Letters

In PKMJ 39 Alice reviewed ‘KnitPad’, a Windows program written by Doug Webb, which contains all the Passap stitch patterns for both the E6000 and the Deco. The Deco patterns are stored in a section of the program called KnitPick which opens in KnitPad. Although the 3 and 4 colour patterns are in a format which the E6000 can read, it would not be too difficult to re-configure them as a punchcard. I have been looking for templates for the Deco patterns numbered from 21-100 for quite a while, without success, so when I saw this information I thought I’d see if it was still available. The original Website is no longer accessable but a search on Google for ‘doug webb knitpad’ took me to: www.janthevillageweaver.com from where I was able to download the KnitPad program. Not only does this program have all the Passap stitch patterns stored in grid form with the facility to print copies but there is also a section where one can design one’s own stitch patterns and save them. The grid provided has a total size of 179 stitches by 200 rows but for designing 40 stitch punchcards you can place a marker on the 40th column and work within that boundary. I can see this simple program being most useful and thought I would share this information as I’m sure other readers will find it useful too.
Regards
Sue Pritchard

My friend and I decided to open a small boutique, selling cashmere apparel for women. As I mentioned we are beginners in this area, so I have one question regarding the yarn and specifically about the count. Many suppliers offer us different kinds of yarn like Nm 2/60, 3/80 and so on but we don’t understand which one is the best for us?! We have flat machine 5 and we will use one and more plies for our apparel. My question is what does it mean Nm 2/60 (numbers and letters)? How should we choose the yarn so it is good for our flat machine?! Thanks in advance for your help!
Regards, Marina

As a returning knitter I struggled with my ribber for months and followed advice to change the retaining bar. I had real difficulty hanging the ribber wire and frequently snagged my cast on row. I found a sturdier ribber wire and this has really solved the problem, it’s much easier to insert and I’m pleased with the way the machine knits.

I am a crochet and knitaholic and teach at a number of neighbourhood houses around my local area. Unfortunately I’ve developed deQuervains syndrome in both hands and after surgery have found it increasingly difficult to hand knit. So one of my lovely daughters (No 3 of 5) bought me a knitting machine, so I am starting on my machine knitting adventure. I’m new to machine knitting having just acquired a Singer Cardmatic 312 and unfortunately it came without any manuals. Hours on the net have led me to the conclusion that Singer and Silver may be interchangeable. I found a Manual for the Silver K105 and the machine and parts look identical. Can anyone give me an answer? Many thanks from Australia.

Hello Anne
Thanks for this lovely knitting magazine. Please could you include a T-shirt with collar or a polo shirt knitting pattern for ages from newborn to adult for both men and women in the magazine? As summer is fast approaching, not everyone would love a cardigan, but as we know T-shirts are always popular so a knitted T-shirt would be cute.
Thanks, Anino

I’m on the cusp of buying a knitting machine, I’m probably going to get the Silver Reed SK280. I have never even seen a knitting machine in real life before, so it’s a leap into the unknown for me. I hand knit a lot and I’m at the stage where I want to focus more on designing than spending hours knitting up stockinette in garments. Don’t get me wrong, I know hand knitting is a different craft from machine knitting and I’ll always have some project or other on my needles, but I want to venture into machine knitting. I came across your magazine recently and I wanted to pluck up the courage to say hi and introduce myself. It’s frustrating not being able to read the patterns in your magazine yet, the abbreviations are so different from hand knitting, but I know I’ll learn as I go along. It’s nice to meet you! I hope to meet some new and interesting people along my journey into machine knitting!
Best wishes, Valerie

Hi
I’m a computer based designer/illustrator and I’d like some advice about purchasing a knitting machine, specifically to make cushions and throws.

I’m looking for a modern knitting machine that is able to connect to a computer (ideally a Mac) so I can use a software based pattern designer to send information straight to the knitting machine. Does such a machine exist? I found that certain software can export in a specific format that certain knitting machines can read. This may do the job, but I assume (maybe ignorantly) that you should be able to purchase such a machine

I’m finding it difficult to find information like how big these patterns can be. I’d like to work with repetitive patterns but also single image. Can consumer knitting machines be used to create throws of a single image? and what is the maximum number of colour I could use?

I guess I’d like to understand whether I can create my own samples before investigating more commercial options.

Can anyone help a complete novice fill in the gaps.

Thank you so much

Scott

Hi
I’ve made a huge mistake. I spilt a very strong cup of tea on my new beige sweater that I had recently finished on my bulky machine. I lovingly hand washed it even though the yarn said it was machine washable. I put it in the washer to spin and thought I’d put it in the dryer for just a minute or two and then lay it out on the bed to finish drying. I forgot it in the dryer and by the time I remembered it it had already dried and shrunk by about half. I was so upset all I could do was sit on the floor and cry. I am a guy and I don’t cry, but I did today. I had worked so hard to adapt the pattern for that sweater to be what I wanted and I was so proud of it. I took it, wet it again and tried to stretch it out. It worked some but my poor sweater will never be what it was. I know I’m not the only one who has ever had this happen to them. It makes me feel so bad and stupid that I could forget something like this.
Just thought I’d write this to try to make myself feel better.
Take care and beware of the evil dryer!
Ronny

Dear Anne
Thank you so much for printing my letter and photo in the Dec issue of MKM. I must admit, I can’t stand a braggard but I’ve shown the issue to every friend and relative I have – whilst wearing the sweater of course. (ROFL) I even took it to the local JoAnn’s and Hobby Lobby – two craft stores I use a lot and am friendly with the staff. I even got an invitation to demonstrate a Bond machine (paid of course) at the Hobby Lobby. The interest the photo caused and the oohs over the sweater I was wearing have added an Ultimate Sweater Machine to quite a few people’s Santa wish list, I’m sure. (LOL) Anyway, thank you so much for this. It’s done more for my ego and has been better for my Sunlight Deprivation Depression than a case of the best anti-depressant drug they could give me. (ROFL)
Best regards and may you all have a VERY HAPPY AND BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON ! ! !
Ronny Woods

PS – I have to get back to my machine. With only a few more days till Christmas, I still have a list of things I want to make to give as gifts. I always plan a lot more than I can possibly do and am I alone in this or do I have a lot of similar overloaded friends? Well I’ll do what I can and give a token gift and and IOU card to the ones I don’t have time to get to. (ROFL)