and now in living color

yesterday was spent studying my hand manipulated stitches book as i need intellectual support for my sampling. i want/ need to understand what's going on and why things happen.then i'll start designing my own stuff. but for now the safety net of a recipe helps me understand and build confidence.

one thing leads to another to another and yet to another more. in short, ended ordering the harmony guide to machine knitting stitches by barbara devaney which apparently is one of the bibles in the subject. i also felt very virtuous because i bought it from a goodwill storefront in amazon  ^_^.

one thing i know for now, not interested in fairisle. we'll see later.

two color knitting can last me for the rest of this life. although the same at first glance  stitch in the photo above is quite different from this one.

and this is ruling out stripes. 

see what i mean?

neki desu
 

more 2 color sampling

getting in control of the bubbles. producing them at will :)



looking into a color changer which promises automatic yarn change.
i have yet to see a mechanical automatization. sounds like an oximoron doesn't it? anyway it will do away with unwanted stripes

like these for example.

slip stitch sample. or is it tuck? i was using punchcards and doing both tuck and slip without taking notes or marking the sample, of course.

a needle misbehaving. there is a problem with the latch not opening. good grief! i am in command of the nomenclature :)
if you want to know more about knitting machines go here.






neki desu

narrowing choices and serendipity

realized that if i want to really grasp the whys and hows i need to narrow the knitting choices.
i am basically interested in grungy knitting : holes, dropped ,stitches and  ladders. i am also interested in two color knitting especially creating maze effect, something akin to shadow weave. yes, i always go back to weaving :) as a result i will drive my efforts and concentrate on those two , that by the way will take up my next three lives.
the back of the knitting looks dismal with all those floats! the front is much more promising.





mazes knit cool but they require a lot of concentration, note the solid bands as a result of not changing the color.you could really plan those as design elements.
i am thinking of arty pieces knitted in mazes.

2 color bars . ok, but not a killer.
maybe worked in two textures they could be  more interesting-

serendipity! i forgot to engage the punch card the needles were already selected, but as the card wasn't moving the same pattern yarn kept repeating, resting on top of the needle.after 10-15 pasess i became aware of all those floats on the needles and engaged the card.it knitted a pass catching the floats and making them bubble out.

i'm sure all you experienced mktters know this, but for me was discovering how to make bubbles!

need to work on extrapolations of that.

did i say my next three lives?

neki desu