UPDATE - BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL

I've had a few emails asking whether Our Black Friday special, a free seminar book with any order, is still on.  We've had a good response, but we still have books and you can still get the special. 

DIANA'S BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL

Did you have a lovely Thanksgiving?  We did, and as I think about it, I am very, very thankful for YOU.  Thanks for reading this blog!  Thanks for watching my videos!  Thanks for the photos of projects!  Thanks for the wonderful suggestions!  Thanks for giving me a little knitting business and the opportunity to meet and hug so many wonderful knitters. 

Most of all, thanks for your enthusiasm, creativity and energy for this wonderful art of machine knitting!

I really don't run "sales," but since the stores have "Black Friday" specials, I decided to have one, too!

While the my supply lasts, this weekend's orders will come with a free seminar handout book.  This spiral-bound, lie-flat book contains:

• Favorite Knitting Shortcuts - fast utility cast-on, loop-through-a-loop cast-off, hand knit look cast-off, shortcut picot hem, and set-in sleeve knitted from the top down (no sleeve seam sewing!).
• Garter Bar Basics - adjusting the stopper, using the garter bar as s stitch holder, garter stitch, decreasing evenly across a row, increasing evenly across a row, and gather with the garter bar.
• Garter Bar Dazzlers - move only desired stitches, woven cable, and speed ripping.
• Diana's Most Requested Bulky Projects - circular swirl baby blanket, big, fat slipper sock, tam, shaped Entrelac hat, and no-sew lined slipper.
• Knit Leader Exploration - the practically perfect gauge swatch and various Knit Leader notes.
• Lace Magic - scalloped lace using Stitch World patterns, automatic lace edgings, mirror image lace, and Scalloped Lace Scarf pattern.  (Brother machines)
• Ribber Fun - quilted ribbing, mitered ribbing for bands, two ribber bind-offs, and Bubble Wrap stitch.
• Novelty Technique Demonstrations - ruched heart trim, tiny idiot cord edging, floatless vertical fair isle, helix laid cable, and twisted fringe.
• Bonus - when you can't get gauge:  knitter's math.

New Video for November: Helix Cable

My son Steven, who studied genetic engineering in college, named this cable - Helix.



Give this a try - it's a very easy technique, using idiot cord, that you can do on any Japanese machine.  I suppose you could also do it on a Passap if you can cope with the small gap between the beds.

Brochure About Machine Knitting - Free Download

When I was about to attend the SAFF fiber fair, I created a brochure about machine knitting, which we printed in color on both sides of the page and then folded in thirds (a Z-fold).  We wanted to give them out at the event, because we thought there'd be lots and lots of people who had never heard of or seen a knitting machine.  I entitled it, "Are You Curious About Knitting Machines?" and put in lots of color photos of projects and referred readers back to this blog, where I have so much information about knitting machines.

It was a good thing, too, that we had brochures, because my class was in an out-of-the-way place, and people weren't going to see the knitting machine or samples just by walking by!   We put the brochures at the main exhibit hall entrance.

If you think this might be useful to you when people ask you what a knitting machine is, you're welcome to use it!  It's a .pdf file.   Click here for a copy.  You can save it to your computer and email it to friends, or you can print it out to give away.

Passap E6000 Knitting Machine - Free to Someone in Florida

HI have heard from Tina in Florida.  She has packed up her E6000 and wants to gift it into a very good home.  This is a Swiss double-bed electronic machine, and quite valuable.

 

Please email me if you are in the Bradenton/Sarasota/St. Petersburg, Florida area, would like the machine and can go pick it up. 

 

Also, I know from purchasing my own E6 (thanks, Pamela F., I still love it), that you will need a very large trunk, mini-van or truck, and it would be very helpful to bring along someone with muscles. These are plastic bed machines and should be moved gently; I wouldn't try to ship it commercially.

Enlighten Me

I'm a big believer in focus.  Life is hectic, so I try to figure out what's most important to do next and put my attention into that.

With that outlook, it's no big surprise that I haven't gotten very involved in social media.  I have a Facebook page, because a few years ago, I was asked to do that for a volunteer gig, but I don't use it much these days.  There's a Facebook machine knitting page, but it isn't really active. Facebook is nice for keeping in touch with family members out of state, especially sharing photos and events.  I like looking at the latest pix of my great-nieces.

I have a Ravelry ID but hardly ever go there.  I don't quite understand Pinterest.  I also have a Linked In membership, which I use entirely for accounting and Scouting contacts, my day job stuff, and it's useful for professional contacts, networking, and discussions.

I recognize that I've got lots of blind spots, and maybe my failure to "get" social media is one of them.  On the other hand, maybe I should spend the time knitting and figuring out the next book.

I am old, but I can learn.  I have adapted to texting my sons.  I can't imagine why they would rather type than talk, but whatever it takes...

What do you think?  In my effort to popularize machine knitting and stay in touch with readers, would it add value if I used social media?  Which ones?  Google plus?  Facebook?  Ravelry? 

Fabled Cables

I've been working on the new book, "Fabled Cables," and made up three more samples today.  Fiddling away on the knitting machine has convinced me that I should film with the easy-to-see bulky machine and probably knit actual cable projects on the mid-gauge and standard machines - it's just not cold enough here to need such very heavy knits.

I always have little piles of bad samples when I play with techniques, but when I get a good one, I make a big sample and write notes.  Here is a shot of the good samples from today.