Our Very First Machine Knitting Seminar

Over the past two days May 5th & 6th, we had our first Machine Knitting Seminar - This was our first attempt but all and all I think we managed to make it a worthwhile experience for all  20 attendees.

We rented the hospitality suite at the Comfort Inn in Peterborough, Ontario which included a small kitchen and a bathroom.  Food was catered in each day and provided lots of goodies at breaks and excellent lunches of soup, sandwiches, fruit and veggie trays with a great dessert plus all the tea, coffee, water and soda we needed.  The Comfort Inn employees went out of their way to make sure we had everything they could supply and then some.  The beauty of using a hotel is the accommodations are in the same building for the instructor(s) and participants plus there was a Kelsey's Restaurant in the same building so we didn't even have to go outdoors.  Another big plus was the swimming pool and hot tub along with the free hot breakfast that came with the room....  Not bad at all.

Our instructor for the two day seminar was the one and only Eileen Montgomery from Burlington, Ontario - check out her site at eileenmontgomery.com  Eileen has done many seminars throughout North America.  We were so thrilled to have her as our first instructor for our first seminar.  She brings so much information through the samples she shows and actual hands on knitting through various stitches, techniques and so on.  A joy to learn from and a wonderful person to boot.

Here is Eileen Montgomery with our grand prize winner Nancy Johnson who won her registration fee!  In other words her seminar was "FREE"....

Below are a few pictures of Eileen showing some of her samples.  You will note the big flat screen TV behind Eileen that made viewing her work on the machine so easy without straining to see around someone else.  That is sure the way to go if the technology is there.

Along with Eileen came Pat Holbrook from Cardiknits in Hamilton, Ontario - http://www.cardiknits.com/ .  Pat brought along lots of coned yarns and all the little gadgets, tools, beads, etc that we all love to have.

I brought two items for Show and Tell - the first is my filigree angel that I really enjoyed making.  It was a challenge for sure but the end result was so pretty.  I also brought my table runner that I have covered here earlier which was well received.

There were so many show and tell items suits, coats, dresses, fish hats, a clown, a jacket/hat/vest made out of beaver fur, and shrugs - really too many to mention.  Give us a few days then go to http://knitclub.shutterfly.com/ that will show our full photo coverage of the seminar when we get it up and running.  Then you can go in and look for yourself at all the Show & Tell goodies we have at knit club each month plus the seminar. 

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed our first seminar.  Learned a few things that we would change but as far as the content given by Eileen Montgomery, I wouldn't change a thing.

Our Kawartha Carriage Knitters' Club has sistered with the Creation Manon Salois (CMS)Machine Knitting Club. Next year it will be their turn to put on the seminar and our turn to travel. As information becomes available on our 2013 seminar I will post it here! 

For several years my dear friend and fellow machine knitter Barbara Rooke and I have travelled to their seminars held in Carlton Place, Ontario and Ottawa, Ontario and last year it was suggested that maybe we try alternating and possibly getting a third club to join us.  Our goal originally was to create a triangle of destinations for the seminars.  If there is a third group out there interested we would love to have you join us on this adventure.  We want to keep machine knitting in the forefront and start enlisting some of the younger generation to learn this wonderful craft. 

Intarsia Knitting

Thought I would try my hand at intarsia knitting.  Decided to do a pillow cover which could have been done by knitting two blocks of different colors and then repeating with two more colors doing the sew as you go routine.  But I stuck to my guns, did my swatch with the intarsia carriage and worked out the stitches/rows per inch, measured my pillow and away I went.  Turned out pretty good. 

I think I would come up with a better way of the doing the final seaming so it could be removable for cleaning but for this exercise I didn't go into it that deeply....  The one thing I really like is the front and the back are identical - pretty neat.

Found this pattern on the internet (not sure where now) but it was a good way to do a simple intarsia project and sort of got my juices going to try something on a sweater I have been thinking about for my great granddaughter.....

Table Runner Project

Just finished knitting, blocking and admiring my latest project - a table runner for my table.  Now that I see it on the table I think I'll make some place mats to match.  That should keep me out of mischief for a while!!!!

Here are some photos of myo project - click on the photos to enlarge if you wish.

Knit Club Today

At our Knit Club today, we tackled a short row scarf pattern.  One of our members Pat was our project manager for the day and did an excellent presentation.  The scarf is a little challenging but the end result is very satisfying.  Here is the one I did - plan to wear it with my navy blue jacket.  I'm anxious to see what the other knitters come up with.  Even our newbies were amazingly knitting away on their scarves and doing very well. 

Let's knit socks

Our Knit Club is doing a workshop on "Socks".  I have made up several pairs to show the different heel styles you can accomplish on your machine.

1. The sock pictured below was done on my Singer 360 standard gauge (4.5) using the Sew as You Go principle with a shaped heel and a short rowed toe. The ribbing was done manually to form a 2 x 1 rib. The seam is almost invisible on this sock.  Once washed I bed it will disappear completely.

The second set are Basic Flat Socks knit on my LK 150 mid-gauge (6.5) machine.  I use this pattern for bed socks.  Note that one set with shaped heel, the other with short rowed heel.  Toes were short rowed on both and instead of ribbing I doubled the number of rows that would have been for the rib section and rehung the cast on stitches to form a folded top on the bed sock.



The next pairs are knit using the Sew As You Go technique.  Again with the different style heels, short rowed toes and  2 x 1 ribbing.  This is my preferred method as there is very little sewing once knit.  Again the seams virtually disappear once the socks are laundered.

All of these socks work up rather quickly and I make the bed socks up for myself and friends.  Have a few at the door in a basket so folks don't need to worry about bringing slippers on bad weather days.  I usually send them home with the pair they wear.  I sometimes wonder if folks come to visit on nasty days just to get a new pair of bed socks!!!  Just kidding.  

My re-vamped knitting room

I think I have finally got my knitting room to the stage where I can actually knit in there without falling over something or losing the very item I need. 

My room is about 9 foot square, probably was a nursery when the house was built in 1976.  I removed the carpet and now have beautiful hardwood floors that my steno chair travels around on with ease.

Entering the room from the hall, you can see I have three machines set up.  They are covered when I'm not working on them to keep the dust bunnies from invading their innards.

On the back of the hallway door, I have this handy door hanger that holds all kinds of tools, wires, extra scissors and so on.  This changes from time to time as some things become obsolete and need to be discarded. 

NORTH WALL

When the hallway door is opened into the knitting room, in behind I have removed the bi-fold closet door and had hubby put in some shelving for my pattern books, magazines and some other odds and ends.   Below the shelves is a wooden two drawer legal size file cabinet with a little drawer on top for "stuff".

In the top drawer of the file cabinet I have hanging files for my punch cards - this works really well and they don't get damaged or bent out of shape just quietly hang there until needed.

Right beside the storage closet is a short piece of wall on which I have placed a peg board.  This holds my clamps, garter bars, cast on combs and other sundry items that I don't want to have to play hide and seek to find.  All is out in the open and easy to reach.

Below the peg board are two small shelving units.  These hold my reference books, most of my attachments for the machines like carriages, linkers and on top a couple of yarn winders.

In the corner beside the book cases and under my television platform, is another little shelving unit for my ribber weights, some more attachments and of course some yarn.

Beside the corner shelves is also a plastic roll around three drawer unit for more storage.

 

EAST WALL:

We have turned the corner and here is my Singer 360 (without the ribber at the moment), under the window.  Under the window is a little shelving unit I found in my travels that is perfect for storing all kinds of goodies.  Again within easy reach no matter what machine I may be working on.

Below the 360, I have put a little shelf on there to store my Bond machine and also have my yarn holders there.  The yarn is fed up through the table as I can't move it away from the wall.

Here are the holes in the table top, which are lined with plastic tubing.  I set up my yarn below the table, feed it up through the appropriate hole and away I go.

Beside my 360 and in the next corner is my double yarn tree.  Love this little gem as it holds a lot of yarn cones in a very little amount of space.

SOUTH WALL

This is where my Bulky Studio 155 with ribber lives.

Over the Studio 155 is a bulletin board to hold swatches, extra circular needles and reminders that I might need from time to time

Below the Studio 155 is more storage for my large yarn winder, which is on a wooden pedestal to raise it up for me as my old back can't take too much bending over these days.  Also a little collapsible stool that I sometimes pull out just to put "stuff" on where it is handier than behind the main bed.

There is a little step platform there which I need for reaching the upper shelves of the storage cupboard but otherwise is kept fairly clear or with extra yarn that I may want handy for a current project.

In the corner is another little shelving unit that holds my knitting DVD's and other items I use for cataloguing my patterns etc.  On top is my fan (hot flashes need cooling down at times) and of course my telephone which has a head set so I can talk but still have my hands free to do whatever needs to be done.

WEST WALL

We are almost around the whole room!

On the west wall I have installed 4 shelves to house yet more coned yarn. 

Below the shelves of coned yarn is my LK 150 set up and ready to go.  The table it is on came with my Singer 360 but I use it for my plastic beds (stored underneath) or for my laptop computer if I'm working on a pattern.

Below this table there is a shelf just under the top which is very handy for storing carriages, garter bars and so on that you need as you work.  Below that is another shelf spanning the cross bars on the legs that hold my HK 100, LK 100 and a box of needle retainers for all my machines, kept dust free and out of the way.

My ribbers are usually on the machines at all times, however the day I took these photos my 360 ribber was sitting on my guest room bed.  It has now been put back on the machine.

One thing I have found to be extremely handy is the rotating storage bins I use for my transfer tools, rulers, latch tools etc.  There is one behind my LK150.  I have for each machine so the tools are always handy.  I bought these at Staples but I'm sure any office supply store carries them. 

Lighting is also very important.  I have a florescent light on the ceiling with two long "daylight" bulbs.

For the bulky I have a Ott light there that works on hydro or battery and finally another light with the LK 150.  I really need these when using darker yarns. 

Finally I have a very comfortable steno chair (seen in first photo) without arms which I find perfect for me.  It is adjustable and comfy to sit in. 

I must admit I do have a supply of yarn balls and skeins. Again I took over a closet in the guest room because there were two! We put shelves in there and that holds 10 tubs of yarn labelled for easy locating of whatever I need for a particular project.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my tiny knitting room and the closet yarn annex. I have learned to keep things neat and organized or I would be in a real mess. Fortunately it has also taught me to finish each project I start so I don't have a lot of UFO's to deal with so I'm thinking that is a good thing!  Happy Knitting Everyone!

Another version of the earflap hat

Just finished two earflap hats - granddaughter and her best friend wanted them so I thought that was a good project for today.

The girls picked out the colors ~

The earflaps and about one half of the hat is doubled so that keep ears and forehead nice and warm.  You can see the white lining in the one below.

I did the eyelets on both hats to let a different color show through on the right side.  Kind of different and giving some added texture as well.  Enlarge the photos to see the color through the little holes.

Off to make a smaller one now for my niece's little 18 month old boy.  He wants (or mom does) red, white and blue.....  Should be a fun project.