Winter Blues

I have just started to knit with my garter carriage a design that I loved and knitted a good few years back. I need to get my Brother 940 working again

after sitting in the old barn a while and with it my garter carriage and of course Designaknit. A few projects after all - my son gave me a wonderful laptop for my birthday and that allowed me to download my Designaknit 9 and test a USB/Serial cable I bought online. I have now downloaded and operated this with the cable successfully. The pattern I am knitting for the second time, is one from Machine Knitting News (March 2002) and it is a design by Pam Soames - she wrote an article in the same magazine about ganseys highlighting a method of knitting all in one back and fronts etc and using the garter carriage to pattern the garments. I have always been fascinated by this method of knitting ie no sewing on the sides or the sleeves as they are knitted all in one.

The heading on the pattern is thus "Hate sewing up, you will love this guernsey style garter stitch sweater which uses circular knitting to keep seams to a minimum"

This is not a pattern for the fainthearted - it is complex and requires patience by the bucketload. Strangely enough I am sure I did not have the same hassle I had this time of knitting it, however my equipment is not so new now and that probably explains the difficulty.

The front and back is knitted circular using the ribber up to the armholes then you remove the ribber portion and use the garter carriage to knit the top half of the jersey. Circular knitting with the yarn I had chosen was not easy but after a few false starts I managed it. Right now the garter carriage is knitting the last few rows of the back of the jersey. Its funny how quickly you forget how! For instance, I forgot how to thread the mast with the garter carriage and even to how to set the damn thing, but as an avid note taker I persevered.

If you like a challenge and can get hold of the magazine - then this is a good one. Its a beautiful design, suitable for men and women alike. It certainly tests the grey matter and I need to keep busy right now and it certainly serves this premise.

I was so sad when Machine Knitting News finished - it featured some wonderful patterns but such is life