What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I decided to try doing stranded work on the LK150. I had somewhat mixed results. The first swatch showed me I'm still learning the technique. The tricky bit of trial and error is the keeping the trial going with all of the errors. 
I was pretty sure the tension was too tight so I changed that to prevent the dropped stitches. It got better but it still dropped some stitches. This try was much better. I'll have to keep working at it but I think this might not be the best yarn for this project. It is still ...

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I picked up some of this cute yarn at the local big box store to knit a few hats. First, I knit a swatch at what I figured were the right settings on the LK150. I like the resulting fabric so I did some  stich counting, measurements, math, and cast on. 
I used instructions I'd seen on the Machine Knitting Beginners and Returners Circle to make the crown of the hat in four sections.. I only dropped a single section when working. I had failed to load the yarn in the carriage. 
I sewed it up and it came ...

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I picked up some of these Red Heart yarns at a discount store. 
I grabbed this bright yellow to make up a hat on the LK150.
While this yarn is a worsted, the content makes it a really stiff yarn. I think I knitted it at too small a gauge. 
I mean, it looks fin here, but this is definitely sized for a baby. I'll give it another go with some adjusted settings. I want it to work. And if it doesn't work? Well, I can always crochet a hat. 

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Remember this project I was working on last week? Well... 
I made it about halfway through before things went pear-shaped. Meaning, I incorrectly estimated the amount of yarn I had available. I incorrectly transferred a stitch. And then I dropped too many stitches to recover from the miscalculations. 
This project taught me a few things. I learned I like to look of this lace pattern much more than I like hand-manipulating the stitches to make the lace. I may try slip-stitch designs next. 
I also learned that while there is a bunch of yarn in a Caron Skinny Cake there ...

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I decided it was time to get the LK150 out and knit something. I grabbed this Caron Skinny Cake and the knitting machine.
I recently discovered KnitFactoryImpl on YouTube (YouTube link). They have some great machine knitting videos. This shawl design was intriguing so I'm giving it a try. So far it's going well. I'm excited about the short row knitting to come. 

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A friend of min had some Lion Brand Mandala she no longer wanted. She gave it to me and I decided to turn it into hats. This is what it looked like on the machine before I started the decreases for the top of the hat. 
This photo, and the next, are more for me than you. Tension can be a tricky thing for a machine knitter. This is my tension setting on the yarn mast. I almost never change it. I just set it there and leave it alone. 
What I do change, is the stitch length selector. This ...

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Last week I did some machine knitting. I knit up baby hats in yellow. 
I knit up hats in gray. I knit them up in gray and yellow. 

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I set up my knitting machine this week and managed to make three little newborn hats. These are quick little projects. 

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Look what I bought!
After borrowing my friend's LK150 knitting machine I decided to buy my own. 
This machine is really a great way to get into machine knitting. This is what it comes with. Machine and carriage, row counter, yarn mast, comb weights, and more. Everything you need to get started. 
Stitch transfer tools, spare needles, claw weights, ravel cord, latching tool, clamps, machine oil. 
I added in some clamps and more claw weights. Now, I'm ready to get back to knitting tiny hats. 

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I have this collection of blue yarn perfect for felting. 
I used the LK150 and a video tutorial to make some more slippers
I finished them what seems like ages ago but I didn't wash them to felt them up until recently. Here is how they compare to my earlier experiments. Felting is not very precise and more of an experiment each time I do it. 
They came out great! I still have yarn that will felt so expect to see more of these. 

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More charity baby hats!
I had ten to drop off with Annapolis Quilts for Kids last Saturday. This is the machine I borrowed from a friend. I like machine knitting enough I've decided to buy my own LK 150 so I can keep making these charity hats. 

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Last week end I pulled out the LK150 and knit up some more baby hats for charity. 
These little hats work up quickly, with the knitting taking about 30 minutes for each hat. I then spend another 10-15 minutes seaming them. These will be headed to Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

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I tried another version of this shawl. Sometimes I fail to read my work. For those of you that don't knit, or crochet, it is just where you look at what you have already done so you know where to place your increases and decreases later in the work. This is a great example of that not happening. Those three little holes don't belong. I had to remove the work from the machine and start over. 

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I picked up several of these Caron Skinny Cakes from the big box store. They are discontinued and were marked down to $5. Perfect for learning. 
I did some experimenting with short rows and eyelets. Until I make a mistake too big to come back from. 
I ripped it out so I could start again. This is just part of the process. Yarn is rarely ruined after a single use. 

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After the last pair of felted slippers turned out too small I decided to give it another try. I modified my notes to make the slipper wider and longer. 
I knit up the pair on the LK150. 
And sewed them up. I so enjoy the color blocking on this design. It's something you can't do easily while knitting in the round. 
Here is what that unfelted (top) slipper looks like next to the felted slipper I made (bottom). 
Here is how it felted up. Sadly, it is still too small for me. I figure the size is around ...

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I decided to give felted slippers another chance. This was my second attempt. I make major changes to the design I was using and I'm much happier with this style. Yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. It felts up so nicely. 
These are knit flat on the LK150 knitting machine and then the sides are seamed by hand. The color changes are partially a style choice and partially to assist with lining up that hand seaming. 
This time the felting was just awesome! Unfortunately, I didn't knit them big enough so these are really a child ...

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Sometimes when I get a little stressed I think I need more fabric or yarn. This past week was a yarn week. I popped over to the nearest craft store (big box craft store) and bought some Lion Brand Yarn. Most of this is Shawl in a Ball (discontinued, so if you like this ombre yarn head to your nearest big box store and stock up), with a couple balls of Heartland. It seems I was in the mood for purples. I used the Shawl in a Ball yarn to make a couple shawls on the LK 150. I made ...

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I've been experimenting with making felted slippers on the knitting machine. This was my first try. 
Sure, it started out huge, felting works like that. 

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I've been trying to make a shawl with the LK150 knitting machine. I'm not having much success. 
That isn't entirely true. I'm having some success. I managed to make the first half of the shawl before I dropped a bunch of stitches. 
Then, I managed to make the first half of the shawl again. Again I dropped a bunch of stitches. This is completely operator error. Knitting machines take a level of attention I am still learning. 
Then, I managed to complete the shawl, wrong. This was entirely my fault for misunderstanding the directions. Both sides ...

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Sometimes things don't go as planned. I was nearing the cast off of this machine knit hat and managed to drop all the stitches. That just means I got to knit it again. It wasn't the right size anyway. I cast on again and managed to finish the hat. I'm still trying to figure out the perfect tension and stitch counts to reliably make a beanie appropriate for my noggin. I'm hoping to figure it out so I can make some more charity hats. I should use my Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns to get ...

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