Anne

Crochet-along

#KingColeCAL Part 1

The first instalment of the King Cole crochet-along is now LIVE on their blog! ????

This blog-post includes all of the measurements and materials required to make the blanket. Click ‘1st Instalment’ to access the PDF which you are welcome to download & save to your device. The first of 6 fortnightly pattern instalments will be available from 8th October.

Do SHARE your progress and finished blankets with them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Use the hashtags #KingColeCAL #KingColeCreations.

They also have a support Group: ‘King Cole #CAL’ within their Facebook Page, where they hope to grow a community of crocheters who will share their progress, ask any questions and keep up to date with news.

Hooks at the ready!

#KingColeCAL #KingColeCreations

 

Hand knitting help

Rachel got in touch with us recently, after seeing one of the posts on our website at http://machineknittingmonthly.net/news/will-knit-socks-hospice-patients-christmas/

She’s a bit of a knitting geek and makes lots of hats, socks and toys – as well as anything you’d care to mention! She thought it was a great read and tells us she’s recently written her Ultimate Beginners Guide to Knitting. If you’d like to know a bit more about hand knitting, take a look at https://hobbyhelp.com/knitting/

With so many of us knitting on the Silver Reed LK150 and no ribber available, lots of us like to combine both skills by hand knitting the ribs and transferring the stitches to the LK150 for speed. Do check it out and we’re sure Rachel would be happy to help if you’ve any queries. Thanks a million for sharing Rachel.

Machine-knitters’ knit-together

We’ve heard this morning that Rachel Brooks is hosting a Machine-knitters’ knit-together – informal, non-commercial, social knit-along and skill-swap for Machine Knitters of any level – or those who’d like to learn.

Most participants stay for the weekend, which makes it very friendly. But if you are only able to come for one of the days or live locally and don’t want to stay over, that’s fine too. We held the first one in this venue in June/July, and hope and expect the second one to be just as good! It started in the main MK group on Ravelry, but is open to all. You must book your place ahead.

WHEN? Saturday, October 6th (10 Am – 8 PM) – Sunday October 7th (10 AM – 4 PM)

WHERE? Fladbury Village Hall, Worcestershire, WR10 2QB. Participants arrange their own accommodation, eg in one of the two village pubs.

NEAREST STATION: Evesham (4 miles) also Pershore.

PARKING: There are 12 parking places by the hall.

WHO? Primarily/originally Ravellers of any level of experience, with or without their machines. And if you have a friend who would like to come, that’s good too. Advance booking essential – we need to know numbers.

HOW MANY? That depends! Minimum about 5, maximum about 20-25, I reckon.

COST we will share the hall hire cost between us and expect it to be £10-£20 each, depending on numbers.

For more details or to book, please contact Rachel on brooks.rachel@gmail.com.

Mid-gauge magic

 This 4+5-prong transfer tool is for 6.5 mm mid-gauge machines such as the Silver Reed LK150. The wooden tools are individually crafted and smoothly finished. Use either four or five prongs to move stitches or work wide fully-fashioned decreases along a raglan. By moving ten stitches at each decrease, you’ll have enough stitches for an edge stitch plus a stitch either side of a 3×3 cable and the decrease. With a pair of tools and a bit of bridging, you can also cross 4 or 5 stitch cables. Individual, 4 and 5-prong tools cost $18 each and the combination tool is $26 available exclusively at www.guagliumi.com

 

News & Views

 News & Views

The Sep/Oct issue of News & Views from Country Knitting of Maine is now available on-line and includes a pattern from Susan Guagliumi, incorporating techniques from her new book Open Spaces. Dedicated to machine knitters, there are six issues a year and the full-colour PDF file is available for 60 days. Linda Williams is the only seller and the price for six issues is $46.99, around £35 in the UK. To find out more, contact Linda Williams, Country Knitting Of Maine, 351 White Schoolhouse Road, Madison, ME 04950-3202, USA.

Tel 207-696-5418

Email oth98@hotmail.com

Website www.countryknittingofmaine.com

September 2018 – Issue 248

This is September 2018 and our latest issue.

Subscription Bundle If you order a latest issue and subscription bundle, we’ll send you this issue and the October 2018 magazine will be mailed out to subscribers on Thursday 6th September.

New subscription If you chose a new subscription, it will start with the October 2018 magazine – to be mailed out to subscribers on Thursday 6th September.

Open Spaces

Open spaces

Susan Guagliumi’s ‘book that would not end’ is finished. As the cover says, there are chapters on eyelets, ladders and slits and these huge open spaces are very different from a bit of hand-tooled lace. Many samples will produce gorgeous garments, but definitely need to be worn over something if you’d prefer not to be arrested! The book is 8.5 x 11 in and by increasing the size it saved about 40 pages, which translates into lower costs. There are 225 pages with over 300 inspirational swatch photos and charts. We’ve not seen such diverse possibilities of eyelets, slits and ladders in all their extremes and variations. Susan has also included photos of fabulous garments by some of her favourite designers and the designs are awesome. Written in the style we all know, the book is suitable for owners of all brands and every gauge of knitting machine.

Looking through the book, we can see the way a machine-knitter’s mind works. Bill King often reminds us that by changing one factor we stumble upon something new and much more interesting. What if I knit more or less rows between repeats? What if I try it with an odd or even number of stitches? What if I cross the stitches in the same direction, or alternate it? There are a huge number of charts, swatches and photos and Matthew Bragg at Softbyte came to the rescue with DesignaKnit. It cut Susan’s time massively, using the pre-designed symbols and grids. There are no garments, but free patterns are on her website. The patterns, swatch photos and how-to videos on her blog will whet your appetite and all details are at www.susanguagliumi.com

News for clubs

THE WOOL CABIN

Subject to distance, Dave and Jason from The Wool Cabin are happy to come to your club meeting and give a general talk about their life in the knitting world. They’ll also bring a selection of machine and hand knitting yarns for you to buy at special club discount prices. Fancy a day out? Why not visit them at Chesterfield Market Hall? You’ll find them at Unit 12 in the indoor section. Don’t forget they sell Wendy, Twilleys, Robin, King Cole, Stylecraft, JC Brett and Opal. Please mention the magazine and they’ll give you their best prices on the day.

The Yarn Cabin, Unit 12 (Indoor), Chesterfield Market Hall, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S40 1AR

Tel 07553-847483

Email Singlemalt48@hotmail.com and please put The Wool Cabin in the subject box

 

Family fun

Dear Readers

When I wrote my letter last month, little did I think that we’d still be in the grip of what we call a heatwave and the rest of the world calls summer. It’s been too hot to even potter in the garden, so spare a thought for me juggling press invitations to view this year’s selections for Christmas!

As Susan Guagliumi said herself, her new book has been the hardest to write – but it’s finished and a copy of Open Spaces: Machine Knit Eyelets, Ladders and Slits arrived recently. I’ve often said that if I was to be cast away on a desert island, the book I’d take with me would be Susan’s Hand Manipulated Stitches. Now I have to revise my plans, as Open Spaces has moved to top of the list, to give me something new to try each day until the rescue boat arrives. It’s been a long time coming but merits huge congratulations. It’s the best book published by a machine knitter for all machine knitters, probably since More Hand Manipulated Stitches. You can read about it on Page 6 and if you enjoy sitting in front of your machine and ‘messing about’ to discover some amazing machine-knitted fabrics, make it top of your Christmas wish list.

My other news this month is the relocation of Silver Reed to larger premises. They’ve only moved down the road to the next village, but needed the extra space. The excellent news for all of us in machine knitting is that their business continues to grow. Their new address is a bit of a mouthful and in full it’s the John White Business Centre, Atlanta House, Midland Road, Higham Ferrers, Rushden, Northamptonshire NN10 8DN. The phone number remains the same and is 01933-311888. There’s parking at the rear of the building and a nice bright showroom, but much larger warehouse. We’ve known for a while that the SK-830 fine gauge electronic machine was to be discontinued and it’s now no longer in stock. However, we still have the SK-155 chunky, the LK-150 mid gauge, the SK-280 standard gauge punchcard machine I use and the SK-840 electronic standard gauge in full production.

One thing to mention is a current offer including UK mail order, plus overseas with shipping at cost. They’ve hugely discounted their stocks of Forsell yarns with a 50% reduction on all cones. There’s 4-ply hand-wash Pure Wool and Slalom Aran plus 2, 3 and 4-ply Superwash Wool and Superwash DK. So, visit www.silverviscount.co.uk to see all the shades and prices. Until next month, try to stay cool!

NEXT ISSUE

October 2018

Subscription copies sent out

Thursday 6th September

On sale Thursday 13th September

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy now

 

 

Oxford blues

Hi Anne

I’m taking over running the Oxford Machine Knitting Group. The trouble is our numbers have dwindled so much that I’m putting in a plea to any knitters living in Oxfordshire to come and join us. We meet on the second Tuesday of each month at Yarnton Village Hall. We quite often take our machines with us and get useful tips from each other. Although two of our ladies are unable to bring their machines, they have a wealth of knowledge which is greatly appreciated. However, if we can’t get any more members, I doubt if we will be able to carry on much longer. Do please email nisekoang@gmail.com so, here’s hoping. Best wishes, Angie Reed

As Angie mentioned, Oxford Machine Knitters meet monthly on the second Tuesday from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon. The venue is Yarnton Village Hall, The Paddocks, Yarnton, Kidlington OX5 1TE and you really would be most welcome to swell their numbers a little.