Yoke sweater (continued)

 We went to Michigan for a few days.  While Ed worked on tractors, I participated in another yarn shop hop.  

On the first day, I went to:

New Ewe in Newago

 Knit & Spin in Montague 

Nautical Yarn in Ludington

Get Crafty in Evart

On the second day, Ed went with me and we drove up the coast.  We stopped at:

Wool and Honey in Cedar

Leelanau Fiber in Sutton's Bay

Lost Art in Traverse City

We had a gorgeous day for a drive, although I heard it was raining at home.  The leaves are just starting to turn colors.  

Believe it or not, Ed would not come into the stores without me.

Yes, I added to my stash.   I got some new tools, and even a T-shirt.  

I got some really good deals because I bought sale items which had an additional 20% discount.  

But back to the yoke sweater.  I decided I wanted my ribbed band at the bottom to match the ribbing on the sleeves and neck.  So while Ed drove, I cast on my 280 body stitches and started knitting the ribbing.   

I decided that I would knit on the knitting machine from the yoke down, and then graft the ribbing to the body just about the ribbing, where any unevenness in my Kitchener stitch would not be as noticeable.

I asked Ed to help me disassemble my second KX350 and add a section of its bed to my first KX30.  I received the second as a gift from an older lady a year or two ago, who who moving into a smaller apartment.  When I opened the box, I found out that a mouse had made its home inside.  Yuck! So I set it aside.   I finally gave the cleanup job today and washed the plastic pieces in soapy water. I put the needles in alcohol and oil.  I cleaned off the rest as best I could.  I had an extra sponge on hand, although I don' t think it's the correct one.  It will work until I can replace it.  

⁰00⁰0I now have a really long bed on my KX-350.  The added section holds 44 needles.   The machine originally had 132 needles, and to split my sweater front-back, I needed 140 stitches, plus 2 for seaming, for each piece.  So I have a surplus of empty needles! 

We put the second machine back together minus the section we removed.  I think I should be able to use it for scarves or other narrow projects.