I kind of learned to knit after I turned 60. This is not an activity for those with limited dexterity in the learning phase. So, I can knit, but just enough to do a swatch of my handspun. To make fabric, I usually weave. But small jobs just aren't worth putting on the loom. All I wanted was a pair of wool ankle warmers.
Being a tool junkie, of course I have a knitting machine--a Silver Reed LK-150. Low-end and affordable, it gets the job done without a lot of $ invested. There is something of a learning curve to any knitting machine. I’m still on that curve, it’s just not as steep as it used to be.
Mine is ultra sensitive to yarn tension as it comes off the cone/spool/ball. The individual needles are as sharp as kitten claws. (I have the scars to prove it.) Technically, if you drop stitches, you can put them back on the needles...if you have the dexterity. If your fabric is not weighted (especially at the edges), you are sure to get snarls, missed or dropped stitches, or such a mess you might as well start over.
I started over 4 times yesterday before I gave up. Today, I got it!
Photo 1: (See above) This is the swatch I made earlier in the week to determine the number of stitches/needles I would need, and the number of rows required to belong enough. Since I machine-wash and dry all my clothes, that's what I did to the swatch. Surprisingly, it came out with a nice drape, and was not felted at all. (Yarns were a blue and a green wool weaving yarn, held together and knitted as one strand.)
Photo 2: Stitches are on every other needle, to make mock ribbing. The LK-150 does not have a ribber attachment; you either have to hand knit and then mount, or manually purl every other stitch, or knit a mock rib. I made 30 rows, then joined the first row to Row 31 in order to make a stretchy hem. (Photo 3)
Every 10 rows I raise the claw weights at the edge, but allow the center weight to create a constant tension for about 30 rows before it gets advanced. I also decrease the stitch count at several places, so the top of the tube would fit my calf, and the bottom would fit my ankles. I made a smaller mock ribbing at the ankles as well.
Photo 4: The first warmer has been knitted. I'm joining the edges together. My cat, Sam, is supervising. He doesn't mind the noise of the carriage and the needles, so long as there's a warm lap.
Photo 5: One down, one to go!
Photo 6: Ahhh, a new pair of ankle warmers, fresh out of the dryer. I ALWAYS wear wool socks, and the warmers have to fit over them as well.
Next project will be a Danish Shawl; it's a large triangular shawl with tie-cords attached to the ends. You drape the shawl over your shoulders, cross the ends over your front, and tie the cords in the back. The tip of the shawl hides the tie, and extends down past your waist. Because it's tied, you don't have to constantly adjust your shawl to keep it in place.
OK, your turn: what have you been working on?