View Full Version : 11 a.m. tomorrow (20/09/2011) Knitting Machine Show
Granny Penny
19-09-2011, 02:53 PM
Just flagging it for anyone who may be interested.
dyzni
19-09-2011, 03:22 PM
I still have mine plus all the accessories and bags and bags of yarn! DH would really like me to sell the lot before we move but I would be lucky to get a fraction back of what I spent on it. Haven't made anything for a very long time if I'm honest but used to make all my jumpers and DD's jumpers/cardigans when she was small.
LadyKatkin
19-09-2011, 03:32 PM
Watch the show and be inspired Dyzni! Then make lots of lovely cushions for your sofa! You might find a whole new love for it!
Kate x
Granny Penny
19-09-2011, 03:47 PM
I think they are probably the most "bought and never used" machines but if you do get to grips with them I'm sure you could do wonderful things. I have a feeling it would be worth going on a course before buying one!
keiko1
19-09-2011, 04:07 PM
My brother has 7 of them, Bonds, Brother one had a computer attached to design your own. It stopped working and no one could fix it!!!
All but one are in his room one is in 3 pieces in the living room!!
Waterlily
19-09-2011, 04:16 PM
I bought mine years ago, got to be at least 30 years ago and it's still like brand new lol. I also bought extras which include a ribbing machine which is as big as the knitting machine lol and the table for it. It's a Toyota. I also bought one to use with chunkier wool, never used either of them much in fact I never made anything on any of them just did a bit of practise. I used to do a lot of hand knitting though. Loved doing baby matinee jackets which I'm told are out of fashion now, it's cardigans.lol
My MIL bought a knitting machine years ago and used it for about 3 months. She has never used it since but we have no idea how to sell it. Part of it has never been out of the box.
Muffintop
19-09-2011, 07:52 PM
Shame I'll be at work but thanks for the heads up.
I have a really old Bond which I picked up in a charity shop for £10 - never used. I've never been able to find a proper knitting machine table though. May look again now that machine knitting is popular again. The pattern book is really old but at least I could make blankets for the local animal welfare organisations if nothing else.
kitten_with_claws
19-09-2011, 07:59 PM
My MIL bought a knitting machine years ago and used it for about 3 months. She has never used it since but we have no idea how to sell it. Part of it has never been out of the box.
I'm guessing you don't have an eBay account Jube?
What about an advert locally, you could still use eBay to check what sort of prices your particular model sells for?
I sold my MIL's knitting machine to a local shop that bought secondhand machines, got a surprisingly good price for it too, might be worth making a few enquiries?
Thanks a lot Kitten in answer no I don't do ebay and have no idea how to sell on at as I expect the postage will hit the roof. The machine is such an old model so MIL can't see how anyone would want it. Is it easy to get the wool for it? if so I supose I could try a wool shop. MIL just cant cope at the moment so we are pretending it isn't there.
Granny Penny
20-09-2011, 07:55 AM
Thanks a lot Kitten in answer no I don't do ebay and have no idea how to sell on at as I expect the postage will hit the roof. The machine is such an old model so MIL can't see how anyone would want it. Is it easy to get the wool for it? if so I supose I could try a wool shop. MIL just cant cope at the moment so we are pretending it isn't there.
Jube you could put it on Ebay for collection only. It will make the pool of people smaller who can do this so if you do it you may be best doing a "Buy It Now price". You can also put "Best Offer" with it and you can set this to automatically refuse offers under a specific price so you don't have to deal with silly ones. First of all, when you do come to sell it, it would be worth finding out what similar ones have sold for recently. If you do an advanced search (that's just after the search button) you will see a form. Go down to the "Search Including" heading and tick the "Completed Listings". Put in the Keyword - I have just tried this with just "knitting machine" in it but you could put in the make as well. Click search and this will show you recent complete sales and none sales. It's also useful to see what wording people have used in the adverts that got the best prices.
Hope this is helpful and you are not sitting there sighing - I know all this :nod:
Penny
dyzni
20-09-2011, 08:27 AM
When Mum passed away I sold her machine and accessories. She had an electronic machine, the ribber, garter carraige, transfer carriage, linker, hague linker plus lots more - from memory I got about £500 for the lot, the machine on it's own was £1000+
I had a Bond knitting frame way back in the 80's. It was easy enough to use and it worked well but I didn't use it much. In fairness that is because I knit because I love knitting not to produce useful objects! (Sometimes usual objects drop off my needles - but that's just a bonus.) I'm definitely a process knitter, not a product knitter. But if producing lots of knitting in the shortest time was my goal I'd consider getting one again.
As it is though I get the most hours of knitting pleasure from cobweb weight yarns and teeny tiny needles!
Granny Penny
20-09-2011, 11:46 AM
I can't work out why the thought of using a knitting machine worries me as it might "industrialise" my craft but using a sewing machine doesn't make me feel that way. Mmmm ... ...
I can't work out why the thought of using a knitting machine worries me as it might "industrialise" my craft but using a sewing machine doesn't make me feel that way. Mmmm ... ...
Interesting question! I expect the % of quilters who don't use a machine is pretty darn low (particularly for the piecing, the number might be a bit higher for the quilting). By contrast, the % of knitters who don't use a machine is pretty high.
I did think when I was watching the show this morning that the look of the knitting was different to hand knitting - particularly the cable and lace. Not necessarily better or worse - just different and maybe that is part of it.
From my perspective people knitting on a machine are as creative/crafty as I am with my needles. And what I remember of using the Bond was that it was quite relaxing and involving - I just missed curling up with the needles and a DVD (or video in those days!) or a friend to chat with.
Granny Penny
20-09-2011, 12:53 PM
It did look different Soo, I agree with you. I could be I'm just a slow sewer even with a machine and that I suspect I would be turning out items a speed if I had a knitting machine:grin:. I will watch the rest of the programmes tomorrow and see if I come to a conclusion.
Marie
21-09-2011, 12:20 PM
I can't work out why the thought of using a knitting machine worries me as it might "industrialise" my craft but using a sewing machine doesn't make me feel that way. Mmmm ... ...
That's a good one. Personally I love the feel of handknitting. I guess I'd be classed as a "process knitter" because for me the pleasure is in the feel of the needles in my hands and the action of knitting and the pleasure of seeing what I create. So I've never been attracted by the idea of knitting machines.
But using a sewing machine does seem a bit different - I enjoy hand sewing but there are some things that simply can't be done practically by hand. It simply wouldn't be practical to hand sew curtains, for example. So perhaps we see sewing machines as being more of a practical requirement than purely as a piece of crafting equipment, thought it doesn't take away from the crafting required to do the rest of the making - eg cutting out, deciding on colours, seeing the project through to being a finished garment/item. If my OH made a set of shelves using his electric saw, I'd still think of them as a product of his crafting.
Also, maybe we also remember the days of the old treadle machines which were totally mechanical and didn't require electricity. For me that makes them seem to be "domestic" as opposed to "industrial".
The cost of knitwear in the shops nowadays can be so low - yes probably acrylic, but nowadays so much nicer to wear - that it hardly seems worth the effort of making your own with a knitting machine.
Granny Penny
21-09-2011, 12:55 PM
Ooooh - good thoughts Marie. You are so right about the cost of knitwear and anything that is hand knitted selling in the shops is just that whereas handmade cushions, toys, etc have had an element of domestic sewing machine making for a long time. I to find knitting a tactile occupation and would miss that and, in some ways, it slowness (by comparison to machine knitting) gives pleasure. I was interested in the demonstration this morning to see the chunky knit wool in the piece Sue had done to show the that you could use some to the up to date yarns. I wonder if it's a bit like knitting was when it first had its current resurgence - all the patterns looked as if they came out of the 60s and 70s. We have patterns now that are, as the presenters would say, on trend.
Penny thanks for the advice about selling MIL's knitting machine I will have to go and see what kind it is. MIL bought it about 22 years ago so I expect it's not worth much. Thinking about it I also think she got a table to put it on but I can't be certain, watching the programms brings back all the memories as she use to knit the children new jumpers every other week when they were little.
dyzni
21-09-2011, 08:49 PM
Machines are good if you're not very good at hand knitting (which I'm not). To get more of a "hand knitted" look you would need a garter carraige (Brother machines only when I got mine all them years back) - a machine which chugs along by itself and reverses the stitches. I missed the earlier show/s but have just notice there is a knitting show on at 10pm so will have a watch. I'm hoping when we move that I may be inspired to dust off my machine and make something!
Granny Penny
21-09-2011, 08:53 PM
Did you see the programme with Dawn hosting. She obviously knew a lot about machine knitting and I liked the idea that she used to finish of cuffs and any detail by hand. By contrast Leonie did a super job too asking basic questions, the sort that someone who knows nothing about knitting machines would ask. All in all very interesting programmes but still a lot of money.
dyzni
21-09-2011, 09:07 PM
I've got the repeat on now, its a basic machine, no punchcard
Did you see the programme with Dawn hosting. She obviously knew a lot about machine knitting and I liked the idea that she used to finish of cuffs and any detail by hand. By contrast Leonie did a super job too asking basic questions, the sort that someone who knows nothing about knitting machines would ask. All in all very interesting programmes but still a lot of money.
I didn't see the shows today but when I had my machine I used to do the ribbing and detail by hand as well. My theory at the time was that the machine could do the boring stocking stitch bits and I'd do anything interesting.
If you are knitting lots of clothes, or blankets or something I think it would be great and worth the money. My knitting tends to useless (but lovely) stuff so quantity is never an issue.
Dyzni - hope you do dust off the machine. You can inspire the rest of us!!!
dyzni
21-09-2011, 09:35 PM
For anyone interested in getting a machine check out the well known auction site, there really are some bargains to be had.
jenty
21-09-2011, 10:12 PM
Just sold my knitting machine. I was sorry to see it go but I don't really have the room or time to use it now - my craft takes up all the room. It did a good job for me when the children were small and I had a nice little business knitting items for people. Made a bit of pocket money, anyway. It was a Knitmaster 360 with the lace carriage as well plus a ribber. I was lucky as I was taught how to use it by an expert and then joined their co-op and we used to go to local shows to sell and also did fashion shows. I loved using it at the time but would need to be retired plus have a bigger room. I still have a Brother chunky machine, though!
You can use wool that isn't on a cone, it can be put onto a wool winder, running it through rounds of wax. The cones are already wax coated and it just presses or washes out. It used to take me longer to sew the garments up than to make them. It became difficult to find the cones of wool but it all seems to be back in fashion now.
Granny Penny
21-09-2011, 10:16 PM
I actually found the bit of social history - the fact that the bottom fell out of the knitting machine market in such a big way that only one company was left. I think Sue said this was Knit Master which has now changed its name to Silver and is the only company currently making knitting machines. It is really fascinating (and wonderful for a crafter) to see the resurgence of knitting, sewing, etc. I think it's going to really interesting to see what else makes its way into being "trendy".