Dandy sweater

 I posted the following to my Facebook account a few days ago.

"I spent yesterday applying my new (and refreshed) knowledge from attending Charlene Shafer's workshop on  Design-a-Knit 9 in Peru Indiana Tuesday and Wednesday.  

Last year, I had started a project on hand knitting needles and transferred it to the machine, but wasn't happy with the difference in stitch gauge. (Photo 1) Plus I had some difficulty with the arithmetic converting the instructions around the armholes.  I finally took it off the machine when I needed to use the machine for another project, and there it has languished.

The pattern was Dandy by Sarah Hatton and called for Kaffe Fassette's Colorscapes yarn. (Photo 2) I'm using Encore Chunky Colorspun and Jojoland Fugue from my stash.  Although both these yarns are "chunky" there is a slight difference in weight, so I'm plying in a very thin strand of commercially-spun angora with the Fugue.

Using my old and new DAK skills I created a garment design, then converted the hand-knitting pattern using the provided  schematic and the measuring tools in DAK to ensure the right number of stitches would be cast on, and the armhole started at the correct row.  (Photo 3). I converted the pattern for my actual stitch gauge with the substituted yarn, and looked at the interactive knitting instructions and they appear to be reasonable. (Photo 4)

Now all that's left is to rip out all my previous work and begin again.  Heavy sigh."

Custom production Knitting

I've been working on a project recently.  I was asked to make hats, with the group logo,  for a group by a friend.  I decided to do a simple hat knitted as a rectangle, sewn into a tube, and gathered at top and bottom.   Then one end is folded into the other and the brim is folded up.   It's simple and fits most people well.  

Let me explain that I've never done production knitting and rarely take commissions.   I think the market is accustomed to fast-fashion, inexpensively-mamufactured garments that are produced on an industrial scale and priced accordingly.  I don't want to work in a sweatshop!

This hat is made of 2/24 acrylic yarn.  I thought I would have enough of the white to make a dozen hats, but as it turned out, I ran out.  

I knew that new 2/24 acrylic in quantity is available from MacKellar Associates in Rochester Hills, Michigan.  They buy it in quantity for their baby blanket business, The Blanket Lady.    We were travelling to Michigan anyway this week, so we stopped by to pick up two cones of white yarn.   It was only an hour out of our way, and took us up familiar highways from our ten years  living in Michigan.

The lady at the front desk was kind enough to take us back to the blanket-knitting area for a quick tour.   They had four Brother electronic knitting machines, very similar to my own, with motor drives, just like mine.   Two women were each monitoring two of the machines, while a third woman in each trio ran the steamer to flatten the curling edges to prepare the fronts and backs of the blankets for seaming together on the Merrow industrial seamer.   

Our tour guide mentioned they have hundreds of orders.   The blankets feature the baby's name and birthday.   She mentioned, as I already knew, that the machines were manufactured in the 1970's and they are looking at getting new machines.   I was curious, and she said they may get one from Barcelona.  I wondered if it was the Kniterate.  That retails for about $16, 000. I shamelessly begged to come back to see it.