have a sore foot.  Stubbed my toe a couple of weeks ago and split it quite badly and it wouldn't heal and got infected.  Finally cracked up yesterday and went to the doctors who cut away some of the dead skin and put me on antibiotics. Still sore today so keeping off it more.

Hoping for some inspiration soon.  We do have a new grand baby to look forward to in May so I could start on something I guess.

Maybe tomorrow..............and if not I will blame the sore toe!

Selfie's are definitely for the young and not for me anymore.

I decided not to make my green hat into just a Christmas hat so I made a pompom using the green of the hat and the colors of the hats I made for my family.  Now I can wear it all winter.

The grand daughter's sewing machine

We did not do the best job of planning for our old age so we live on a modest income.  Not a complaint, just an observation.  So when Christmas comes around we operate on a budget.  I allocate a specific amount for each child and grandchild and like to make that allocation go as far as possible.  I had talked in a previous blog about buying a sewing machine suitable for our 7 year old grand daughter.

I found a factory reconditioned Singer Pixie for $14.99.  I couldn't believe my luck.  There was enough money left in the allocation to buy sewing scissors, spools of thread, a tape measure and stitch ripper.  I had some fabric so I made a bag for her to keep the notions in and also included some fabric I had.

Hence, her gift seemed much more than the other grandchildren's but moneywise, they were all the same.

Just got some pictures in my email of my grandkids in California taken today.  My grand daughter is still wearing the jacket I knitted for her late 2011.  Wow!  A worthwhile project for sure.

Some Christmas projects

Here are some of the things I made for Christmas gifts this year that I talked about in previous posts:-

My daughter and grand kids in England wearing their hats.  It gets quite chilly in winter in England.

Xmas progress

We (my husband does the leather staining) made the grandson's belt.  It turned out great but in my haste to wrap it and mail it I forgot to take pictures. Duh!

I finished the hats and neck warmers.  Just have to sew them up.  I will try very hard top remember to take pictures of them.

I also made a bag from fabric today to put some practice fabric and sewing notions in for our grand daughter for Christmas to go with the Singer Pixma.  I used the Brother XL 703.  It sewed beautifully.

I did overlocking on the seams and turned the top with a row of scallop stitch.  It was a simple job but it was so nice to have the different stitches.  Guess what? yep, forgot to take pictures again.  Double duh!!

Coasters are done and conditioned etc and need to be wrapped but I have already taken pictures of those.

So I think that's all the making I will be doing for Christmas.  Not bad to be done by the 12th, I am usually still going in a mad panic at this time so I am happy I have been a little better organized this year.

A quick update on the Brother XL 703 and gift making

I have finished the second set of leather coasters.  I am very happy with both sets.  (Pictures after Christmas).  We still have a leather belt to make for a grandson.  That will be this week's project out in the workshop.

At the weekend I started on the hats and neck warmers for our hunting friends.  I made a very nice hunter green hat on Saturday.  My husband said it wouldn't be any good for the hunters though as by this time of year the leaves have all turned brown and that's when they hunt.  Luckily, I have some lighter brown and tan yarn so I made a hat and a neck warmer yesterday and will make the same again today.  Then I will be finished making knitted gifts. Decided to forego on the mittens as I am running out of time. (Again, pictures after Christmas.  Don't know who reads my blog so don't need them getting a sneak preview).
I do now however have a nice hunter green hat.  That will be the first thing I have knitted for myself.  I will make a green and red pom pom for it and it will be my Christmas hat.

Now, back to the Brother XL 703 sewing machine.  It has been needling me that it isn't working.   I now have the manual so really wanted to get it to work.  No matter what I was doing to it though, it kept snapping the cotton and the fabric was moving to the right and getting scrunched up.  Was the feeder thing broken maybe and that was the cause?

Yesterday, after finishing knitting, I took another look.  I un-threaded the machine and ran the fabric through it and the fabric went nice and straight so it wasn't the feeder.

After a lot of testing I isolated the cause.  It was the lever that goes up and down that the cotton goes through before it goes down to the needle.  It had been pushed against the frame and was catching the thread and not allowing it to be pulled through and was snapping the cotton where it was threaded through the needle.  I pushed the lever away from the frame and amazingly it stayed there and is now sewing well.

I didn't get chance to try everything in the manual but I did try a few of the stitches and they worked just fine.  I am so happy happy happy.  After I am done with Christmas preps I will sit down and go through the manual and try all the different processes.  That will probably be a New Year project as I still have a ton of things to do for Christmas.

The blue stitching was done
on the brother XL 703

Been quite busy with Christmas gift projects

Since my last post on November 22nd I have been busy with Christmas gift projects.  I have knitted 5 ribbed stocking caps, three of them being for females have pompoms.  They have all turned out really nice.  I made them the same colours as the scarves I knitted for them before.

I have completed the set of leather coasters I had started on and am well on the way to finishing a second set.

I managed to get a Singer Pixie sewing machine for our youngest grand daughter.  It was a heck of a bargain.  A factory reconditioned one for $15!  I was so happy to find it.  Other used ones were going for $40.  This meant that I could purchase some additional spools of cotton, some beginner sewing scissors and tape measure etc. and still be withing budget.

So up to here all was good.  Then it went downhill:-

I have been obsessing about my sewing machines.  I couldn't stop thinking about the Pacesetter XL 703, which I have now discovered is 51 years old.  It is capable of doing all the fancy stitches I will ever need.  I spent days on and off looking for a manual for it online.  Eventually found one in the Brothermall online store.  $5 plus shipping.  I ordered it Monday and it arrived yesterday.  I read it from front to back then this morning went up and got the machine out again.  This time I took the covers off and oiled it.  I bought new needles, some for embroidery and some for stretch fabrics.  It says the reason for the top thread breaking could be wrongly threaded, blunt needle, too small needle for cotton, tension too tight, needle in wrong way, etc. etc.

I had the machine all oiled.  I changed the thread, adjusted the tension, put in one of the new needles (the correct way), threaded it as per the instructions (which is how I was threading it anyway) and it still snaps the top thread.

I am at a bit of a loss now but will keep on working on it.  The inside was immaculate so hopefully I can get it to work.

So after messing with that and having no success I decided to do some knitting.  I am making caps, neck warmers and mittens for our neighbours.  The same as I made for my husband. (see earlier blog). As they both hunt I thought I would make them striped in woodland colours.  Black, brown, green and tan.

Out came the colour changer.  I got it all set up with the 4 strand mast and refreshed my memory of how to use it from the manual.  Then set off to knit. The colour changer worked great but I couldn't get the correct tension on the mast and the yarn wasn't running freely enough.  I had it set on the lowest tension too.

The knitting had holes in it where the yarn was tightening up.  So it came off the needles.

By this time I was feeling a bit defeated.  I was not having a good machine day.

I came down, made and ate lunch and decided to blog about my grotty day.  I will go and sit next and do the stitching on my coasters.  No machine involved in that!

As I don't have the time to mess with the yarn changer I will knit the sets in plain colour.  One set in brown and the other in green.  They are father and son so they need to be different so they know whose is who.

So off to do my leather stitching, (no machine involved lol) and hoping for a better day tomorrow.

My sewing machines

Sewing and knitting have always been my main hobbies throughout my life. There have been periods when I would go many months between using a sewing machine but as far as I can remember I have always owned one.  I have made lots of clothes, curtains, pillow cases, done repairs and even tried sewing leather. The latter was not a success!

Likewise with my knitting, sometimes I have gone years without using a machine. I haven't always had a knitting machine, circumstances and moving countries twice have dictated that.

Now, however I am lucky to have three knitting machines and three sewing machines. (technically four sewing machines but one has been relegated to storage as it is pretty old and outdated.)

Actually, my three usable ones are old compared to today's standards too.  The newest one is 18 years old lol.

Here are pictures of the three I have in the house.  I go through phases of using them.  At the moment I am into the Singer.

My Singer, the newest machine and it is 18 years old!

I haven't really used this one much.  I bought it with me from Canada.  It was a Christmas gift in 1996.  I worked full time back and was involved in various different things like theatre and my son's sports so didn't have much time for sewing.  When I came to the US I had the use of my mother in law's machine.  It was a bit fancier albeit older than mine and has a bigger range of stitches.  I used it but mainly for plain sewing.  I never really got into the fancy stitches.

My mum in law's machine.  A Brother Pacesetter XL 703.  Guess technically it's mine now as she passed away four years ago.

I used this one for some time but it started to break the thread so I set it aside and got my Singer back out.  Then wham! it stopped working.  We took it to a repair guy and he said it was the foot pedal that had quit and he had an old one hanging around so it was working again but it had lost it's speed.  Obviously the foot pedal wasn't fully compatible with the motor but at least it was working.

Not long after we were at an auction and a Brother came up for sale.  It is pretty basic so we took a chance and bought it for $15.  It's a great little workhorse and very fast so great for sewing curtains and anything with a lot of plain sewing.

The auction $15 Brother special

So I had been using this one forever but decided a couple of weeks ago to get my other machines out to check they were OK.

I had been checking out machines in the store.  I can't help myself.  I have a thing about sewing and knitting machines. Today's machines have so many more functions than any of mine.  I have to be realistic though as to how often I would use said functions!  Hence the reason for getting my other machines out.  Maybe I could still get fancy stitches without    buying a new machine.

My mum in law's machine, the Pacesetter, still snapped the thread so it got cleaned up and put back.  It does do some nifty stitches though and it got me wanting even more to do more than just plain sewing and ordinary ziz zag.

So then out came the Singer.  After messing with the Pacesetter I had a better idea as how to make different stitches by varying the stitch length and width.  I also found out that after the initial slow start it speeds up so it my preferred machine right now.

Here is some of my 'playing' on the Singer.  It also does great button holes and can apparently sew buttons on too but I haven't tried that yet.

Just prior to all the machine experiments I made a Christmas bag for our newest grandson.  Think I made it on the Brother auction special but not sure. I hand stitched his initial onto it.  In hindsight I wish I had waited and used the Singer to fancy stitch it on but such is life.   

Will I be able to resist buying another sewing machine?  Who knows, they are pretty cheap so after Christmas and property taxes who knows what the new year will bring?

I am also looking to buy a sewing machine for our youngest grand daughter. That has been a challenge.  She is only 7 so I think that she just needs a basic machine. After a lot of looking I think I have found a Singer she would like. It's a Singer Pixie.  It's main redeeming feature is that it is purple, her favourite colour. It is a craft machine so is smaller than a regular machine.  Perfect for smaller hands.  Only problem is the reviews are mixed, some people love it and say it works great and some hate it and say it doesn't work well at all.   I don't want to put her off sewing for good by giving her a machine that doesn't work too well but on the other hand we have a budget for Christmas gifts and this falls within it.  Still have a little time to think about it.  The good reviews outweigh the bad.

What I've been up to the past three weeks.

Well, I made the belt for my son's birthday but in my haste to mail it off to him in England I forgot to take photos! (a recurring theme I'm sorry to say).  I have asked him to take a couple and email them to me. Time will tell on that one lol, he is a busy young man.

My husband wanted a hat and neck warmer for when he is outside so I made him these on the Studio 700 using the ribber.  Straight forward

1 x 1 rib.  He can pull the neck warmer up to just under his eyes so his face keeps nice and warm when he is outside.

So after making the above he wanted some mittens but with one finger for his index finger so he could work in them out in the shop.  Well, that one got me stumped as I didn't want to hand knit them and was clueless as to how to do them on the machine.  Then I had a brain wave!!!!!

I made a black tube on the machine in 1 x 1 rib and using the same yarn as for the hat and neck warmer.  I gathered the top and sewed it up and left two holes so he could wear black magic gloves underneath and poke his thumb and finger through the holes.  Voila! mittens with an index finger and thumb made very simply.  The magic gloves even have special tips so that he can use his cell phone and tablet wearing them.  Magic gloves are so cheap here, only $2 a pair for the ones with the special tips and two pairs of the normal ones for $1.50. Why on earth would I knit them when I can buy them that cheaply?  With the extra tube layer if it gets too cold he can just bring his thumb and finger inside the mitten.  We are having bitterly cold weather right now, well below freezing so the hat, gloves and neck warmer are getting well used.

I have also done some sewing but that is for another post, perhaps tomorrow........

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!

The countdown is on!

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.

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.

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.

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.

A week of ups and downs

This past week has been a bit of a weird one.  We had three days where we were out most of the day for various hospital appointments.  Two days were totally taken up with hospital things for my husband, the other day was for me for a routine mammogram screening (which was negative for abnormalities, thankfully).  I had to go to the bank to move some money to pay bills while in town that day and my husband suggested we pop into the pawn shop opposite to see if they had an old 32 bit XP computer so I could download and run the Knitware program.

Amazingly, they did have an old XP computer.  The guy was very helpful, he set it up to check it was working.  It did start up but we couldn't ascertain if it was 32 bit or not.  It was marked at $95 which was way too much for an out of date computer.  I offered him $40 and said I would take a chance that it was 32 bit.  He accepted so I carried it out of the store.  That was one of the ups.

I had chance in the afternoon to set it up in my knitting room to test it, it didn't have a wireless card in it so I had to trail a long chord through the bedroom and bathroom, down the stairs into the living room to connect to the router.  It connected to the internet just fine but it didn't have an antivirus program installed.  In fact, it only had the operating system installed so I suspect that someone had reloaded the operating system to clear off what was on the computer.  That was fine as it was a nice clean computer for me to use.  Another up.  I also ascertained it was a 32 bit, an up for sure!!

I tried to download an antivirus program.  It downloaded OK but I couldn't open it.  The first down.

It seems some components of the operating system are missing.  Second down.

I downloaded all the system updates but I still couldn't install the antivirus program.  Third down.

I found the Knitware program and it's instructions on the internet on the 32 bit.  I came downstairs to my regular computer and pulled up the program and printed the instructions.  I went back to the 32 bit and downloaded the program onto it.  I tried the program and it worked.  Holy rumoli!  A definite up!!!

To start I am running the trial version.  I made a pattern and wanted to print it. Our internet is complicated, we have two internet providers and two routers. (We live in the middle of nowhere so only get limited highspeed dsl so we have a satellite dish to get internet too to supplement the other.  The printer is connected to the other system.  No problem thinks I, I can cut and paste it into a document.

I tried to install our very old Office software from disk but the DVD door wouldn't open on the 32 bit.  A down for sure!

The computer did have Notepad as part of the operating system so I was able to paste it into that, copy it onto a flash drive and bring it down and print it up on my original computer.  An up.

So at the very least I can make a pattern on the 32 bit and transfer it to my other computer and print it.  So all in all a worthwhile endeavour.

Next on the agenda is to try and get it to run on my Windows 7 Home premium computer.  The instructions state that it can be done if it has first been downloaded onto a 32 bit computer.  That will be next week's challenge.

During all of this we have been making a belt for one of the son's birthdays this coming week.  We have just about got it done, just need to put on the buckle and make the holes tomorrow when the staining and finishing has completely dried. It was not with out it's ups and downs either.

The down was I couldn't find a set of stamps I wanted to use.  I am meticulous about putting up my leather tools so I couldn't understand why I couldn't find them.  I searched all the obvious places and then the silly ones.  Still couldn't find it and  was beginning to think I was getting senile.  A definite down!!!

I kept going back to the tool chest drawers as that is where it should have been. Eventually, common sense prevailed and I knew they had to be there so the obvious thing was that they had fallen down the back of the drawer.  I got my flashlight , pulled out the bottom drawer and lo and behold, there they were. Phew!  An up for sure.

Another up is that when I did the tooling for the belt it came out really well.  I was very happy with it.

There have been a few more ups and downs this week too but that is enough for one post.

Will update on the progress of getting Knitware onto the Windows 7 64 bit computer.  I intend to pay for the program regardless of whether or not I can get it to run on Windows 7 64 bit as I think it is a wonderful program.  Once you have a key to enter it opens up features like saving patterns and people's details.

For anyone who doesn't know about the Knitware program here is a link.  I have been trying on and off for nearly two years to get this progam working. The secret is the 32 bit machine and I never had access to one until now.  They have also updated the instructions to make it much easier to understand.  It is an old program written for old computers and they have found various ways to get it to run on newer computers.

http://www.greatknitdesigns.com/

Husband's cardigan is a go!!!

I have everything I need to complete this project.  I have a pattern (thanks Suzy), the yarn and the machine is oiled and ready complete with new sponge bar. Now I just have to find the time.  I am pumped to get on with this.  Tomorrow and Friday are no go's as we have to go to the hospital those days for some tests and chemo for my husband.  The other days are pretty tight too as now the weather has cooled we are trying to catch up on the mowing but I am bound and determined to make a start on it this week.

I am also trying to get the Knitware program set up on my computer.  This is a great program and I so really want it.  We have 6 computers in our house and all are 64bit.  5 of them run Windows 7 Home or Home Premium.  One is older and runs Windows XP but it is still 64bit.

Knitware can run on Windows 7 but it first has to be loaded onto a 32 bit computer then copied onto a flash drive.  Then it has to be taken off the flash drive onto the 64bit computer and a BDE platform downloaded to run it on.

Still hunting for a 32bit computer to download the program onto.  I am hoping to find one to purchase or someone locally who has one who can download it for me.

I have been wanting to get this done for about 2 years now and never accomplished it.  I read the instructions a gazillion times this last time and I am pretty sure I know what needs to be done now.  Time to get my butt in gear and find that much needed 32 bit computer.

Excited to be ready to knit the cardigan, will update with progress.

Thoughts on making hot pads on the knitting machine

My Mum in law used to knit hot pads.  All her life she was a wonderful seamstress, knitter and crocheter.  She made the most delicate of doilies, knitted and crocheted many, many afghans and blankets and made most of her own clothes.  She was a marvel.  In her latter years she couldn't manage the finer work so she made hot pads and little doilies.  She spent the last 5 years of her life in a nearby nursing home where we could visit her every day and she would always have a supply of hot pads and doilies to hand out.  She was very prolific.

This is her hand knitted hot pad pattern:-

She used two strands of worsted weight (Double knitting) yarn

All done in garter stitch

Cast on 3 sts
K 1 row
K1 inc 1 st in next st, K to end of row
Continue increasing at beginning of every row until 40 sts
K 1 row
k2, K2 tog, K to end
Continue decreasing at beg of eack row until 3 sts
K 1 row
Cast off

I only ever hand knitted one, that was a couple of Christmases ago. I vowed never again as it seemed to take forever knitting in garter stitch.  I told my neighbour she now owned the one and only hot pad I would ever hand knit lol.

When I try it on my SK155 bulky machine I plan to use Bulky #5 yarn as my machine will knit that and just move two sts out by one needle at the beginning of the increase rows and likewise move two stitches in one needle on the decrease rows.

Here are some my Mum in law made, still in daily use but I thought I would give them a go for Christmas stocking stuffers.  Maybe try some striped ones instead of the variegated which she favoured.  

Trying to get back to my knitting machines

I follow a lot of knitting blogs.  One, in particular, is a great inspiration to me.  It is Suzy Ranner's blog.  "My knitting machines and me".  It is listed on the side of my blog with a link to it. Suzy's videos have been such a help to me and she lists lots of patterns.  She was also a big help when my lace carriage wouldn't work.

I think about knitting all the time.  I want to be knitting all the time but alas life throws us some curve balls and for me it just isn't possible right now.

I am really lucky.  We have a spare bedroom that doubles as a knitting and sewing room for me.  I have my sewing machine table set up in it and a desk with two knitting machines set up on opposite sides.  My Studio SK700 standard machine with SRP 60 ribber and my Studio SK155 (battered but usable) bulky machine.  (See previous posts for all the gory details on how it arrived all battered).

So what is my problem you might wonder.  Well, this room is upstairs.  My husband has a chronic auto immune neurological disease and although he isn't bed bound he can't really be left alone too long.  He is still undergoing the chemo regimine in a bid to stop it progressing.  He spends most of his time downstairs or outside or in the workshop and I need to be close at hand.  He is bound and determined to be productive as long as he can and I commend and admire him for that.  My job is to take care of him and make sure he doesn't injure himself in his endeavours so for the time being his interests are also my interests and we spend most of our time together.

When I go upstairs to 'my room' I get lost in another world.  I need time to concentrate and do my knitting without being disturbed.  That sounds a bit selfish I know but that's how I am. I could be up there all day oblivious to anything else. But that said, I am trying to be more flexible and not be so absorbed.  I am trying to find a way to work machine knitting back into my life without  spending hours at a time holed up in my room. I now do my research downstairs, I sort and wind my yarn downstairs, I read my manuals downstairs.  I even knitted a couple of hand knitted things for the grand kids whilst watching TV downstairs.

I do love hand knitting but it seems a bit senseless to knit by hand when I have three knitting machines.

I love my Studio 700 standard machine and ribber, it really is my favourite machine.  I personally prefer garments knitted with finer yarn but I have a boatload of thicker yarn inherited from my mother in law so I need to use the bulky.

My husband wants an Arran cardigan.  I could hand knit it but it would take me forever.  I am not good at finishing large items and he wears XXL.  I have been looking for a tuck stitch pattern that resembles Arran.  My bulky came with some hand punched cards.  I believe they include the 5 original patterns that came with the machine plus some others.  I found another pattern I liked so I punched it out too.

I knitted a swatch yesterday of the one I punched out but it wasn't as nice as I hoped.  When I was sorting yarn I found a swatch I did some time ago on the bulky and on looking at it again I think it will be just fine. (see photo below).  I believe it is one of the cards that came with the machine and I did it on elongated.  (The problem is that I can only vaguely remember doing it!!!!!)  So at this point it is only speculation. (Getting old isn't all it's cracked up to be lol).

So I will find the time over the next few days to try and replicate it.  I will have to use slightly thicker yarn as I don't have enough of the yarn it was done in to make a whole sweater.  I am hoping that won't be a problem.  (The yarn I do have enough of is the same colour as this but is thinner so I will be using two strands).

I used the same two strands yesterday on my punched tuck stitch card and it knitted quite tight.  It was too tight in my opinion. I didn't do it elongated though. The sample I found (pictured above) which used just a single strand of the other (slightly thicker) yarn is much looser and probably a tad loose.  I am hoping the two strands of thinner yarn will be just right.  Fingers crossed on that!

I can see from the swatch that I didn't start it off on the right row.  The hand punched cards have Row 1 higher up than the originals I think so I will start it a couple of rows lower.

Also I am going to use the garter bar I bought to turn the knitting around when I have done the mock rib and latched it up and knitted one row. The purl side of the tuck stitch will be the right side so by turning the ribbing around before starting the tuck stitch the smooth edge of the mock rib will be the same side as the tuck stitch pattern.

Now I have to find a pattern for this cardigan.  I really want to be able to use the Knitware software but it just will not work on my computer even using the fixes they recommend.  Our computers are all 64bit and this software is for 32bit.  I have yet to find an old computer to be able to use it on.  So the search is on for a man's cardigan  for a bulky 9mm machine.  I have sweater patterns but no cardigan one as yet.

My thanks go out to Suzy again and her blog.  She is such an inspiration to me. Please keep on knitting and blogging Suzy!

My Christmas decoration prototype and a new phone cover

I bought a set of Tandy Christmas stamps on sale.  Christmas has and hopefully always will be a special time for me.  (Yes! even at the tender age of 66 I still look forward to Christmas every year.)

What to do with these stamps was the next question?

I was trying them out so thought I would try and make a Christmas scene using them.  This was just on a test piece of leather.  The stamping is terrible, over impressed most of them and double stamped one.  aarrgghh!!! But it was only practice.

Even my husband commented that it wasn't my best work and he is rarely ever critical.

I was bound and determined though to salvage something out of it so I trimmed it down and wondered if it could be made into a Christmas tree decoration.  I stained the leather lightly leaving the indentations unstained so as to show up.  I added some glue glitter to write the current year on the back and put some glitter along the edges.  I trimmed it with some Christmas ribbon and made a loop for hanging it using some leather lace I had bought on sale along with the stamps.

Some of the stamps are disproportionate in size to each other.  For example see Santa on top of the roof!

I would never give it to anyone because it is so flawed but it will hang  on our Christmas tree this year and for many years to come.  I will work on my technique and come up with some other ideas.  I do like the idea of making family members and friends a leather Christmas tree decoration that they can keep.

I lost my cell phone case so had to make another.  The 'T' motif sewn on the front was a practice piece I had done for the centres of some coasters I had made last Christmas.  (Can you tell I hate to waste anything?)

So these are my latest projects.

Looking forward to working on some more decorations. Maybe star shaped or bell shaped.

The sweater is done

I finished the little hand knit sweater for our newest grandson Matthew.

I wasn't sure how it would look finished as it seemed to be a tad wide but it looks OK and I am happy with it.

I chose an opening neckline as I knitted one before and the baby didn't like it being pulled over it's head.  Should be no problems with this one.

Still busy on workshop projects, really, really hoping to get back to my knitting machines this winter.

Knitting and leatherwork update

We have been working on taking down our salt water fish tank.  This is no easy task.  It is a 135 gallon tank on a stand and had a multitude of apparatus connected to it to keep it going plus a sump tank.  The tanks are both emptied and mostly cleaned up.  The equipment has all been disconnected, re-tested, cleaned up and stored.  The base and stand are in the process of being refinished where necessary and restained and revarnished.  The top cabinet as almost done. No easy process for us two oldies!

Meantime I am working on a hand knit sweater for the latest grandchild who is now 3 months old.  I am using a pattern I used for our first grandson.  This one seems to be much bigger for some obscure reason and wider.  I thought I was using the same type of yarn but maybe this one is a bit thicker.  I have the back and front done so far.

The neckband and the strips for the right shoulder opening are done too.

The front pattern close up

The back

I also had a brainwave about my leatherwork.  I am still very much a beginner with this hobby.  I love to do the stamping and make patterns etc.  It isn't as easy as it sounds though and I always have to practice before I start on an item.  Plus I like to try out different patterns first. This uses up valuable leather.  I do buy scraps for practice but it is still not that cheap plus the nearest leather store in 75 miles away so can't just pop around the corner to buy some.

The brainwave is to use some modelling clay.  I had a spare 1 lb brick of it we bought last year.  It is very versatile stuff.  It had been in our shop all winter and summer and was still nice and supple.  I put it in a big ziplock bag and rolled it out.

New brick of modelling clay rolled out in ziplock bag

Border pattern tried out

Background effect tried out

Done for the day, too darned hot in the workshop this afternoon! So in readiness for next time I folded it all in and re shaped it ready to roll out next time. (see below)

                                

This will be a lifesaver for me.  No more wasted leather!

The cardigan fits perfectly

We spent a long weekend with some of the family at the lake so got chance to give out the gifts we made for them.

For some obscure reason I only took photos of the cardigan.