It's about time.....

It is out of the box!

I bought this piece of equipment after first year machine knitting at school - with the full intention of keeping up so that when I start back with the subject, I would not have lost all the skills. Needless to say, it had been in the box for a couple of years now. The only time I had it out was to learn how to give it a mini-service! (it was a very useful thing)

Well, I can't even remember how to start......

The yarn broke multiple times when I tried to cast on and knit the first row. I am not sure what I have done wrong. I checked the instruction book again - suddenly the light bulb comes on!

The russell levers. Then it worked.

There is this technique called platting that I learnt at the machine knitting club and I really want to experiment with it. It allows control of which side the yarn sits when I use more than one type.

The grey colour yarn is the platting yarn (appears on purl side) and sits behind the yarn feeder hole while the main yarn is in the yarn feeder (appears on knit side) and in this case, is not continuous.

The winter of discontent

It had been weeks,

of having the flu,

of coughing,

of exhaustion and lack of concentration,

of postponed visits with friends,

of cancelled excursions to exhibitions/craft show that has since finished,

of broken warp threads,

of missed opportunities,

of stagnation ........

Somehow, the simplest things do not go according to plan.

Surely, it is time for change. The sun was out today. There is less than a month to Spring.

It is time:

for renewed energy,

for new projects to take shape,

for a new warp on the loom,

for new book to read,

for better health,

for connections with friends and family,

for looking forward,

for better things to come........

Postscript: In this period of discontent, there was a very contented pushy cat.......