A knitting machine

This morning I slept in. For an ordinary sleeper, this would mean 10 a.m., but when you usually wake at 4, 6 feels just like sleeping in. So no knitting content this morning.

A month or so ago, one of the items in the store newsletter was from a woman who was moving out of country, and who had two knitting machines to sell. One sold almost instantly, and I did think about going to look at the remaining machine, but I was slow and assumed it would be gone just as fast. Last week I learned that the move was imminent, and the machine had still not sold. I went and took a look and came home with it. it is a bulky machine, meaning it can do down to about worsted weight yarn, and has a ribber and lead with it. There is a table to set it all up on and there are all kinds of little bits and pieces that I haven't even looked at yet.

I like the idea of being able to do bigger projects just a little more quickly. I can't see me doing anything too fancy, but if all I use it for is blankets, and afghans, and plain knitting, I'll save hours of hand knitting time for smaller yarns and fancier knitting. I can see using it for plain backs and sleeves, combined with hand knit fronts too. It might be a great way to get some knitting for felted bags done. I am also fully aware that this machine might get as much use as my sewing machine, which has not been used in a long, long time.

I know there is a huge learning curve and I am sort of looking forward to it. Reading the wee bit I have on the Internet, has taught me that I have to think about machine knitting in a very different way. It isn't going to be a problem. My adventures into knitting this last year or so, have been about learning to look at it in a different way and that there is no wrong in knitting, there are just different way of getting to the same end. I suspect that this will have a little less of the flexibility of hand knitting, but more speed.

I'm going to try a baby sweater on it shortly. A small sweater will teach me all the things I need to know about most sweater construction. Sleeve decreases, ribbing. It should all be there. With luck and a little Internet searching, I hope to have actual knitting from it soon.

And time. I'll need some time before there is actual real wearable knitting from it. That always does seem to be the missing ingredient. If we could just invent a machine to give us all a little more time...