The Ultimate Sweater Machine

This is the Bond Ultimate Sweater machine. I bought it at Jo-Ann Fabrics online when they had a 50% off coupon on any item. It's not electrical. I spent a couple days learning how to use it, and now I really love it. This machine has 4 carriages and can achieve a range of gauges from about 16 st/4" to 20 st/4" with worsted weight yarn. In addition to stockinette, you can use it for eyelet, cables, ribbing, intarsia, and fair isle, but I like to stick to just stockinette. The special stitches require so much hand manipulation, you could do them faster and in a more comfortable chair by hand.

Each stitch is held by a little metal hook.

This is a sweater front in progress. The machine has very ugly colors.

I mark every tenth row as I go so I can keep track of the count. This is much more reliable than a row-counter. The fabric is stretched downward significantly during the process, so there is no way to eyeball or even measure the length of what you're knitting. You have to know the row gauge ahead and count to arrive at the correct length.

The finished knit pieces curl even more than they would if you hand knit them, but it all comes out in the blocking.

Long-Sleeved Wool Sweater

The camera wasn't working well at the beginning.

The sweater body was knit with the machine. The cuffs, waistband, and collar were done by hand. I'm so happy with this sweater I'm going to reuse the pattern immediately.

seed stitch collar

Striped Hat

After making the underhat I knit this to layer over it, but they look stupid together so I'll save this for warmer days. Doesn't it make me look thin from the back?

Striped Sweater

I knit most of this on the knitting machine, then did the shoulder & neck shaping, lace waistband, turtleneck and sleeve edges by hand. I didn't make the gray turtleneck undershirt I'm wearing here, but the jeans are the original pair I made in 2007 that got this whole project started. Yeah for me! I can get them on again.

Pink Stretchy

hand-knit sweater, stretch cotton

Ear Warming Hat

hand-knit hat with elastic run through edge to hug and warm ears

I recently joined Ravelry. I love the way the "friends" system works. You can add anyone as a friend. It isn't based on reciprocity like on Facebook. It's so much more like real life. I'm sure I have many friends who might not know they're my friends. If you want to be my Ravelry friend, the name I use is Keiler.

Alpaca Sweater

I finished this sweater today. My mom bought the yarn (baby alpaca) and pattern and got up to the armpits on one side and gave up. I happily inherited the project. I was with her when she bought the yarn, and convinced her to get this color, insisting that it's one of the best choices against her skin tone. It happens to work well with mine and is my favorite non-gray color. Yesterday was probably the last day of the season cold enough to wear something like this. I did the exact same thing last year - ended a wool sweater just when temperatures cleared 30 for good.

Wool Mittens

I knit my first pair of mittens. I used a free pattern on the Jo-ann's website. They're kind of big and floppy. My mom laughed at them.

Cabled Hat

Don't get distracted by my face. What you're looking at here is the wool hat that I knit from the fall 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting. These are my first cables. The pattern calls for bulky yarn, but I double stranded with worsted weight. It's very warm, but it barely covers my ears. I wish ear flaps didn't look so stupid, because they really do the job. I also wish people would just give in and start wearing ski/snow pants during the winter. Not just when they're skiing, but for walking to work. It would work better than those long down coats, and could definitely look cool if some effort were made by the designers. Come on, people.

Twinkle Sweater and Unnoticeable Pants

I decided to knit a second sweater from Twinkle's Big City Knits. There were errors in this pattern too, but I've had enough knitting experience now to correct them. It's called the Coco Sweater, but I left off the four pockets and changed the colors, so the design isn't very Coco anymore. What I love about this pattern is the crochet edging. I'm just learning crochet and this was my first project that included it. The sweater is made with three strands of cotton (and various other fibers at different percents) held together. The finished sweater weighs about eight pounds, but it drapes nicely. I'm afraid it's going to seriously sag after a day's wearing. It also snags on everything, so even though it only took four full days to knit it, it will probably have a short life.

The pants were based on Vogue Alice + Olivia pattern 2981 for city shorts that I lengthened. This pattern has the best fly method & instructions I've seen. I used a wool poly blend fabric with a slight stretch and they feel comfortable.

Colorful Sweater

I finished my fair isle/intarsia wool sweater today. I am pleased with it, even though it has its own love handles. It bunches at the waist because it’s too long and the ribbing at the hips causes it to ride up.
I did not make the pants in this photo.

Wool Hat

I knitted this hat. It looks just like one my mom made 25 years ago, except hers was navy and gray. One of my brothers ended up with that hat. It was one of the family possessions we both had our eyes on, but he won that round. We always want the same things.

My strategy in collecting stuff from our parent’s house has simply been to hang around them the most. I mix drinks for my dad and rub my mom’s feet and pretend that their dog is as cute as mine. People are more likely to part with old things after a shopping trip, so I try to get my mom to the mall at least once per visit. Then when she’s finding a place for her new purchase, I might suggest the spot on the window sill where my favorite flower pot sits. If I’m after her jewelry (which is just too easy since I don’t have my brother’s competition here) I just put on a necklace she hasn’t worn much. When she sees it on me she’ll offer it to me.

My sister’s technique is a lot more direct. She’ll just sneak whatever she wants into her suitcase. She’s smart enough to pick things that are stored in the back of closets, so by the time anyone notices the absence she’s back in California.

My other brother probably has the best approach. He never asks for anything. Years pass while three of us are piling up our little trinkets and Mom suddenly realizes she hasn’t given anything to him, so she’ll give him the dining room table or something.

Call Me Lamby

I finished my first knitted item. I feel like a stuffed animal when I wear it, which is kind of embarrassing when I’m out and about, but kind of comforting when I’m at home, looking for cuddle mates. The sweater attracts dog and husband equally.