Fairisle Swatches

Here is a fairisle swatch that I knitted up on the SR SK860 using the EC-1 controller.  I actually made this pattern years ago when I used the EC-1 all the time with my SR SK 840 standard gauge machine, before I had DAK. It is knitted out & steamed & ready to give me my gauge for the next sweater, on the SK860.  I still am going to do some motifs, I just don't have them drawn out on the mylar sheets yet. I am having a hard time finding my design pencils, so when I do I can draw my motifs. I have a habit of putting things away so they won't get lost, & then fail to remember where I put them. 

This yarn is Heirloom Comfort. It is knit at tension 8 for the fairisle pattern. The floats on this pattern are not very long except for a couple & I latch them up to the next higher stitch. I am going to be knitting this up in a different color tho. I have made four swatches of this yarn, all different colors, & the gauge has come out the same for each color, so I feel comfortable doing this. It is tho, a no-no. Really, you always need to make a swatch of each color that you're going to knit. Tomorrow I am going to work on the sweater. I have a box ready to go to the shelter & just need 2-3 more to fill it up. 

This is my 'Hello Kitty' humidifier. I bought it last year to fight the dreaded static electricity. I leave it on in my knitting room all the time, setting it to a light humidity. I have to fill it about once a week. It has solved my static problems completely, along with waxing my yarn. Since I am knitting every day this works out for me really well.

I have been getting tons of spam coming into my blog. My comments are moderated so that they don't get posted. It is very irritating & I am hoping that they give up & quit sending them. 

Using Wax on Hand Knitting yarns to Machine Knit

When knitting hand knitting yarns on my SR 860 I have found that using wax makes all the difference in how well they knit up. Years ago I bought wax holders for my machines. I still have them, but wax for knitting machines is no longer produced, so I decided to make my own.

I bought a mold from a Candle supply store. It is the size to make tea candles. It worked out to be a perfect fit for my wax holders. Then, I bought some canning wax at the grocery store. I used a screwdriver & small hammer to break off pieces of wax & melted it in the microwave using a small Pyrex container. (be careful, wax does have a flash point) When it was completely melted I poured it into the mold & put in a small metal rod for the hole. Then I let it sit over night.  The hole wasn't quite big enough for the wax holder so I  used a Phillips screwdriver to enlarge it. It has worked out perfectly.

Wax Holder for knitting machine.

I knitted up this scrappie yesterday while the repairman was here. He was fascinated by my knitting machines. & He only charged me $50 to repair the dryer. LOL

Garter Stitch Baby Blankets

A fun thing to make on the Knitting Machine is a baby blanket. I have lots of patterns for baby blankets, both for the garter carriage & in tuck or fairisle patterns, lined & unlined. They are the perfect baby gift. And something that you made yourself is always fun to give. While my DIL was expecting JR she made blankets for him from a super wash wool that is King Cole DK. The blankets are non-itchy & light weight but warm. I buy the King Cole yarn from the US supplier in Seattle WA. For a while I carried it in my store, but I am sooo busy with my diaper covers, KnitKnacks for Baby, I just didn't have the time to continue with it.

I have 2 KG 93 Garter Carriages, & on one of them, the turn around cam is going out. I checked with Knit & Sew World to repair & rebuild it & he says around $350. It has a lot of wear on it & I wouldn't want to just fix the turn around cam & not rebuild the whole machine as parts are getting hard to find. In the future parts might not be available to fix it at all. I have heard some negative things about this web site , but my experience with it has been positive. I did buy another GC from him for my punchcard machine & am very happy with it. I have mentioned several other knitting shops that are equally as good such as Needle-Tek & KnitKNack Shop.

All the workers are gone & the house looks great. I bit spendy but well worth it. Now, hope I won't have to do that again for a while!!