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[#] Thu Oct 19 2006 12:02:21 EDT from wabewalker

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AC Moore has a 50% off coupon this week:  http://www.acmoore.com/showweeklyspecialcoupon.asp?ID=23

So I got my knitting machine last night!  It's still in the car, but I hope to play with it tonight!



[#] Thu Oct 19 2006 12:21:33 EDT from girthta

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*frown*

[#] Thu Oct 19 2006 12:48:07 EDT from wabewalker

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[#] Thu Oct 19 2006 13:50:11 EDT from triLcat

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omg soooo cute!

 



[#] Thu Oct 19 2006 14:01:14 EDT from Ladyhawke

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<laughs>  Those are really cute!


[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 01:18:44 EDT from wabewalker

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I just got started with the knitting machine.  This thing is *way cool*.  It took me about 1/2 hour to set it up and figure out how to use it.  Then I set it up with some Bliss yarn (it's a bulky fur/eyelash novelty yarn: http://tinyurl.com/y6fuln) and knit up the entire 82-yard ball in about 5 minutes.  I forgot to set up the row counter, but it's about 16 rows of 100 stitches.

There's a lot I have to learn about using it, but it took me 4 hours to knit up one ball by hand, so I think this was well worth the money (maybe even if I had paid full price for it).  The only complaints I have are that takes over 3' of table space for the duration of the project, and it makes a really noisy clickety-clack sound.  Once I figure out how to do garter stitch, lacework & cables, I'll let you know how it holds up.



[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 03:07:54 EDT from 2Dog

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o.k. you quilting nitting freaks you... tonight I pulled out and placed upon the bed a quilt
hand sown by my great grandmom Mamie, who hailed from North Carolina. I don't know
about the rest of you; but I more like a cold room and heavy covers, rather than the other
way around. *just hoping the cats don't get too interested in it*

[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 03:34:24 EDT from triLcat

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2Dog: send picture please. I've been reading a series of books about quilts, and I find them fairly fascinating.


[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 06:04:21 EDT from girthta

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wabe-I think I need to come up there for a tutorial before I invest in one for myself *grin*

Seriously, does it seem to have the flexibility to do pretty much anything you want? Are there still things youw ould have to handknit?

Does it come off looking machineknit, or does it still ahve that hand knitted irregular loveliness to it? 



[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 06:12:33 EDT from girthta

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I'm making a felted bag out of Noro Kureyon this weekend. Will post pictures if I can find my camera.

http://www.yarnmarket.com/yarn/Noro_Yarn-Kureyon_Yarn-568.html

(see number 102) 



[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 06:51:28 EDT from wabewalker

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2Dog:  old heirloom quilts sometimes tell a part of family lore.  Do you know any of the history behind it?


[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 07:19:20 EDT from wabewalker

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Girty -

The machine seems perfect for scarves and pieces that involve large areas of stockinette like sweaters and felted items.  It looks like there's still some hand-knitting involved for edging, or you can do crochet edging.  Since it also only does 100 stitches per row up to size 10.5 needles (about 38" max width) it's got some limitations. You can add more of them together for longer rows, which I'll do at some point since I really hate seaming and one can't make a sweater over size M.

The rows all look very even, except in spots where the machine jammed (jamming is a major annoyance, but there are supposed to be ways to deal with that I have yet to learn.)  I think the nice neat rows make it easier to size and match up seams, and the added hand-knit parts will make up for the uniform stitches made by machine.

For now I'm just going to make scarves and seamed pieces to embellish with fancier details by hand.  There are a ton of deco edges I want to try from _Knitting on the Edge_, and I have a bunch of intarsia ideas, so the machine will save me time and joint pain with the expanses in between.

Bear in mind I got the cheapie Ultimate Sweater Machine.  There are much nicer models out there that can do a lot more, but they cost a lot more. 



[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 09:37:04 EDT from mosephine

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the idea of a knitting machine seems counter to many of the reasons that the knitters i know knit. they like having something to do with their hands wherever they are, portable projects... i have one friend who purposely uses smaller needles so that her projects will take *longer*, because otherwise all the yarn she'd go through is cost prohibitive.

but if the goal is to do some interesting edging, i can see how the machine would help to do the boring parts more quickly.

best of luck! :)

[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 10:24:19 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

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<< envisioning "Wallace's Knit-O-Matic" >>

[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 10:56:25 EDT from wabewalker

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I love taking my knitting with me.  I sneak in rows whenever I get the chance.  But my joints get sore and swell up if I knit for too long, so even a simple project takes months to finish.  Yesterday I spent about 4 hours (cumulative) working on a sweater and my hands are still aching.  There's no way I can make holiday gifts at this rate, unless I get a little help.


[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 11:52:30 EDT from mosephine

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i completely understand... this seems like a really good compromise. you get to do the interesting/creative parts, but don't have to slog through the more tedious bits that make your joints ache.

[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 20:22:35 EDT from 2Dog

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I'll check on it. And also will get a pic when I can get my hands on the digi-cam.

IG, is that better than the Ronco Rhinestone and Studsetter? :^)



[#] Fri Oct 20 2006 23:21:47 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

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I thought it was called the "B-Dazzler"

[#] Sun Oct 22 2006 11:34:06 EDT from wabewalker

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here's a better pic of the booties:  http://www.wabewalker.com/pics/booties.jpg



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