Addi Express Knitting Machine

One of my latest toys is the Addi Express. I read some reviews and looked at the product and decided I had to have one. It knits tubes using ww yarn. Mine was purchased at Paradise Fibers because they had the best price. It's very easy to operate as long as appropriate yarn is used. I've tried JoAnn Sensations and leftover bits of different kinds.

I had no interest in making scarves but came up with a way to make fingerless gloves. I knit the tube with scrap yarn at both ends. Then I put each end on needles and did some ribbing. After that I cut 4 stitches where I wanted the thumb, did a row of single crochet which was put on needles, and did 4-5 rows of ribbing.

What I really wanted to make was socks. Then I learned Cat Bordhi had written a book of patterns just for the Addi Express. Paradise Fibers carries Quick Knits for the Addi Express and it includes patterns for socks, a purse, a scarf, and earwarmers. The directions are very clear and I've made quite a few socks. The only thing is that lightweight yarn doesn't work. Since my stash included lots and lots of JoAnn Sensations, that's what I've been using. The socks are very soft and stretchy but are more like house socks than for wearing with shoes. Just like with the fingerless gloves, the Addi Express makes the tubes and rest of the sock is handwork. But I find it much faster than doing the whole sock by hand and it's a nice change.

Bracelet Purses and Shower Puffs

It's almost time for the Farmers' Market so I've been working on some new items. The handles on these little purses are small bracelets. The metallic bracelets were purchased at Fred Meyer.

The plastic handles shown here were found with the Easter things at the Dollar Store. All purses were knit in the round. I cast on 16 stitches using a size 8 circular needle and just kept knitting until the purse looked proportionate. Then I added 4 row of garter stitch and bound off. A final round of single crochet was added which allowed me to attach the bracelets.

I kept seeing shower puffs and found many patterns for them. I decided to try the one by Lyanna Anderson because it wasn't as large as most of them. These are made of  cotton yarn. They work up quickly in bright, cheery colors.

Crocheted Socks and Knit Freedom

Someone in the Ravelry Crocheted Sock group mentioned a pattern new to me. It's called Tullow Socks and has a very different construction. It begins with the heel, adds a strip around the ankle, and goes down to the toes. Then it goes up the leg. I like it better than any crocheted pattern I've tried. On these socks, I added a shell pattern to the leg.

Liat Gat's blog, Knit Freedom, is good for both beginning and experienced knitters. She offers very clear videos of different knitting techniques including magic loop, continental knitting, and making socks. She also sells ebooks that link to these videos. Both of these socks were made with a size 7 magic loop and Cotton Ease yarn using her basic sock pattern. I added patterns to the legs. Using worsted weight yarn wasn't something I'd considered before but they are great for practicing magic loop and continental knitting.

AKB Sock Loom

After many times of looking at the American Knitting Board Sock Loom at JoAnn's, I finally broke down and bought one. The pegs are pretty far apart for the sock yarn in the craft stores so I wasn't sure how it would work out. Surprisingly, it's okay and I love how easy the short row heels and toes are. My first project was a pair of baby socks. Now I'm working on a pair of footies. My plan is to get a second loom so I can work back and forth on them and have both footies done about the same time. That's the way I do my needle knit socks.



2010 Wrap-Up and 2011 Beginning

Seems like my crochet hooks were in constant use over the holiday season. One popular item was fingerless mitts. I liked the Punk Crochet Wrist Warmers by Midnight Knitter but it wasn't quite what I wanted. Here are a couple of variations I made based on her pattern.

When I wanted to make some slippers, I found Mary Jane Slippers by Lisa. They're very easy and she has wonderful illustrations. I ended up using a G hook and changing to sc but otherwise followed her design. Here are some of my slippers:

Once the nights began to get colder, my toes froze when I went to bed. So I made some bedsocks for my toes that could be kicked off when they warmed up.