I have had many inquiries as to whether I publish a newsletter, the answer is no, I have no plan to. My post from 4/28 “A note of thanks” provides other pertinent comments and answers to some of the commonly recurring questions.
Archive for May, 2011
Newsletter
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011Lots of words
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011For those who like to explore words.
The latest from Shima Seiki
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011Viewing for this site, and that of Stoll, the other major industrial KM company, may be affected by age of processor, browser used and/ or version of flash in your computer. The sample collection. The trends, including spring 2012.
“Use art to turn the world inside out”
Saturday, May 21st, 2011Artistic expression takes many forms. The above heading and ”JR, a semi-anonymous French street artist, uses his camera to show the world its true face, by pasting photos of the human face across massive canvases.” are quotes from the TED site and the associated video.
Lace cards’ use on the Brother 260 Bulky
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011There are a number of ways to “play with” this technique. Here are some ideas: Lace card use 260
Knit stools and more
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011Inspired by knit stitches and forms.
To mesh or not, a bit on method
Monday, May 9th, 2011The following illustrate some of the process involved in planning out fabric akin to the one in the previous post. Black borders outline blocks of 6 stitches/rows, reflect markings on blank Brother card. In option A: motif is planned and drawn. In this instance it is colored in in green (1), the area it covers will ultimately remain unpunched on card or blank on mylar. Graph paper may be used to work this out, knit design software, or as in this case, an excel spreadsheet. A grid is created with every other square blacked out or colored in (2). Motif is super- imposed on grid (3). Repeat is expanded adding 2 blank rows above each design row (4). Rust squares represent punched holes in card or black squares in mylar.
Option A
Option B: the same motif is lengthened X3 (5). Lace mesh base is drawn out (6). Elongated motif is then superimposed on mesh (7). Electronic patterning on 910 allows for minimal drawing using all black squares, in turn making it necessary to color reverse for lace. Two separate motifs are used, method for programming such repeats is in 910 manual. However, there are considerations for needle position and pattern selector placement for this “shortcut” to work properly, the steps are described by Kathleen Kinder and others. I prefer to work with what I “see” in terms of punched holes or squares, this is the method used to develop my previous flower motif swatch. The short supply of mylars may also be a consideration in using them or not for such large, and perhaps limited use design repeats. If interface cables and software are available, other options abound.
Option B
To mesh or not to mesh 3
Sunday, May 8th, 2011Many articles were written in the 1980s in Australia, New Zealand, and Britain, some finding their way to newsletters published in the USA at the time investigating this subject. With the advent of electronics the process became “easier”. Kathleen Kinder author of several books on Machine Knitting covering myriad topics (one whole text on lace), also authored Electonic Knitting: an Introduction for Brother and Knitmaster Knitters (?1989) that investigated the move from punchcard to electronics, including lace techniques that in the instance of “filet look alikes” introduced superimposing designs as a quicker method to achieve such fabrics. The common motifs used were often that of a heart or a rose.
One of the many confusing things in lace, is that the punched holes or mylar squares do not represent actual holes in the final fabric. Alternate rows of holes represent first transfers to left, then transfer to right. Brother and Studio punchcard sets included with purchase of machines both include pre-punched cards suitable for this type of mesh. Numbers sometimes varied with machine model year. Studio No. L-6, Brother No 17J (also 20G etc.) are 2 such samples and are vertical mirrored images of each other. Superimposed motifs constitute blank areas of card. Depending on preference some readjustments may be required after a test swatch to alter placement of some of the mesh holes. My fabric below was knit using the basic faggot lace Brother mesh, the corresponding “card” close to 180 rows in length to achieve the brick repeat.
a portion of the card
sideways view of resulting fabric, knit side facing
Pattern design inspiration
Friday, May 6th, 2011Images of patterns and design features drawn from the rich cultural heritage of the Islamic world.
Knitting fonts
Friday, May 6th, 2011In the past I have had a problem with the Aire River design font installation on my Mac. The latest attempt was not only successful, did not even require a restart. Pertinent information and terms of use agreement can be found here.
