Knitting Lace On A Brother Bulky

First and foremost I am going to quit apologizing for not keeping up my blog, all I can do is try, right?

I have been having lots of fun knitting lace on the Brother KH 260 bulky knitting machine. It's so easy and fun, and gives one a chance of using heavier yarns with the same lace patterns that are done on the standard gauge. This technique works very well on a Brother because it brings the pattern needles forward ready to transfer; no mistakes and no bother of using a needle selector. So far I have been using the Singer cards which transfer and knit all on the same row. Will put up photos soon.

A Sad Day In Our Lives: December 22, 2009

Our loving and dear dog Bombom passed away today. After a long and hard illness (she was a diabetic) which she bore very bravely, she was put to sleep today at 11.15 am. I am so sad and such an emotional mess, I miss her so much!!

She came to us 14 years ago from the home of a nutcase neighbour (who bought her from some puppyfarm and didn't like her, so her hid her in her handbag when she took her out). I still remember the day we brought her home, I had her wrapped in my coat as it was a awful January morning, much to the annoyance of our other dog Sasha.
Bombom was a feisty little teri-poo who was boss from day one!! I remember the first time I tried taking her for a walk, she just sat down and wouldn't budge but after some coaxing she realized a walk was a fun thing. She loved chewing and anything was fair game; pins, needles, shoes, pen caps, books, bones, edges of tables and beds. Chewing was her favorite pastime, and she enjoyed it immensely (right into her adulthood). She loved people and attention, and always had to be in the room with us she even slept in our bed. Any attention was fine with her, even visits to the vet were happy ones.

On walks she had to lead the way and would never let Sasha in front of her. She loved to play and enjoyed Saturday mornings when we would play tumble on the bed, she would bark her head off in delight. Her other most favourite thing was to fetch a stick on her walks, and carry it home in her mouth; I presume this was the fetcher instinct in her genes.

Her last few weeks were not the happiest of her life as she had gone very blind from the diabetes, she wasn't eating properly and finally stopped drinking. We managed her diabetes quite well for sometime, but then as expected the disease took over. We did the right thing for her but I miss her so much...

We miss you our darling dog! You were the best!

Lutterloh Is Here!

The Lutterloh book from 1962 is here! There are some really nifty patterns in this book and I am excited to try it out. None are really my style, but a few coat patterns are quite nice, and I think I am going to try those out first. There are also some neat patterns for men and children.

In case you are wondering, what is this Lutterloh??? Let me explain. Lutterloh patterns are produced and marketed by a German company by the same name. The pattern company started in 1935 and is still going strong (they must be doing something right); the system is based on a sort of radial drafting (which was and is popular in costume houses and such), whereby a tiny pattern is enlarged based on certain measurements are numbers. The Lutterloh system is based on the Golden Rule, which was used (and I am sure still is) by artists for hundreds of years. The Golden Rule actually consists of a number of formulae, for example; the height of the body is equal to five times the length for the face, so and so forth.
The system comes as kit, with a book of patterns and a special cm measuring tape which has a special formula attached to one end. The patterns are drafted based on just two measurements; the bust and and hip. All drafting above and including the waist are based on the bust measurement, and everything below the waist is based on the hip measurement. You are can get a more thorough look at the system here: Come Sew Lutterloh With Me.

Many people on many sewing lists dismiss the system as being bogus and silly, yet many swear by it! I have seen quite a few garments based on this system, and they fit perfectly! The system is not without work, one still has to make adjustments to the patterns, but they are minimal, not as numerous as have to made to the big four patterns. Measurements (even if they are just two), must be taken very accurately, and there are no sewing instructions at all! Since I have never sewn with commercial patterns, this is fine by me, I have had to rely on all sorts of books to sew my garments and therefore know of no other way of sewing. The patterns do not include seam allowances, and because they are made in Germany, they have the European fit, which is found in the much praised Burda patterns.

I am excited and I do hope they work very well for me. I love my sewing software, but frankly, it's too much work having to get my measurements taken every year or so (since they do change as we age). Besides, I have NEVER got a great fit right off the bat, the fit is really close, but I still have to tweak it. There is no such thing as a great fit out of the package, because fit is not just about the measurements and body shape; it's a lot more than that.

Long Time, No Blog!

Yes, I know, it's been ages! Lot's has been going on in my life, work has been very busy and travelling to it and back home takes up so much time that my part-time job is really a full-time one!

I am walking away from machine knitting for a few weeks (or months), not sure yet. I haven't really been enjoying it lately and I think it's partly because I haven't been inspired to make anything.
I did sew quite a bit a few weeks ago, but it was mostly utilitarian, quick and fast outfits for work. I haven't sewn anything dynamic so nothing to write about.
I am selling some of my machines as I really want to end up with about two machines at the end, so when I do get back, I won't be overwhelmed by it all. I think this is partly what happened as well, I got too caught up in trying different machines, to find the "ONE", but it's really silly, there is no machine that is the "ONE", each of them have strengths and weaknesses and this is what I need to live with in my final choices of machines. Maybe one Singer and one Brother? Who knows!

On the plus side, I just got a set of Lutterloh patterns from the 60's. I haven't received it as yet, hopefully next week. I am really looking forward to working with Lutterloh, I am so excited with my purchase. This book has some nifty patterns that I know my sister is going to LOVE! I wish I can get some more of these books from the past, I do love the 60's and 70's as much as I do the 1930's.

Sample Of Knitweave

Here is a lovely sample of a knitweave pattern I am thinking of making cushion covers with, perhaps in a brown background yarn and a dark beige weaving yarn. This pattern is from one of the Japanese punchcard pattern books, I think No. 3. I will be knitting the final on my Singer SK 560, which means I have to work up a mylar for it. I wish I had one of those SilverKnit boxes, so I could do this on the computer. Ah, well, the mylar will be fine too.