News

August 2024 (Issue 319) with Bill King’s Spider’s Web design

The cover design on our full-colour August 2024 issue is a sun-kissed tee with a neat scoop neck and we’ve a summery mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines. Our highlight is Bill King’s very popular Spider’s Web design and Bill also shares an amazing ‘Wild Weaving’ technique he’s created for his Masterclass feature. Alison Dupernex and Susan Guagliumi (https://susan-guagliumi.teachable.com/) are our constant help and support. Joan Lafferty has some pressing matters to discuss and has to hunt for Postman Pat! This month we’re calculating and adding bands to our personal fitting pattern in Part 5 of a mini series with Ruth Horrocks and we’re also grafting knitting going up and down to a piece knitted sideways. We’ve all the usual help and advice, news and reviews and look back at Jane Harrisson’s Needles of Steel retreat. Her great website for all machine knitters is www.needlesofsteel.org.uk so check it out now!

Taylor Swift Songbook Trail

From Saturday 27th July to Sunday 8th September, celebrate Taylor Swift’s ground-breaking impact on the world stage and mark the success of her UK tour with a free trail at V&A South Kensington! Journey through Taylor’s career with 13 stops along the way, each showcasing a particular era of her music and prolific song writing.

Discover a selection of costumes on loan from Taylor Swift, from customised cowboy boots worn during her breakout success as a country singer in 2007 to the jet-black ruffled shoulder dress worn in the most recent music video for her single Fortnight from the critically adored album The Tortured Poets Department (2024). As well, see instruments, music awards, storyboards and previously unseen archival material that explores her childhood and recording legacy, many of which are on display for the first time.

June update

Dear Readers

There’s been lots going on this month and it all started with a deluge of requests for Bill King’s patterns. By the time I’d searched through the back issues from 2011 to 2021, it became obvious I needed to print them again. I’ve started with perhaps the most sought after, the All In One on Page 32 and new readers may wonder what all the fuss is about. So, let me say that every machine knitter can knit Bill’s top on any machine, in whatever yarn comes to hand. It’s a simple, classic and timeless design, that’s also very easy to knit. The only making up is threading the end of yarn back into the cords you knit at the start and finish. Spider’s Web is the next obvious choice and I’ll include it in August.

I’ve also had lots of calls and emails asking why we no longer include For Sale adverts at the back of the magazine. You’ll remember that everything faded away during the pandemic. We could no longer drive or collect machines and equipment from one another. No-one advertised, so there was little point in offering this free service. If you’d like it to return, you need to let me know and for word to spread, let’s say by the end of July. Please drop me a line or send an email, as the phone is often very busy. It’s always been a service for private sellers, not for those in business and that’s how it will remain if we reinstate it.

Another request from some of you is that we bring back Knitting Buddies. For new readers, it was also a free service of volunteers with a reasonable knowledge of machine knitting, that might be on one machine only. They gave help and advice over the phone to beginners, or those returning to machine knitting after a break. Sadly we’ve lost some former Knitting Buddies and others have retired. If you’d like to volunteer, please let me know, again by letter or email. I’m sure there will be a new team we can put together, for everyone’s benefit.

Finally I’ve been in touch with Soft Byte, to chat about the free trial that’s available for DesignaKnit. It’s something that’s always been offered, but not many people seem to realise it’s there. With the current financial climate as it is, you may well want to find out more and try before you buy. Claire Newberry is a DesignaKnit expert and she writes for us each month. So if you’d like to know more about this garment shaping and stitch pattern design program for hand and machine knitting, full details and a QR code are on Page 7. Until next month, knit happy.

NEXT ISSUE August 2024

Subscription copies sent out Thursday 4th July

On sale Thursday 11th July

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy or order a subscription NOW!

July 2024 (Issue 318) with Bill King’s All-In-One design

The cover design on our full-colour July 2024 issue is a slouchy, relaxed-fit sweater with long drapey sleeves. This month we’ve a Carl Boyd man’s design that hasn’t been published before, along with our usual mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines. Our highlight is one of Bill King’s original ‘wedge’ tops knitted from the start of one cord to the end of the other. You’ll spot a photo of the top on the front cover. The only making-up is to sew the two ends back into the cord. Bill King also knits some intriguing but relatively easy fabrics in Masterclass. Alison Dupernex and Susan Guagliumi (https://susan-guagliumi.teachable.com/) are our constant help and support. We often see techniques we like, but discover they’re not for our machine, so try patterned tuck stitch on any machine including four needles tucking side by side! Joan Lafferty makes a welcome return and Claire Newberry (www.patreon.com) is back in her studio. This month we’re test knitting our personal fitting pattern in Part 4 of a mini series with Ruth Horrocks and we’ve all the usual help and advice, news and reviews.

June 2024 (Issue 317) with Alison Dupernex and Bill King

The cover design on our full-colour June 2024 issue is a classic jumper with a modern-day look and we’ve our usual mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines. We’ve more classics this time including a much-requested Carl Boyd design and a man’s traditional slipover. Sporting classics never go out of fashion! All hands are on deck for Karin Rogalski’s gloves for sailors, which have a great Latex grip and we’ve the final band for the perfect flat edge from Dee Crew. Bill King makes Half Milano centre stage this month and his samples are amazingly easy and perfect in every way.  Alison Dupernex and Susan Guagliumi (https://susan-guagliumi.teachable.com/) are our constant help and support and Susan shares photos of her idea for using cone ends. (They’re definitely in a league of their own!) This month we’re making an accurate tension swatch for a personal fitting pattern in Part 3 of a mini series with Ruth Horrocks. Passap knitters aren’t forgotten, as Fay Butcher explains how to use the built-in Form shaping device in the E6000 and, as always, we’ve all the usual help and advice, news and reviews.

May 2024 (Issue 316) with Alison Dupernex and Bill King

The cover design on our full-colour May 2024 issue is a pretty jumper in a wide size range and we’ve our usual mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines. We also have four patterns to knit in our popular Classic Tuck series. The shawl-wrap, multi-size jacket from Alison Dupernex has a fabulous large collar that can be worn as a hood. If your ribber has spent its life knitting plain ribs, take it on a magical journey with Bill King’s ripples and tucks. Susan Guagliumi (https://susan-guagliumi.teachable.com/) along with Alison Dupernex are our constant help and support and Sally Butcher’s Kalamunda Krafts (www.facebook.com/kalamundakrafts) has great ideas on our letters page. We learn how to draw our own pattern for a personal fit in Part 2 of a mini series with Ruth Horrocks. Sally-Ann Carroll reminds us to keep blue hues on our radar and Claire Newberry explains how to calculate yarn amounts in DesignaKnit. We’ve all the usual help and advice, news and reviews.

Machine Knit Community

MKC will be opening the doors again for new members on Monday 22nd April.

It’s a friendly & supportive online space for machine knitters from around the world – with no adverts or algorithms. It’s all things machine knitting and nothing else!

Help and support with your machine knitting is available at the tips of your fingers 24/7, with access to a private community of over 750 members worldwide. From an activity feed to share your wins and ask questions, to a library of self-paced machine knitting workshops and an exciting schedule of live events and classes with leading machine knitting designers and tutors, help is never far away. Never get stuck again!

Nic Corrigan will also be running the successful 21 Days of Fair Isle Challenge from May 1st and it will be included automatically in your membership!

If you’re already on the Waitlist you can relax – you don’t need to do anything.

Nic will be sending out an email next Monday to everyone on the Waitlist as soon as registration is open. So, if you want to get that reminder, make sure you’ve registered at www.mkc.community

The MKC only opens to new members 3 times a year. The next signup after April won’t be until September so if you want to make the most of your knitting machine before then, don’t miss out!

April 2024 (Issue 315) with Alison Dupernex, Barbara Faulkner and Bill King

The cover design on our full-colour April 2024 issue is a short, boxy cardigan in a wide size range. We’ve our usual mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines including a popular Anne Baker Karabee Design. We’ve two gorgeous Alison Dupernex wraps and a stunning Barbara Faulkner easy-to-wear jacket and dress as well as four more patterns, in ten sizes, in our tuck stitch series. Bill King knits mini cables that don’t slow things down too much and Susan Guagliumi (https://susan-guagliumi.teachable.com/) along with Alison Dupernex are our constant help and support. We learn how to make our own pattern for a personal fit with Ruth Horrocks and Sally-Ann Carroll shows us why skirts have replaced trousers as the everyday go-to. Karin Rogalski adds latex protection to her knitted gloves for a good grip and Roni Knutson’s lined, double mittens are a stash box staple. Claire Newberry has DesignaKnit updates and we’ve all the usual help and advice, news and reviews.

February update

Dear Readers

As Spring approaches I’ve some news to share, which will bring sadness to the many knitters she’s helped over the years. Alison Lee, known especially to past members of the Guild of Machine Knitters, has to give up machine knitting completely. If you were a lone machine knitter, often uncertain about what to do, you kept Alison’s phone number close at hand. She ran the Guild Helpline and dealt with a huge number of assorted knitting queries and problems. She ran classes at Cherry Willingham and often helped out on the Guild stand at knitting shows. She’s had serious health problems for many years and was hopeful that recent surgery would improve the quality of her life. Sadly this hasn’t happened and she’s now quite severely incapacitated. Like others in a similar situation, she can no longer knit and will have to drastically downsize. We send her our sincere thanks for all she’s done to help and promote machine knitting, along with our best wishes and hopes for as smooth and as easy a transition of her circumstances as is possible.

Patricia Dadson has also been in touch to let us know that the very well-known Knitaholics has had to close down. With Patricia at the helm, the club has had 23 really successful years with regular workshops, outings and speakers. Over the years, Romford was also the home of many popular knitting shows. A lot of clubs have found themselves in a similar position, with falling numbers and rising costs. However, all is not lost because the remaining members have amalgamated with the Knit ‘n’ Natter group at North Romford Community Centre. Now the days are getting longer, why not give Patricia a call to renew past friendships. The group meets on alternate Tuesday afternoons, with on-site parking. If you’d like an update or more details, please give Patricia a call on 07806-765876.

Finally, I’ve heard from his wife Janice that Alan Hunt has passed away. Alan was known to all old hands for his Hush Knit Yarns, especially Fine French Crêpe. He was also the man who brought us the Nottingham Show at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre each April and Just Knitting at Thornbury Leisure Centre in September. Alan had been suffering with ill health for some time and, sadly, his heart eventually failed. Rest in peace, Alan and we send our sincere condolences to Janice, their family and many friends.

I still hugely enjoy machine knitting and putting the magazine together, so do please join me next month. We’ll reach another milestone in the magazine’s life as the April issue celebrates the 38th birthday of MKM.

NEXT ISSUE April 2024

Subscription copies sent out Thursday 7th March

On sale Thursday 14th March

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy or order a subscription in our shop NOW!

March 2024 (Issue 314) with Bill King

The cover design on our full-colour March 2024 issue is a pretty cardigan in a wide size range. We’ve our usual mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines including a popular Anne Baker Karabee Design. Bill King transforms a simple diamond into an intricate selection of squares and Susan Guagliumi (https://susan-guagliumi.teachable.com/) along with Alison Dupernex are our constant help and support. Claire Newberry looks at audible warnings in Interactive Knitting and it’s a ‘must-read’ for DesignaKnit users. You’ll find Claire at Patreon.com and her page is Claire Newberry’s Knitting School. Sally-Ann Carroll looks at the current trends for Spring/Summer 2024 – and we probably own most of the key elements! As always, our mail order shop is open and we’ve help and advice in Dear Anne plus news, reviews and the fabulous circular yoke challenge completed by members of Rumney Knitting Class & Club.