IMPROVISING WITH MACHINE KNITTING

While looking at another blog, I saw a post by 'Tom Machine Knitting Guy' where he talked about some items that had other uses, that he adapted for Machine Knitting. A very interesting post. I thought I would highlight several things that I use for MK that weren't meant for that purpose. I would like to hear about anything else that would make a handy MK tool!!

1. Ruler

2. Tapestry Needles

3. Stitch Holders & Markers

4. Altoids Containers

5. Scissors

6. Marking Pen

7. Hair Clip

8. Chip Clips

9. Computer Mini Vac

We all know what a ruler is for. I use it to check my gauge when I am making up. The tapestry needles are for sewing up. My stitch holders I use to hold dropped stitches & also to mark sleeve placement etc. My little tin boxes I use to keep my smaller items in so they won't get lost. We can pretty much figure out what the scissors are for. Marking pen to mark cut & sew necklines. Hair clips are used to roll up my knitting after removing weights so that it doesn't hang on the floor. Chip clips are for holding the yarn when casting on etc. & lastly, my mini vac for cleaning the machine between pieces. 

Shawn Dolan at 'Knit & Sew World' is converting GC's to 2 color work for about $300. A very good price for anyone that might be interested. His link is on the left side of my blog. I feel he is one of the better machine repair men. & Reasonable too. 

Pullon Diaper Covers

These are called Pullons. They are wool diaper covers, used with cloth diapers. Wool is very absorbent & will keep baby dry & warm while pulling the wetness away from sensitive little bottoms. Using cloth diapers & wool covers is part of the Green Movement to keep disposable diapers out of landfills. These are the type of diaper covers that our grandmothers used. These are my version of them. There are many others more elaborate then  mine. I make a basic, low cost diaper cover for mom's that can't afford the more expensive covers out there, & have lots of fun doing it.

Motherboard 

Shawn Dolan of 'Knit & Sew World' was able to repair my motherboard so that I still have a spare. It was a bit spendy but well worth it I think. He said that I am using the wrong power source for it. I didn't think it mattered & was using the cord to my disc drive. 

Several years ago my son bought me a new puppy when I lost my little dog. The new puppy chewed the cord to the machine & so I was using the disc drive cord. It caused the board to burn out over time as it was being starved for electricity. The disc drive cord has less power than the 965i power cord & they are not interchangeable as I thought. I am glad that he was able to repair it as I would have been devastated without my beautiful machine. So, just to pass on some important information, you may use the PPD cord for your machine as it is the same power as the 965i, but not the disc drive cord as it less power & will damage your machine. 

Knitting Stripes & Weaving in Ends

As you all know, I do lots of charity knitting, usually children's sweaters for various agency's. My favorite sweater to knit is a striped raglan. I want to tell you about a method that leaves you with only a few ends to weave in, rather than tons of them, which just discourages you from knitting stripes. 

 Here is a striped sweater that is going to the shelter. It is a striped raglan using 3 colors, 2 green shades & 1 gray shade. 

 As you can see, the stripes are a series of thicker & thinner stripes. If I cut the yarn at every color change I am going to have a very discouraging number of ends to weave in. To solve this problem, I am not going to cut the yarn. Instead I am going to carry it up the right hand side of the knit.

This picture shows how it looks on the purl side.

Every so many rows I will hook the contrast color on the end needle so that I don't have a bunch of long floats on the side of the knit. This technique works for hand knitters as well as machine knitters. The trick is to keep the yarn that is being carried, loose. If you pull it too tight it will pull the side of the knit up on that side.