can you post a picture? My incredible sweater machine consists of a round knitting needle. :)

Moni

mare, I had one. It works pretty good. Well, worked. I broke it. It fell over one too many times. I wish I still had it. I would make lots of hats for charity. Once you learn to get it started, hats and blankets are really fast. Now, I do all my knitting by hand.

I think we paid $150 for mine many years ago, when it first came out on tv.

Tami

Moni, here's the picture you asked for.

I always thought I wanted one they have been around for at least 20 years

If you get started and hats seem to be easy, your local cancer center uses alot to give to the patients.

Oh, like I thought... knitting machine. Thanks for posting the picture.

Moni

There's a fairly steep learning curve .....I was so frustrated when I first got it..couldn't get it to work properly at all. After much experimentation (read ruined yarn) I finally figured out that the secret to the darn thing was weight. The whole idea is to prevent the stitches from popping off of the needles. They include a few weights in the set, but you actually need more. You can make your own with spoons and such, but you can even buy them online. There are quite a few websites with nice patterns for the ISM, too.

Helene

I have now had the ISm for quite a number of years - have even picked up additional sets on Freecycle and have created both long and short sets of needles for different items. I can make a baby blanket in just a few hours, a kids sweater also takes just a couple of hours - a hat an hour at most.

I've seen them available in Michaels and A.C. Moore and you can use a coupon for 40-50% off.

If you need help when you get it, just ask.

Thanks Blubird. Sounds as if I might have gotten a deal after all. I'll be very busy from now til Christmas but I plan to delve into it deeply after that, and you'll probably be hearing from me then.

Blubird, where were you when I got so frustrated with mine I gave it away?

Stitches kept popping all over the place. So all I needed was more weight, huh?

Mare, you really got a deal. Enjoy.

I wanted to buy one about 30 years ago, never got a round tuit. I am a devoted hand knitter.

So, you really can make a sweater?

Yep, the answer to the stitches popping off is MORE WEIGHT. They make 'claw weights' for the ISM - sort of look like the hair claws, but very heavy. The way the ISM is set up when you start is to use the black plastic strip with the weight bars- but as soon as you knit several rows, the black rod weights aren't sufficient to keep the stitches from popping off the needles. When you have enough weight on there, the whole assembly just glides along. In addition, the kit supplies you with paraffin wax to wax the keyplates - but there is a silicon spray which is even better for keeping the keyplates moving smoothly.

Take a look at some of these sites. Some are old, and may have expired links, but you get a good idea of what's out there and what the machine and you are capable of doing.

You'll have to copy and paste these URLs:

http://www.woodsnwind.com/Docs/knit/
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/560702857FaPsDx
(some people have invented their own tools to make the job even easier.

http://www.stephthornton.co.uk/knitting/kbond.htm

http://heidisknittingroom.com/ (one of my favorite sites)

http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns-ism.htm

http://www.webring.com/go?ring=sweatermachine;id=1;prev

http://knittingnonni.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

http://extrastellar.net/cjsbondpatternstoprint2.html

Are you on overload yet :-). There's tons of stuff out there.

Helene

Also check out this page - she sells accessories for the USM and ISM. I've linked to the knitting books - I have the Ultimate Baby and Toddler book and have made the multi colored baby blanket on the cover - it comes out just like you see it - and it's quick to make. If you check out the accessories for the ISM you'll see the claw weights I was talking about. NAYYY....

Another piece of advice for setting up the ISM - I've used an ironing board to clamp the ISM to, it works OK, and I like having the adjustable height the ironing board has, but I've since clamped my set to a fairly long but skinny board and then clamped that board to the ironing board - it added stability.

Helene

Here is a link that might be useful: Knitting Today site

i have a kniting machine sitting in my closet for 20 years...it was quite expensive, or so i was told?...took classes when i was in ca and have never touched it since...sigh...

Blubird, that baby blanket is just beautiful. My machine is just the ISM, not the USM. Is there much difference? Will I have to be careful of what patterns and books to get? Thanks for all the good advice. The ironing board is such a good idea. I have already been wondering where I would set it up. I have a fairly small place and only a smallish round table. Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. Mare

I don't think there was much difference between the ISM and the USM. I think my first one was the ISM - maybe the colors on the keyplate carriage changed - and I just remembered, there are slight differences in the keyplates. The USM uses what they now call "DOT keyplates" - if you look at the clear plastic keyplates by the tab where the number is,the USM version has a dot next to the number - but they are interchangeable from the ISM to USM. I think the dot meant that the size of the keyplate varied a drop from the original. Unless you were making something critical in size - a sweater or sock - it wouldn't matter too much at all. Of course, just like in regular knitting, it's always best to do a gauge sample.

Helene (hopefully this will post, since the forums are misbehaving)

Helene, thanks again. Sorry I didn't use your proper name in my last post. I didn't notice that you signed with it til after I already posted. I copied all of the URLs and saved them til I have a long stretch of time to really get into them. Right now, I'm just catching small chunks of time between Christmas preparations. Thanks again for taking the time to help me.

Enjoy it - relax and the best advice I can give is...start small :-)

Helene

Start small with potholders and scarves then in no time at all you'll be making sweaters for all your friends.

{{!gwi}}

Lots of time on your hands? Lots of yarn stashed away? Knit a car.

Or a bike.

Or a light.

Make something useful.

I wish I could find these washable Swiffer covers at a craft show somewhere.

Reversible for both mopping and dusting:

Dilly Dally, do you croche or knit? They shouldn't be hard to make. I don't have time right now, still have to make my Christmas cards, wrap, ect. (including clean!), and Dad is in hospital with pneumonia, but maybe after Christmas, if you remind me, I can try to come up with a pattern.

Tami

Wow. I really appreciate the offer.

My mother taught me to knit when I was very young like 7 or 8y/o. Then of course the thing was to make scarves. In high school part of home ec was to make booties and hats and remember those vests and shawls?

I haven't knit since high school I am embarrassed to say. With all the people on this board who do currently knit I think that many would find it useful though to have a pattern.

Those washable Swiffer covers are such a great idea. Easier on the environment than using expensive disposables. A great way to use up those little snippets of leftover yarn in odd colors.