Where I've been

The initial revision anyhow:


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Sock Machine Quest

If you have one of these, or know somebody who does, or you saw one while antiquing or whatever, can you please let me know? The more parts they have the better, and ideally I'd like one that works. this is a picture of a fairly older simple one, newer ones look much the same but some different. I want to buy one but I don't want to spend a lot, so if you see one let me know.

Busy Day

well today I have been to the store, had lunch with a Tony, cleaned the Aquarium (thanks for the help Tony, grafted the arm pit of mom's sweater, I'm about to do the other armpit, and oh yeah.. cut the steek down the front. this was made even more traumatic by the fact that friday I screwed up sewing it, and had to pick a bunch of stitches out. this was a bad thing. Made me quite surly, then quite depressed. After ignoring it for a few days, including Saturday's glorious trip to go play with sock knitting machines, and yesterday's day of just ignoring it, this moring I felt like fighting with it some more. So anyhow the steek is cut, underarms grafted, tomorrow I start the button band, then the button hole band after that.

I'm contemplating sewing them on by machine, after all my handwork is crap, and if I use navy thread and put the machine stitches between two stitches on the front it should be nearly invisible. More on this as I look at the button bands.

circular sock machines

I have found the coolest thing ever. I read about them briefly in grad school but they passed right over me like so much did in that era. Anyhow... they knit a tube while one turns the handle.. it's more complicated than that..but they allow the knitting of socks with a lot less time once you get the hang of it apparently. And I get to try one this weekend! this is a bad thing in some ways because frequently if I ingore new things long enough I lose interest... but tax return season is coming soon so maybe I can get one then.

off the needles again

well a week later I finally have the top bit of the yoke on mom's sweater reknit and off the needles. I just haven't had time to sit down and work on it. Tonight I sew up the front and cut it...so I can start working on button bands. Scary things here... I don't actually know how to attach them. I suppose I'll figure it out when I get there. I figure I'll be done with it by the time SuperCon is over next weekend.

I want one of these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3265640128&category=605
the want just came upon me right now! so I'm hoping it will fade.

It's been nuts around here of late. Two convention meetings this weekend, and change management at work. Ugh.. did I sleep? I can't remember..I think not.

Over Christmas I got the arms on the sweater re-knit, and the body done and joined... I couldn't work the yoke on the needle I had. I now have the yoke done.. .actually yesterday I got it off the needles and I'm to the point where I could sew and cut the steek. But as I laid it out I decided I don't like the last 8-10 rows. I should have carried the lighter color forward instead of the darker one. So I'm going to pull that out tomorrow and try again.

I took it home and had toad look at it... she said the last tiny bit "wasn't worthy of the rest of the sweater" so that was the deciding factor. I think I'll do my ripping at Yarn Tamers tomorrow at work. That ought to scandalize them a fair bit. It won't take that long to re kint...and why have a sweater that looks 85% for 2 hours of work.