4 health benefits of knittingAside from allowing you to create beautiful pieces of clothing, knitting can also be beneficial towards your mental and physical well-being. Here are four ways knitting can benefit your health.
By Kate Daley
http://www.canadianliving.com/healthprevention4_health_benefits_of_knitting.php
http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/us/pattern.php?id=6952
Drops (garnstudio) is offering a free pattern that I thought was Delightful.
I hung mine on the fridge door. Just a bit of yarn bombing in my kitchen. :-)
In the depths of winter, our Canadian houses become very dry, the lower the outside temp, the drier. Today -14C.
One solution that I use, is to wash some wool sweaters and air dry them. I soak them in warm water with a bit of detergent meant for delicates in the washing machine. No agitation. Then, spin on the delicate setting, rinse and spin again.
Here is a photo of a draped sweater over a hassock. The mid afternoon afternoon sun is playing tricks with my light for taking a picture.
Knitting machines are complex bits of machinery. They require a learning period and are offered in a variety of degrees of complexity. Metal based or plastic, some for thin yarns and others for thicker yarns.
DETERMINE: your wants and needs. The following website has a few articles about the various machines. Do take the time to read, I’m not repeating that valuable info in this posting. Www.Yarn-store.com
SHOPPING:
A NEW machine can be purchased from a few Distributers in North America. Since there are very few Knitting Machine Dealers/Stores, it will most likely be by MailOrder and should arrive in good order. When purchasing a new machine there is peace of mind that the machine is not malfunctioning and problems are due to operator error.
PRE-OWNED knitting machines are available. Some are beloved, well cared for and others are dusty, dirty and damaged with pieces missing. This will be reflected in the Asking Price. Many Brands have not been manufactured for over 10 to 20 years. Parts are in limited supply or NOT available at all. Some buyers need to purchase a PARTS machine.
Keep in mind that these are machines, even though many are perfectly running and functioning, they are usually 20 to 30 years old, the Electronics, the Plastics and rubber is also that old. They can be brittle, hard and discoloured.
DEMO: If a seller can provide a demo of a machine, that is a bonus.
PHOTOS: are nice including Close ups. Sometimes, the closeup makes the item look worse than it is in real life.
EXPECTATIONS: A knitting machine with all the parts included. There is a picture in the front of the manual that shows ALL parts that were sold with the machine. Most of them are CRITICAL and All MANUALS that came with the machine. Without them it is very, very difficult to learn how to operate the machine without some sort of Lessons. You Tube is not enough.
Manuals are available on the Internet. It is well worth to print out all 80 pages or so.
SHIPPING: a PRE-OWNED one will not likely have the original cardboard boxes and ones would need to be constructed. These machines usually travel on a conveyor and drop into bins during shipping. They are NOT manually handled. Extra protection ( solid styrofoam) for ends of the machine is prudent for a successful delivery.
A Road trip is worthwhile.
There is no perfect knitting machine that will do everything. The Hobby plastic bed Machines such as the Silver-Reed LK150 or a Pre-owned Brother 350 are good entry points for learning how to use the Knitting Machines.
For Production use, a Metal Bed machine is the best choice.
ENJOY the journey………..using a Knitting Machine is a wonderful hobby or occupation.
Yet Another Canadian Artisan, 2015
Mary Anne Cutler
A Guideline on How to SELL a KNITTING MACHINE for NON Knitters
A knitting machine is a complex item. There are various levels of complexity and are priced accordingly. Most of the machines in the Used Marketplace are 20 to 30 years old, some with electronics that are also 30 years old. Some are metal, some are plastic, some are mechanical. It all matters.
1. Find the MANUALS. They should be nearby the knitting machines, but often have been placed on a bookshelf.
2. There is a page near the front of the manual that shows a PICTURE of all the pieces that came with the machine and should be sold with the machine. The manuals, the punchcards, the mylar pattern reader cards.
3. GATHER the pieces together. Clean them if necessary. A Dirty, dusty machine will not bring in the best dollar.
4. DETERMINE the Brand and Model name and number. This is necessary for advertising and fielding questions from buyers. This will also indicate the complexity of the machine.
5. PHOTOS. Take pictures of the pkg and closeups of the main pieces. Take photos of the covers of the manuals and any other books or yarns that you are including in your sale.
6. ADVERTISE locally first. A local pickup is best. Do mention Your CITY. Some buyers will take a roadtrip to you or meet in the middle. If, there is a Knitting Machine dealer nearby, the owner may take it in on consignment or purchase it.
7. SHIPPED knitting machines often arrive at their destination DAMAGED due to insufficient packing. The goods travel on conveyor belts and drop into large sized bins and drop 4 ft or so. The machines, being heavy on one end, flip and fall on their ends, damaging the machine. The plastic parts on the machine are becoming brittle with age and cracks and break. Replacement plastics are very difficult to locate for repair. When shipping, be prepared to spend time and materials for safe transit. Solid styrofoam on the ends of the machines for cushioning during transit. Peanuts are NOT adequate. Double boxing is best.
8. PRICING is probably the most difficult aspect. 1/2 price of the original price is fair and a good start. If, the electronics are questionable, then the value becomes much less to almost $0.00 as some Brands no longer have replacement parts. It would then be considered a PARTS MACHINE. Most manufacturers have ceased production, 10 to 15 years ago.
Although, you may not be familiar with knitting machines, following the above suggestions, should result in a win/win sale.
Yet Another Canadian Artisan 2015
Mary Anne Cutler,
http://www.cutlermac.wordpress.com
On the knitting forums, I have been reading about knitters that are new to the use of the Knitting Machine and are frustrated. Machine knitting has quite a learning curve. It is not a matter of threading the yarn and pushing the carriage across the a bed full of needles.
The first place to learn about knitting with the mainbed and/or the ribber is the Manual that came with the Machine. It’s somewhat like cooking. If, it’s not done right, it goes into the garbage. As we all know, some cooking recipes require a knowledge of basics and others are very detailed. Knitting machine patterns are the same.
Begin at the front of the manual. If, your manual is downloaded from the internet, print it out. You will be glad you did. I know it is alot of pages, they are ALL important. Then, proceed to work your way throughout the various samples. Each sentence is important, each setting on the diagram is important. Watch the needles and the yarn on every row and recognize what is happening.
Jumping around the manual is a waste of time and frustrating, because you won’t know why you are executing a particular setting.
Trying to sort out a problem on a group list is helpful, but the readers need to know specific settings, type of yarn, machine being used etc to solve the problem. One machine cannot use all weights of yarn.
Lastly, a new knitter needs classes of one sort or another, be it a DVD, a seminar, private classes from a local tutor. A 2 minute You tube video is not enough until you have learned the basics.
Vogue Live often hosts the renowned Susan Guagliumi teaching classes on the SilverReed knitting machine and would be well worth the bucks, especially, if one is local. For out of towners, a day or a weekend in the Location site is worth the time spent as there are other knitting events going on throughout the weekend.
Mary Anne Cutler
http://www.cutlermac.wordpress.com
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/other/how-to-make-pretty-felted-soap/100465
I ran across this free tutorial and thought it interesting. I haven’t tried it yet, but it is on my short bucket list.
The developer has other interesting fibre projects on her website.
HOW TO………
Any yarn using a suitable needle size. The Heavier the yarn, the finished item will be heavier.
Cast-on 3 stitches.
Knit 4 rows GARTER STITCH
Increases are every 6 rows and on one side only.
When width is achieved, cast off 1 stitch every 6 rows.
Loopy edge is achieved by increasing 4 stitches, then on next row cast-off 3 of those new stitches. (Makes an increase of on stitch. )
Decreases similar. The decrease stitch is done K2TG, before the cast-on of 4 stitches and cast-off of the 3 stitches.
