Thursday, April 12, 2012
MIDDLESEX MACHINE KNITTERS SPLASH OUT
Having dipped our toes in the water with our first Knit and Natter, the Middlesex Machine Knitters have taken the plunge and dived in again for a second year. This year on July 7th we are creating an even bigger splash!
On the main platform will be special guest speaker Iris Bishop, well known for her inspiring, informative talks and imaginative garments. We are also very excited to have an exhibition of creative garments, accessories and experimental art pieces from Morley College's machine knitting students, some of which will be on sale. How would you like to own an exclusive one off item?
We are delighted that Heathercraft, Sue Castro, Nina Miklin and our own Elaine Cater will be attending again this year and welcome new exhibitors Anne Smith, editor of Machine Knitting Monthly, Uppingham Yarns with a wide range of yarns, and Erica Thomson knitting with wire.
Liz Holness will be sorting out any machine knitting problems that visitors have; Janice Engall, from our club, will be showing how to create Dorset buttons, and Barbara Logan, also from our club, will demonstrate her Victorian sock knitting machine. You are welcome to have a go.
We will also have a charity table for the Shooting Star Children's Hospice - a charity caring for local families with a child or teenager with a life-limiting condition. All those who apply for advance tickets will be sent a FREE hand knitting pattern for a child's bag and a FREE surprise machine knitting pattern. Please knit these up and bring along to the Shooting Star Children's Hospice table. Alternatively, bring along anything that you have knitted, as long as it is brand new. Everything will be sold to raise money for the Hospice. If there is anything left unsold, then it will go to the Hospice's charity shops.
Try your luck with the raffle (prizes supplied by the exhibitors) and test your knitting knowledge in the Knitting Quiz. Don't forget that we will also be giving away FREE 'How to' leaflets.
If July 7th turns out to be a scorcher why not enjoy your picnic lunch in the Church Hall's garden. And to quench your thirst - coffee, tea and soft drinks will be available throughout the day.
All Saints Church Hall is only eight minutes from the M3 and located on The Avenue in Hampton, TW12 3RG, West London with no parking restrictions. Buses 111 and R70 stop nearby and Hampton Rail station is half a mile away. Entrance is £5 and for students £4. For advance tickets please send a cheque made out to Elaine Cater to 31 Watergates Lane, Broadmayne, Dorchester, DT2 8HA. The ticket will be held for you at the door. Also please provide your email address so that the FREE patterns can be emailed to you.
If you want any more information email watergates31-knitting@yahoo.co.uk
We look forward to seeing you and hope you will have an enjoyable day!
Note: Please allow plenty of time to get to the venue. Hampton Court Flower Show is on from July 3rd - 8th. On Saturday July 7th they are open from 10.00. If coming via the M3 do NOT come off at Junction 1 for Staines Road East (your Sat Nav may say this, and this is where flower show people would go) but carry on on the A316 till the next exit for Feltham/Lower Feltham and take 4th exit on right (Nailhead Road) signposted for Hanworth.
Having dipped our toes in the water with our first Knit and Natter, the Middlesex Machine Knitters have taken the plunge and dived in again for a second year. This year on July 7th we are creating an even bigger splash!
On the main platform will be special guest speaker Iris Bishop, well known for her inspiring, informative talks and imaginative garments. We are also very excited to have an exhibition of creative garments, accessories and experimental art pieces from Morley College's machine knitting students, some of which will be on sale. How would you like to own an exclusive one off item?
We are delighted that Heathercraft, Sue Castro, Nina Miklin and our own Elaine Cater will be attending again this year and welcome new exhibitors Anne Smith, editor of Machine Knitting Monthly, Uppingham Yarns with a wide range of yarns, and Erica Thomson knitting with wire.
Liz Holness will be sorting out any machine knitting problems that visitors have; Janice Engall, from our club, will be showing how to create Dorset buttons, and Barbara Logan, also from our club, will demonstrate her Victorian sock knitting machine. You are welcome to have a go.
We will also have a charity table for the Shooting Star Children's Hospice - a charity caring for local families with a child or teenager with a life-limiting condition. All those who apply for advance tickets will be sent a FREE hand knitting pattern for a child's bag and a FREE surprise machine knitting pattern. Please knit these up and bring along to the Shooting Star Children's Hospice table. Alternatively, bring along anything that you have knitted, as long as it is brand new. Everything will be sold to raise money for the Hospice. If there is anything left unsold, then it will go to the Hospice's charity shops.
Try your luck with the raffle (prizes supplied by the exhibitors) and test your knitting knowledge in the Knitting Quiz. Don't forget that we will also be giving away FREE 'How to' leaflets.
If July 7th turns out to be a scorcher why not enjoy your picnic lunch in the Church Hall's garden. And to quench your thirst - coffee, tea and soft drinks will be available throughout the day.
All Saints Church Hall is only eight minutes from the M3 and located on The Avenue in Hampton, TW12 3RG, West London with no parking restrictions. Buses 111 and R70 stop nearby and Hampton Rail station is half a mile away. Entrance is £5 and for students £4. For advance tickets please send a cheque made out to Elaine Cater to 31 Watergates Lane, Broadmayne, Dorchester, DT2 8HA. The ticket will be held for you at the door. Also please provide your email address so that the FREE patterns can be emailed to you.
If you want any more information email watergates31-knitting@yahoo.co.uk
We look forward to seeing you and hope you will have an enjoyable day!
Note: Please allow plenty of time to get to the venue. Hampton Court Flower Show is on from July 3rd - 8th. On Saturday July 7th they are open from 10.00. If coming via the M3 do NOT come off at Junction 1 for Staines Road East (your Sat Nav may say this, and this is where flower show people would go) but carry on on the A316 till the next exit for Feltham/Lower Feltham and take 4th exit on right (Nailhead Road) signposted for Hanworth.
Monday, February 06, 2012
February 2012 meeting
We will be meeting as usual at the Hounslow Community centre on Wednesday the 8th of February. I have been working on some unusual cables and will be demonstrating some of them. I will also help anyone who would like to do the cables that were featured in MKM done by Bill King. The instructions for doing them with a punch card machine were a bit tricky, so I will show members what the card would look like if they want to knit it on a punch card machine.
Jenny and I will give an update on our Knit and Natter which is scheduled for the 7th of July in Hampton Middlesex. So far we have heard from Nina Miklin, Erica Thompson and Iris Bishop that they will be coming. Iris has agreed to be our guest speaker.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
January Meeting
Although most us had been busy with Christmas, we still had a few new garments to admire from those of us who had been able to get to our knitting machines. Janet used up some of her 'stash' of mohair to hand knit the beret.
Vivienne was busy knitting for her newest grandchild. The little sailor outfit with its matching hat is machine knitted in 4 ply acrylic.
Barbara G showed us the beaded top she had machine knitted using 3 ends of fine yarn. The shoulders were embellished with a collection of silver beads that really made the garment look very exciting.
Janice hand knitted this lovely boy's cardigan in a very soft hand knitting yarn. It has a lovely soft feel and I hope we can post the name of the yarn in our next posting.
We discussed plans for our first Knit and Natter which will be held at All Saints Church Hall in Hampton on the 17th of September 2011.
Next month we will be looking at ways to cover cut and sew necklines.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Happy New Year
We shall be holding our first meeting of the year on January the 12Th from 1.30 to 3.30. We didn't have a meeting in December, but instead had a lovely pre-Christmas luncheon at Merits Restaurant at Richmond College.
We will be trying out a few more ideas from Susan Guagliumi's new book, More Hand-Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitter. We will also be discussing what progress we have made for our Knit and Natter day which will be held on September the 17Th at All Saints Church Hall, The Avenue, Hampton, TW12 3RG
We will be trying out a few more ideas from Susan Guagliumi's new book, More Hand-Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitter. We will also be discussing what progress we have made for our Knit and Natter day which will be held on September the 17Th at All Saints Church Hall, The Avenue, Hampton, TW12 3RG
Monday, August 02, 2010
August Meeting
Our August meeting will be on TUESDAY 10th August. This change of day is only for August and we will be back to our usual 2nd Wednesday of the month in September.
July
This doll was knitted by a new member. It was make as a present for a driving instructor and is made in his likeness and dress with appropriate clothing and insignia. We are very pleased to welcome such a talented new person to our club.
This stand was shown at the AGM of the Machine Knitters Guild on the 19th July. The club also represented the Guild at the Machine Knitting Live! show in Croydon on the 17th of July. Although many members of the club supplied the samples it was Janice, Norma, Sandra and Jenny who manned the display and signed up new members for the Guild.
This stand was shown at the AGM of the Machine Knitters Guild on the 19th July. The club also represented the Guild at the Machine Knitting Live! show in Croydon on the 17th of July. Although many members of the club supplied the samples it was Janice, Norma, Sandra and Jenny who manned the display and signed up new members for the Guild.
Monday, June 14, 2010
July Meeting
The next meeting will be on July 14th - the second Wednesday of the month as usual. We start at 1.30 and are delighted to see new members.
Show and Tell
Margaret and Brenda have been as busy as usual. The scarf, knitted by machine is a delicate lace pattern. It has been steam pressed to "kill" the yarn. This shows off the pattern, stops the curling and softens it so that the resulting scarf is a pleasure to wear.
This is a hand knitted cardigan in a cable pattern. The bottom edge is an unusual stitch which makes the garment a very feminine cardigan that any girl would be delighted to own.
Norma made this summery cardigan with an unusual yarn she bought at one of the shows. It is very heavy but had a lovely feel to it. It is knitted using a garter carriage.
The close-up shows the edging and flowers worked in a different yarn. The lovely buttons in the centre of each flower just add a classy finishing touch. They are very decorative and Norma says that this is not the first garment that they had been used on.
The close-up shows the edging and flowers worked in a different yarn. The lovely buttons in the centre of each flower just add a classy finishing touch. They are very decorative and Norma says that this is not the first garment that they had been used on.
This sample done by Elaine shows in detail the edging that Ann has used on her cardigan. During the meeting we were shown how to do this edging and some other versions.
Ann made this lovely cardigan. It is knitted in plain stocking stitch with a very attractive edging. She has embroidered the leaves in autumn colours to make it really special.
The leaves in close-up. They are swiss darned using 2 strands of different coloured embroidery silk to give a realistic effect.
Hand Knitted Shawl
This is my work so all the details are correct. The shawl is approximately 4 feet square and weighs 4 and 5/8 oz (130 g). It is made with pure shetland lace weight wool 1 ply. It took about 6 months to complete but that was just working in the evenings when the television was on. The final round before the edge had 1176 stitches and the border had twice that many rows!
A close up showing the border. It needs another stretching to show it off properly.
Friday, May 14, 2010
June meeting
The June meeting will be on the 9th at our usual venue. Please come.
New Knitters
Machine knitting is undergoing something of a revival, as is hand knitting. We have had several enquiries from younger people wanting to take up the craft. This month we had a new lady bring in a second hand machine she had bought in the hopes that it would work and allow her to make clothes for the family. It was a Double Bed Singer, probably from the early 60s or late 50s. It was complete, in excellent condition and knitted beautifully once we had sorted out the instructions and set it up.
Planning a display
Something old,
Something new
Everything borrowed
And nothing blue
This is our theme for the display we are planning for the Guild AGM. All the items are going to be pinks or purples so the members have been knitting or looking through their older garments to find things with the right colours. These are some of the items that might be used.
Something new
Everything borrowed
And nothing blue
This is our theme for the display we are planning for the Guild AGM. All the items are going to be pinks or purples so the members have been knitting or looking through their older garments to find things with the right colours. These are some of the items that might be used.
This sweater knitted by Pauline has and interesting lace edge. She works on a Singer machine which does not have a lace carriage so all the pattern is done by transferring stitches by had. For a border it does not take too long and is very effective.
This is an outfit made from a slub yarn and chenille. The close-up shows details from the jacket. There is no photo of the jacket because my picture of it was so awful. The skirt and top shown below made a very effective outfit.
Another short sleeved jumper. Just the thing for this cool spring. The neckline and cuff are in a pattern and make this a special individual item.
We don't just machine knit. These are two baby cardigans, one machine and one hand knitted. The photos really do not do them justine
This is an outfit made from a slub yarn and chenille. The close-up shows details from the jacket. There is no photo of the jacket because my picture of it was so awful. The skirt and top shown below made a very effective outfit.
