Machine Knitting

First, let's talk about creativity. This is what my cutting table looked like on Saturday afternoon. I'm in the middle of more than a couple things. This is my normal state of being and it works for me. Some days it doesn't, but Saturday was a good day. That contraption is the Silver Reed LK150 knitting machine. It is one of the least expensive knitting machines you can get. I borrowed it from a friend to see if I liked working with it. 

I fiddled around. I made some swatches. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos. 

I learned how to make a good swatch and use a stitch scale. It was great. This swatch is made using Knit Picks Swish Worsted. 

I made this shawlette that used an e-wrap cast-on, short rows, edge decreases, and how to place stitches on hold and work other stitches. I found the directions for this project on My Blue Heaven Knit's blog. As a first project I learned so much. If I make this again I'm sure it will turn out better. This was made using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. 

Then I decided to try something really crazy. I have this cake of lace-weight yarn that I couldn't quite figure out what to do with. I've thought about making it into a flowing shawl but the thought of how long that would take was daunting. I decided to try to make a very light sweater. 

This is the back of my sweater with waste yarn along the top edge. When I get ready to join it to the front I can either graft the shoulder seams or do a three-need bind off. I did not expect the color pooling. It was a happy surprise. I wonder if the front will do that, too. The basic pattern is for a drop-shoulder sweater from the The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. I've had this book for ages. I've hand knit a sweater or two from it, too. It wasn't written for machine knitting but if you are comfortable knitting by hand and have some basic machine-knitting knowledge you can figure it out. I don't even know if I have enough of this yarn to finish this project. This may turn out to be more of a light-weight boxy top than sweater with sleeves. It depends on how much yarn I have once the front is knit. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook (picking up dropped stitches)
addi Express Hook (picking up dropped stitches, hanging setup bonnet, finishing missed stitches)

The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns

Silver Reed LK150

Knitting Claw Weights