Question about machine knitting magazines or books...

Noreen,
Not very active is right.
Thanks again,
Susie

-- Yep, good!
Now, remember, I DID say that they're not very active there!

Noreen

Hi Leah,
I've been doing tons of research by reading reviews and reading all
kinds of hints and tips.
I just got the book "301 Knitting Hints And Tips" by Rosemary Worth
and just started reading. It is helping.
I'll be sure to save your message as it has things in it that I haven't
come across yet.
Thanks SO much for taking the time to help me out.
Sometimes 'written experience' is better then a magazine.
Thanks for the link too.
Susie


I don't have any magazines I can spare, but I can give you advice
regarding my experience in dealing with the Bond. ............
Steph Thornton's site is a pretty comprehensive one and has a lot of
other tips and free patterns under the Bond List Thoughts section.
http://www.stephthornton.co.uk/knitting/kbond.htm
HTH.
Leah

On Mon, 8 Jan 2007 08:16:52 -0500, "Susie" susiesATtwcnyDOTrrDOTcom
wrote:

A friend may be giving me an Incredible Sweater Machine and I want to learn
all I can
before and if I get it.
I've read the reports from different sites and many had trouble learning
these machines.
I think I have some of what there problems were figured out through videos I
found and
articles but not sure until I lay hands on one.
Would any of you have any knitting magazines or books laying around that you
don't use?

Susie

I don't have any magazines I can spare, but I can give you advice
regarding my experience in dealing with the Bond. I have an
Incredible Sweater Machine (ISM), but also purchased the Ultimate
Sweater Machine (USM) carriage upgrade kit, so I have both carriages
and styles of keyplates (KP).

Some problems beginners experience are due to not handling the
carriage correctly. Press down too hard, and the carriage will jam.
Don't press down hard enough, and the carriage will jump off the
needles, also causing a jam. Try and run the carriage across too
fast, and it causes needles to jump and jam. You also need to make
sure the machine is as level as you can get it, so the seams where the
pieces join are as level as possible. To help that problem, get a
white unscented 100% paraffin (wax) candle. The ISM came with a ring
of wax for lubricating your bed and KP, while it's not included with
the USM now. The USM specifically stated with the new high-tech
plastic it doesn't need to be lubricated, but I beg to differ.

Now, if the carriage is jamming, first try lightly waxing the bed.
The candle should be white and unscented for 2 reasons: Dyes in a
candle could stain your yarn. Scent oils in your candle could stain
your yarn and make your finished item stink like whatever scent for
many washes afterwards as well. White unscented candles are the
easiest to deal with if you accidentally put on a little too much and
it gets into your yarn; it just washes out for me. Pay attention to
the seams where the carriage goes across them at the back of the bed
from your point of view, and back down where the lip of the carriage
hooks in. Also, lightly run it on the retaining rails in the middle
of the needle bed. Filling those tiny imperfections with wax helps
the KP glide over the bed until the whole thing loosens up if it's a
new machine. It will take a couple of swatches for the machine to
loosen up. After about every sweater worth of yarn, or if the machine
has sat for a while since I last used it, I will wax those areas
again; you'll notice your carriage is getting stiff again, and that
generally means it's time for another lube. Every once in a while, I
will also wax the KP. You'll see where the needles run through them,
wax especially where there are gaps, where the needles go into the KP
on each side and in the bottom V area in the middle, to help your
needles run through.

After the bed is waxed, pull out some needles in the middle of the bed
(50-60, 25-30 on each side of the center zero) to working position
(not all the way out to the front or they won't move backward and
forward like they do when you're knitting) and don't put any yarn in,
as you're checking your lube job or for further problems. Run the
carriage back and forth across the bed and see if it loosens up a
little. If you've got jams, then check to see that the carriage is
being held firmly on the bed, but not so firmly it's hard to push it
across the bed. Also, don't push it too fast. If you don't think
it's the carraige or the way you're holding it or the speed, and there
are still jamming problems, pull out all those needles all the way out
to the front of the bed (don't remove them from the machine) and check
for bent needles and especially the tiny needle latches on each one.
People who give up their machines have often manhandled them and bent
needles and then complain "It just doesn't work", because they were in
too much of a hurry to try and get it to work and damaged it.

If all that goes well, try a swatch. Be sure to pull the yarn up at
the end of each row, NOT tight, or the end stitches will drop. I've
seen some people yank the yarn so tight it nearly breaks. Not too
loose, or again, your stitches will start dropping. You want the end
stitch loops to look like the ones on the needles in the middle.
After a swatch is done without any problems, then you're ready to go
on to a larger project.

Bond also makes "Easy Knitting Spray", which is the same as Lori-Lynn
Machine Knitting Lube. They both come in an aerosol can that you
spray across the bed. It's kind of expensive, a lot more than getting
a cheap tealight and removing all the metal from it and using that to
lube your machine, but it does not leave any waxy residue on the
machine.

Oh, one last problem I encountered with the USM KP, the #1 KP size
doesn't seem to work that well for me. I still have a lot of trouble
using the KP 1 size with baby yarn for a little tighter fabric than
the 2 or 2.5. I finally gave up on that swatch, as I already have an
Studio that will handle finer yarns a lot better than the ISM/USM.

Oh, one last thing. I use a crochet hook instead of that "latchet
tool" to redo rib. It's a lot faster. That latchet kept closing up
on me at the wrong time and splitting the yarn, and seemed to take
forever, until someone suggested using a crochet hook. I use an F for
smaller yarns, G for worsted, and I for bulky. It may look uneven
after you first do it up, but let the fabric rest or wash it, and it
evens right out. It takes me a lot less time to do up ribbing with a
hook.

Steph Thornton's site is a pretty comprehensive one and has a lot of
other tips and free patterns under the Bond List Thoughts section.
http://www.stephthornton.co.uk/knitting/kbond.htm

HTH.

Leah

Susie wrote:
Hi everyone,
I haven't been here in quite a while. Once in a while I stop by and skim the
messages.
I asked for help way back I think in October of 2005 when I started knitting
and you
all helped me so much. I think I've popped in a few times to write in since
then but can't remember.
You can check my knitting folder at my link and see photos of how my
knitting is coming along if you want. )
A friend may be giving me an Incredible Sweater Machine and I want to learn
all I can
before and if I get it.
I've read the reports from different sites and many had trouble learning
these machines.
I think I have some of what there problems were figured out through videos I
found and
articles but not sure until I lay hands on one.
Would any of you have any knitting magazines or books laying around that you
don't use?
Thanks,
Susie in northern NY
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/susies1955/albums/


Susie,

Your work sure does look fine.

Please keep posting your work.

Hugs & God bless,
Dennis & Gail

Hi Dennis and Gail,
Thanks! It sure is a fun hobby.
Susie


Susie,
Your work sure does look fine.
Please keep posting your work.
Hugs & God bless,
Dennis & Gail