Stashbusting potholders

I found this pattern through Ravelry, and thought that it would be a great way to use some of my box full of spare quilt blocks (this one was part of a block swap I did a few years back). I followed the idea from the pattern, not the actual pattern itself.........on my Bond knitting machine, I made a huge square of stocking stitch in random stripes, which I then cut into smaller squares and backed with fusible interfacing....

1.Pre-quilted block cut to 40cm square with roughly cut (interface backed) knitting...
2.Quilt block placed on wrong side of knitting...
3.Machine sewn, 5mm in from edge using a triple machine stitch (I also used a walking foot)...
4.Knitting cut to match quilt block...
5.Machine overlocked around the edges.

I was going to add some fabric binding around the edges, but decided that I liked the raw edge look better...to be extra sure that no unravelling happens, I'm going to add another row of triple stitch around the edge, just inside the first row.
A load of these all zigzagged together would make a really nice quilt on one side, and blanket on the other :-)

A better top for the tube

After trying on my Tube Top with every other top I own (!!), I finally found a combination that I'm happy with. I liked the shrug from my last post, but it is nowhere near as wearable as with my new Rowena...I still need to add straps to the Tube Top so that I don't have to keep 'adjusting' myself, but other than that, I'm now more than happy with it's fit and feel :-)








...like I don't have enough projects started already ;-D...a mindless knitting project was needed this weekend to fit in with some lazy TV watching... (how cool that Captain Jack Harkness was on Doctor Who, after Channel 10 axed Torchwood before the season end,...really, do you think that Channel 10 were even aware that they were buying Doctor Who?! :-D )
After googling to see if there was going to be a second series, I found this program description from the BBC website that really made me laugh: Torchwood will be a dark, clever, wild, sexy, British crime/sci-fi paranoid thriller cop show with a sense of humour - the X Files meets This Life Yep...I think that pretty much covers it!!!...and yes there is a second series with James Marsters guest starring...oh how we miss Spike!
ok...back to my knitting :-D I decided on a mitred square blanket made out of random creamy/beige yarns...they're all different weights and textures, but hopefully, that will be the 'appeal' of the finished blanket...I'm thinking of knitted appliqued flowers to finish it off (I got the Knitter's Bible from the library, which has a really nice leaf/petal pattern in it)...maybe in some pastel pinks, blues and greens...

Spring has sprung!

...at last, I've finished my Rowena cardi :-)
The actual knitting (done on my Bond) took no time at all... the borders, ribbing and button buying took heaps longer!!

...it's been a good week for finishing things off....this is my Coquette Lace Tube Top from Fitted knits. I'm guessing that my gauge was off, as it's not quite as fitted as I'd hoped...it still needs straps adding, so hopefully that will make it more wearable. The grey shrug was another Bond/Knitware creation...I knew that the tube top needed either something under or over it (just ignore the brown singlet :-D), so now that I'm happy with how the shrug looks, I'll make one in the same pink yarn as the tube.The yarn for Rowena was just a cheap Lincraft homebrand, for a couple of dollars a ball, the shrug was made from a few odd balls of 'no band' yarn from the Op Shop, and the Tube Top was 100% wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills.
I like that using the machine means I don't have to worry too much about yarn quality....with putting less hours into it than with a handknit, I'm not overly concerned about how well it will wash, or how long it will last me...(ok, I admit it!...I'm just a cheapskate ;-D)

Don't stop me now.....

...I'm having such a good time...! ...so, this house is certainly starting to look like a knitting factory :-D My Bond knitting machine has been permanently set up for the last couple of weeks (giving all of my hand knitting and other stuff a bit of a holiday!...I will get back to it all, but I'm just having so much fun with the machine right now) :-)
I have been sorting through all of the patterns on my 'wish list', and seeing how easy it would be to adapt them....and so far..so good.
Instead of following the patterns as they are written, and trying to get gauge etc, I found it easier to just make up a similar pattern by looking at the picture, and designing it with my Knitware program. I started with this Rowena cardi from Knit 2 Together by Tracy Ullman and Mel Clark...it's just a really basic pattern (that knitted up in a couple of hours), with a really unique tubular edging that is meant to have ribbon threaded through. I'm doing all of the edgings by hand, which along with the seam sewing, is taking longer than the stocking stitch body!
I've also started the Bobble Rib Flower Pullover from Nicky Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge...I just LOVE this jumper and have been planing to make it for ages...the stocking stitch body is done, other than the flower to be swiss darned (duplicate stitched) onto the front...and then, just the ribbing, which will probably take ages. Not sure yet, but I think I might make it bobble-less...?!

Cheat knitting

I love the successful resurrection of my Bond knitting machine :-)
I do remember now, why I stopped using it all those years ago...I tried to get too adventurous. I figured that if I was going to use a machine to knit, then I wanted it to do everything, including all the ribs and fancy stitches etc...that was my mistake :-( Really, the Bond is a brilliant machine, but it's best feature is it's stocking stitch. By doing all of the stocking stitch on the machine, and all the rest by hand
(fusion knitting) I've got the best of both worlds (and at a very speedy pace!). My girls are calling it 'cheat knitting' ;-D
I tested it out on this basic raglan jumper, using Knitware and the 3 balls of self striping yarn I bought from Big W a few months back.
I found some more knitting software called Wild Stitches
which is due for release on September 1st, so I'm really looking forward to giving that a try :-)
...but in the meantime, I'm re-visiting all of my old knitting books and mags to see which patterns I can convert to the Bond (like I need an excuse to spend hours with my head in knitting books!!)

A brighter day...

...and a better photo!
...and even better still...it's now a finished singlet :-D

Retro Knitting

This is the first time that I've used my Bond knitting machine in about 20 years... (can't believe that it's still in perfect working order!). I figured that an easy camisole/singlet would be a good way to ease back into using it...and so far, so good :-) It's probably a bit longer than I wanted, but once the i-cord straps on, it should be good. One of the problems I had with the Bond before, was trying to find good patterns to make on it, but now that I don't need specific patterns (thanks to my free Knitware program :-D), finding something to knit is as easy as! ... and it is so, so , SO quick :-)

That didn't stop me however, buying this hardback copy of Square Knits by Angela King and Caroline Baker, from the Op Shop!...I remember drooling over this book when it first came out in 1985 (!), but at ten pounds, it was way beyond my budget ... I was more than happy to pay a dollar fifty for it this week though... and with all of the retro fashions in the shops right now, it doesn't even look that out-dated :-)

My Tube Top from Fitted Knits is really easy, and nice to work on...the centre panel has a Rusted Root look about it, but the pattern is a whole lot easier to follow :-) I'm going to add straps to it, not only because I think it'll look better, but also to help keep it up...it's turning out bigger than I imagined, but as I was planning on wearing something underneath it anyway, it shouldn't really matter..(my fingers are crossed!)
*edit* I've just realised that the singlet picture is too dark to see...I'll try taking some better shots this afternoon, now that the sun is out :-)

Still using up my stash

I was trying to hold off starting a new project until my copy of Fitted Knits arrives from Amazon....but y'know what it's like...sometimes you've just gotta knit ;-D
I started this generic top down cardi using some Sean Sheep 100% wool from my stash...I'm using size 15 (us) needles with 3 strands of yarn held together...it's really cold in Adelaide right now, so it needed to be extra thick...it was going to be a sweater, but the wool is a bit scratchy and will probably need an underneath layer of clothes, so a cardi it is :-)
I'm still trying to decide if I like my Tubey/one skein wonder 'hybrid'... so until I know, I've put it on hold for a while....this is where it's at so far:
I also got out my old Bond knitting machine after reading about one on another blog....I've had this Bond for over 20 years, it's survived 5 house moves and one 'other side of the world' move, and has not been used in all that time...well, I managed to find all of the pieces, got it set up, and I even remembered how to use it! It's awesome...and I can't remember why I stopped using it?...the last thing I made was a baby outfit (jumper, leggings, hat) for my daughter (who is now nearly 21!). I even found the pattern book, and showed her what I'd made (ha! she said she would have prefered the pink dress on the next page!!!! I offered to make it for her now, but she thought it might be a tinsy bit small...!!?!!) :-D