So long!

It has been a very long time since we have posted anything on this blog, but it has been a very busy few years, and I'm happy to say we are still machine knitting, and hand knitting, and all sorts of other creative things.  Including my related work in progress of organizing my new studio!

HOW IT STARTED:                                             HOW IT'S GOING:

The current machine knitting project is a collaboration with Memory Lane Heritage Village and I encourage you to visit their website and follow them on social media for information and updates on the project over the next few weeks and months.   And of course, if you're in Nova Scotia, show them some much-needed love and go for a tour.

As for this blog, it will remain up, but for new projects, including the current one with Memory Lane, please check out Ciobair Fibre Designs and Sheep's Clothing.

Happy Knitting!

Nancy

October Events

Fall is definitely in the air as we fast approach the middle of October, and I have a few things to catch you up on.

First, let me congratulate and thank The Island (PEI) Knitters Club on a terrific seminar a couple of weeks ago.  This year's presenter was Diana Sullivan (link in the sidebar), and it was wonderful to meet her in person and get a great refresher on many useful techniques.  The seminar was very well attended, and it was also nice to see many familiar faces, as well as meet new people, and as always come home inspired.  Here are some random pictures from the weekend.

Next year's seminar will be hosted jointly by the Annapolis Valley Machine Knitting Guild and the Metro Machine Knitters.  Here is a note from the president of the Annapolis Valley group:

The two Nova Scotia groups, Annapolis Valley Machine Knitters and Metro Machine Knitters, will host a knitting weekend similar to the one we hosted in 2016. It will again be held at the Lions Club Hall in Wolfville. The dates are Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, 2019. Lunch will be served by the Lions on both days. Our first knitting weekend proved to be a fun time. We all got to knit and learn new techniques and be refreshed in old techniques. Our membership numbers are quite low and a seminar with a presenter just isn't within our monetary range anymore. We found our knitting weekend less stressful to host.

In the coming months you will be receiving updates on registration costs, etc. We would appreciate input from you on what you might like to do and any ideas that you may have. I hope you will consider attending as there seems to be more inter-connecting among attendees at a function such as this.

I heard that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the PEI Seminar and Diana Sullivan. I am very sorry that I could not attend. Looking forward to seeing you in Wolfville, N.S. in September 2019.

Linda Wood-Carey

We have two events coming up on Saturday, October 27, both in Musquodoboit Harbour.  The first is our next library get-together.  Here is a word from Lynne about that:

On October 27 from 10am until 5pm The Eastern Shore Gang will be hosting an MK Workshop at the Musquodoboit Library.

The PEI seminar with Diana Sullivan has inspired all of us who attended to dig out our garter bars, dust them off, and work our way through the exercises in the seminar booklet.

I will also circulate a simple toque pattern that you can make on your machine with a garter bar or by using waste yarn.

The library can accommodate ten Knitters in the multi purpose room with tables and chairs provided. There is also a kitchen to heat up lunches or to make a cup of tea or coffee (you bring supplies).

Here is what you need to bring;

A machine and appropriate garter bar. MK tools, weights, etc., yarn appropriate to your machine, a mix of light colours is a good idea, and lunch (we’ll take a break at 12:30 and there is a bakery and a few food outlets close by).

It will be a day of sharing what we learned at the seminar, and asking for help when our memories fail us.

Please let me know if you plan to attend so we can let the library know how many people to expect and to have extra tables set up if needed.

I’m looking forward to using my garter bar that I have neglected for far too long.

Hope to see you!

Lynne

Please let us know if you are able to come by emailing Lynne or leaving a comment below.

And on the same day, there will be a Fibre Festival at the Old School Community Gathering Place.  Here is information on that:

I have been busy imagining and planning my new studio in our new house, currently under construction, so although I am separated from my machines and most of my yarn and other "stuff" that is in storage, I am the luckiest person in the world to have this opportunity to create a whole new, spacious space in which to create.  Here is a sneak peak at this work in progress.

Until next time,

Nancy

Random Links

I've been saving up some links to some blogs that I follow that I thought I would share.

The first is an interesting post about making pleated fabric here, and something I would like to experiment with once my machine is out of storage.

The second is about importing images into DAK using the Paint program, here, that might be of interest to those of you with DAK.  The example is using Zentangles, but I would think the principles would apply to almost any image.  Again, something I'm bookmarking to try later.

The third link is a little bit of eye candy here - some Australian makers doing some innovative work with knitting machines.  Enjoy!

The fourth, and last link, is Susan Guagliumi's most recent blog post about converting a hand knit pattern to machine knitting, here. 

Lots of inspiration here.  If you know of any others that you'd like to share drop the link in the comments  Have a lovely long weekend!

Nancy

What's Up?

In a blur, it seems, here we are at the beginning of the last week of August, the best laid plans laying at the feet of good intentions.  And even though technically we have almost another month of summer, and even though I have long been out of school, my children are grown, and my grandchildren are not yet old enough for school, I still think of September as the beginning of a "new year".

It's been a lovely summer - too hot for my taste, and for much knitting, but I do now have a new stock of hand knit dish cloths to replace my worn and fraying ones, since that was about the only thing I could bear to knit in the humidity that gripped us for much of the summer.  And I have gone from having about 60% of my "stuff" packed away in storage to 90% as we moved out of our home at the end of June and into an apartment while our new house is being built.  That is a big change, an exciting one, and a situation that gives cause to reflect on the amount of "stuff" one accumulates in this life.  But that is a post for another day.

To escape the unfamiliar confines of a hot apartment away from the ocean breezes with which we were blessed for almost 30 years, I managed to take in a number of the events that I let you know about first here.

First, I attended the first annual Truro Fibre Frolic.  Many great vendors and demonstrations, including our very own Leslie Hauck, owner of the Spinner's Loft here on the Eastern Shore.

The following weekend I attended the opening of the Women's Heritage Celebration at Memory Lane.  Here are some pictures of these talented ladies and their beautiful work.

Below - Lynne Pascoe, Sheep's Clothing, demonstrating the circular sock machine, and a display of their products.

At left, Jan Foley, Salty Hag Studio, and her beautiful needle felted animals.

Photo on the right and below - Gail Lambert, Hook Me Up Rug Supplies, and a display of her stunning work.

 Photo on the right - a display of Leslie's work (Spinner's Loft mentioned above).
















Alas I missed the Cole Harbour Fibre Frolic, but I hear it was a great success.  If anyone has any pictures and/or feedback let me know!

And neither last nor least, Woolstock in Tatamagouche, which I managed to get to yesterday for the fibre market, which was held on the final day of the 8 day event.

So still ahead on the calendar of fibre-y goodness - beginning September 11, and every Tuesday from 1 to 3:30, at the Old School Community Gathering Place, there will be a Fibre Arts Drop In Studio.  The cost is a flat $15, which covers September through December weekly drop in dates.  Whatever your talent, bring your projects, questions, and expertise along for a relaxing afternoon of good conversation and inspiration.

At the end of September, I am very excited for the Maritime Machine Knitter's Seminar, this year in Charlottetown, and featuring Diana Sullivan.  In October there is Celtic Colours in Cape Breton, the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival in Amherst, and finally the brand new Fibre on the Shore Festival on October 27 here in Musquodoboit Harbour.  Stay tuned here for more information on that event.

I hope that you have all had a summer filled with the things that you love to do and the people that you love to do them with, as well as time for reflection and recharging, as we begin a "new year".

Nancy

What's Hot! - UPDATE

UPDATE - See bold item below.

What's hot?  Well definitely the weather - stay cool and don't forget to hydrate!  But really I'm posting a reminder of some hot (or cool) fibre-related events going on that you may want to check out.

First off, this coming weekend (July 6 and 7, 9 to 4 each day) is the Truro Fibre Frolic at the Farm Equipment Museum in Truro.   Check out their Facebook page for more information and a list of vendors.

From Friday, July 13 to Sunday, July 15, at Memory Lane - 1940's Heritage Village Museum, share in the Women's Heritage Celebration with exhibits, workshops by local artists, demonstrations, and old fashioned tea social.  This year's theme is wooly!

On Saturday, July 28, from 10 to 4 PM, is the Cole Harbour Fibre Frolic at the Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum.  You can check out the Facebook page for this event for more details.

From August 18 to the 25th, Sisterhood Fibres is also hosting "Woolstock - 8 days of fleece & sisterhood" in conjunction with Tata Fest in Tatamagouche.  Details are still being finalized so check the links and Facebook event pages often for updates.

For more information on other events happening in the area in the near future, check out my April blog post.   And please let me know if I've missed an event.

Also hot (off the press), Susan Guagliumi has a new book out entitled Open Spaces and I absolutely did order a copy as soon as she announced it, and plan to post a review in the near future.  If you have it and have tried, or plan to try, any of the techniques or projects, let us know in the comments!

Also in the comments, let us know what you're working on this summer.  Or what you'd like to learn, do or see.  Or maybe we'll run into each other at one of the events, even better!

Have a wonderful summer,

Nancy

The Baby Surprise Jacket

Once again, thanks are due to Judie for a new project inspiration!  This time I turn my attention to Elizabeth Zimmerman's hand knit pattern called the Baby Surprise Jacket, and the machine knit adaptation credited to Alethea Robinson which can be found here.

If you are a hand knitter, you likely are familiar with Elizabeth Zimmerman's work, but if you're not I would encourage you to look her up!  Her main design philosophy is one of understanding your knitting and not "blindly following" a pattern, which is certainly what we have been working on in this blog!  Some of her patterns are very traditional, but the ones I admire the most are the ones that employ unique construction techniques (like the Baby Surprise Jacket, hereafter in this post to be referred to as the BSJ) or instructions that are guidelines and learning opportunities, not necessarily row-by-row instructions.

As an example of this, one of the first Zimmerman designs I tackled, many years ago, was her Pi Shawl.  It is still one of my top ten fun projects that I have ever knit, because you can decide as you go what you want to do.  Interweave published a great article a few years ago on it that you may want to check out here. 

Another example of her unique construction techniques is her pattern for her Sideways Mystery Mittens.  Even if you find them a bit odd looking, the construction is fascinating and opens the door (and mind) to other non-traditional construction techniques which could also be adapted to machine knitting.  I have the Schoolhouse Press DVDs "Knitting Workshop" and "A Knitting Glossary" and if you can get your hands on either or both of those through the library, a friend, or the website I highly recommend them.  In one of those she talks about the inspiration behind her pattern for the Bog Jacket, and why its construction method is of specific interest to weavers because of the minimal waste of any fabric as it comes off the loom.  For a little history on the bog jackets in general you can go to this link.

As I was looking into trying to find the hand knitting pattern for the BSJ, I saw that Zimmerman's grandson has published a book entitled The Complete Surprise which expands on the BSJ to include information on how to make many modifications, including custom sizing to make an Adult Surprise jacket, or using the mitering technique to construct other types of garments including a bolero, a scarf, a bonnet, and a baby snuggle suit, to name a few.

So here is my first kick at the can, using Premiere Yarns "Candy Shop", a self striping 100% acrylic yarn.

This takes no time at all to knit up, and the fun starts in deciding how to finish it - what type of ribbing to add to the bottom and cuffs (if any), and what to do around the neck and front opening, etc.  The body of the sweater itself employs short rowing as you can see by the triangle cutouts in the schematic above.  Everything else is up to you - yarn, gauge, how to cast on, how to cast off, and how to embellish.  I encourage you to check out the Ravelry group devoted to this project, the Wiki they have created that has a wealth of information, and also Roberta Rose Kelley's YouTube video on the BSJ. 

The ingenuity of Elizabeth Zimmerman was extraordinary and her patterns and construction methods are timeless.

Nancy

Spring Cleaning

I have a two new events to add to my list from my previous post "What's Going On" (thank you to Lynne and Margaret for the information!).  Knitters' Day, will be held on Saturday, June 9, at the Hooked Rug Museum of North America.  You can visit their website for more information.  June 9th is World Wide Knit in Public Day so celebrate the craft by letting your knitting flag fly! 

Spring Clean Your Knitting Machine will be happening at the Musquodoboit Harbour Public Library on Thursday, April 26, from 5 to 8 PM.   Here is the description from Lynne:

We plan to start at 5pm and finish at 8pm but if you are interested but can’t make it that early just come when you can.

We will show you how to take the needles and sponge bar out of your machine, what supplies you need and how to clean and lubricate the machine, and how to put it back together again.

We’ll bring a vacuum cleaner, brush, fine steel wool, paper towels, and machine oil (I have a small amount of oil for sale if you don’t have any - but  I need to know well in advance if you need to purchase this). 

You need to bring your machine; two wide mouth jars suitable for holding 100 needles each  (pickle jars work great); soft rags (t-shirts are perfect); an old toothbrush; a small container of oil (usually comes with your machine); and two bottles of rubbing alcohol (available at most Dollar Stores).

We need you to pre-register (just send me a quick e-mail) so we know what supplies to bring and how many tables to set up. And we’ll have a Toonie Jar to help cover supplies.

We promise your knitting machine will sing when you take it home.

Leave a comment below if you are interested in attending, or check out the Sheep's Clothing Facebook page to find the event.

All this talk of knitting and spring and cleaning inspired me to pull out a new-to-me machine that I bought about a year ago and give it a good cleaning and inspection.  The machine is a Singer MK70, purchased so that I can have a machine that is portable for just these types of events.  If you're not familiar with this machine, it's a 6.0 mm punch card machine that folds up to about the size of a portable sewing machine.  Here is what it looks like in its case.

One of the side buckles that holds the case to the bottom of the machine bed is broken, hence the patriotic luggage strap on the left side.  Here is what it looks like with the cover off.

Pretty nifty isn't it?  The two ends of the bed fold down and slide/click in place.  The clear plastic "bucket" holds accessories and tools, and the carriage sinker plate folds down and locks into place.  The yarn tension mast unfolds.  If you're interested here is a YouTube video from the Woolen Diva showing the unpacking of this machine.

Since I bought this knitting machine specifically so that I would have a portable option for group get-togethers, I decided that it would be quite helpful to purchase a small hand truck as well that could hold yarn, projects, books and more accessories as well as carry the machine easily for me.  Here is what I purchased - all I need is another luggage strap to secure the machine to the handle and I'm fully mobile!

Back to the cleaning, however.  I assembled my supplies as pictured below.

More supplies than necessary as it turned out, but here's the list:

1. Coffee
2. foam tipped cleaning swabs, and smaller foam tipped cosmetic applicators
3. Lori-Lin knitting machine lube spray (apparently no longer available?)
4. Unique sewing machine oil
5. mason jar
6. isopropyl alcohol
7. dollar store plastic table cloth in a fashionable floral print
8. paper towel
9. shark hand held vacuum
10. soft rags/cloths

I have to say, when I unpacked this machine I was surprised at how clean it was already.  I don't think it was ever used much.

No yarn entwined under the brushes, everything moving that should be and not moving if it shouldn't.  So really all the carriage required was a wipe off and fresh application of oil.

Another thing worth noting about this machine is that there is no sponge bar (presumably because the bed folds), so instead there are little plastic pieces in the needle track that serve to tension the needles as they move back and forth.  

So I proceeded to remove and inspect the needles and set them up for a good day's soak in the mason jar in a bath of isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of sewing machine oil, like so:

It's hard to see in the picture above, but the alcohol mixture is a couple of inches deep, so the needles aren't fully immersed, but every time I walked by the jar throughout the day I gave it a shake and a roll.  After a day in the bath, the grime was evident in the alcohol solution so I knew it was doing its job!

I used the foam tipped swabs to clean out the needle channels and other hard to get places on the machine bed and carriage, and my cloth rag to give everything a good all over wipe down.

And that's really all that needed to be done.  I'm looking forward to using this machine and learning about knitting with a punch card - I've never done that before.

Hopefully you're able to take in the machine cleaning event on the 26th!  And at least some of the other events listed in the last post.

Nancy