Dragon’s Den

I suppose it was not altogether mine but I did draw it for the Mylar sheet. I do hope Mary is well, she did so much for machine knitting. I enclose a couple of photos and a copy of the Mylar sheet. As you can see from the photos I just could not part with the dressing gown and it’s now being modelled by my grandson Sean. The garment was made with Argyll Ferndale 4-ply and knitted using my Knit Radar. It’s just a long length V-neck cardi with stocking stitch gold edged bands. My son is now 39 this year. Gosh was it really that long ago, seems like yesterday. Thank you so much for keeping the magazine going I look forward to it each month and will put the binders on my present list. Best wishes for your future health and happiness.
Yours sincerely, Carol Cochran

Board Games

Thank you for all your efforts in keeping the magazine going. Every month gives me fresh inspiration – after a break for a year or two whilst having two cataracts removed, a knee joint replacement, a carpal tunnel operation and more recently major abdominal surgery, I am now back in full swing and coping with keeping ten grand children in knits! Keep up the good work!
Yours sincerely, Jean Herbert

Knit A Donkey

donkey.jpgThe knitted donkeys, which are individually made by supporters of the sanctuary, are sold in the visitors centre in Sidmouth and online at www.donkeyworld.org.uk. They’ve been selling them for about a year, but this is the first time they’ve promoted them outside of their newsletter. More knitters are needed just to keep up with the demand. For anyone wanting to test out their knitting skills, the sanctuary provides a knitting pattern, which originally came from a 1954 edition of Women’s Weekly magazine, and additional instructions. For further information about the Donkey Sanctuary, visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.org. To receive a free copy of the knitting pattern, contact Ruth in the community fundraising department on 01395-578222. You could also ask if a machine knitted donkey would be acceptable and we published a pattern on page 48 of the August 2008 magazine (Issue 127).

Twice as nice

It is really good to see something different. I did make some changes to the pattern casting on and off with waste yarn which made picking up the stitches for the shoulders easier and also I marked the 70, 200 and 330 rows for ease in identifying the armholes and side seams. Also, as I could not see why the extra 10 stitches were needed on the front I actually cast on 95 stitches which, when the 20 stitches folded back were taken into account, matched the back shoulder 75 stitches exactly. The finished garment was a much needed success after a few disappointments. Still, I must keep on trying.

I am an avid MKM reader and look forward to my regular Saturday monthly delivery. Keep up the good work. One suggestion for inclusion in the magazine in future could be a hints and tips section as, on returning to machine knitting last year, I found this was the most useful section in my stash of old magazines. Best wishes for your anniversary and the continuing success of MKM from Carrie (Carol Frewin by e-mail)

Knitmaster 700 query

Many thanks
Peggy

Hi Peggy,
I’ve just had a look on eBay.com and found that the same point cams fit the SK 260, 360 600 700 and 740. I have 2 right cams and 1 left cam and 2 yarn separators which I do not need and some spare (duplicate) punchcards. They came in a box of punchcards I bought but I do not have a Knitmaster machine.

You are very welcome to them. If you email me with your address I will send them to you.

Regards,
Sue

Sue P
2010-04-04 15:03:18
Just recieved the above Mailey from Sue.
Will keep you all posted. Peggy.
peggyp
2010-04-05 09:19:21

Coned yarn storage

Many thanks
Alan

I have purchased large plastic boxes {with little roller type wheels }
Yard is sorted eg.4ply Chunky Weaving and hand knitting.The boxes are stacked and my yarns which have been stored for a good number of years are in perfect condition.
Happy knitting!
Bev
Beverley
2010-03-25 19:56:43
A search in Google for ‘coned yarn storage’ found:
www.camillavalleyfarm.com/weave/bobbinracks.htm – ready made cone storage.
Also http//sewing.about.com/library/weekly/aa122898.htm has a page about making your own storage for thread bobbins which can be attached to the wall. It should be possible to scale it up for yarn bobbins.
Hope this is of some use
Sue.
Sue P
2010-03-25 19:56:43
If you are a practical person with some D.I.Y. skills you can drill several hles in a suitable board and fix borrm handles cut to length to the board. This will allow the cones to slide onto the cut down handles for a cheap and practical storeage.
peggyp
2010-04-03 19:57:10

Patchwork Gallery, Fair Isle Variation

I tried the dotted grit with DAK7 on my Brother KH965. However, I did not get the nice stripes but a dotted picture, same as the chart. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you for any hint
Birgit

Hello Birgit
I think you only need the first row of the pattern to repeat so that the same needles are selected on every row.
Regards
Sue
Sue P
2010-03-14 00:04:37
Hello Birgit
I think you only need the first row of the pattern to repeat so that the same needles are selected on every row.
Regards
Sue
Sue P
2010-03-14 00:04:37

End of the cold weather?

Many of you ask repeatedly for inspiration and I hope we can provide it this month. There’s an amazing Andy Holden exhibit at the Tate until 10th April and I can’t wait to go into London to see it. Yes, your eyes aren’t playing tricks : there’s machine knitting at Tate Britain! Andy broke a Knitmaster and Silver Reed machine before seriously injuring a Brother chunky during his epic knit-in. The result is absolutely awesome and I’ll include a feature in the next couple of days.

I’ve had more inspiration on from the next generation of Oz knitwear designers. Tony Bennett has sent us some great examples of their work and not one of them had any experience with machine knitting at the start of their year. Tony was a tutor at his local college and I wish he was over here to share his undoubted talent with us. Interestingly, lots of the yarn the students used was from Yeoman so we can replicate some of the ideas.

For those of you who like to attend workshops with eminent names in machine knitting, I need to mention that there’s a rare opportunity to work with Iris Bishop on an individual basis from July 19th to 23rd. It’s hands on and you’ll experiment with single and double bed fabrics, in preparation for textiles and garments. It’s for Japanese machines only, but single or double bed. Places are strictly limited and for more details please call 01270-628414.

Good luck with your endeavours and happy knitting.
Anne