July 27, 2004

1983 Video Extra

Yes, it's true. I'm embracing that little part of myself that always wished she'd been an extra in the "Love Is a Battlefield" video.

Remember a while back when I won this knitting machine on eBay? It's more toy than useful knitting tool, and I finally took some time to play with it this weekend.

Turns out to be a great way to use up some oddballs. I played with DK, worsted, and heavy worsted (Peace Fleece). The machine didn't like the Peace Fleece at all. It got all caught up in the works. I don't know if it was the weight of it or the grabbiness of the fibers. So Peace Fleece was a no-go.

Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport (red) and Cascade 220 (orange) both worked pretty well. I love the possibilities of these little tubes. I'm thinking of ways to layer them, stack them, mix and match colors... thinking about felting some, making legwarmers, wristlets etc etc...

suessarm1.jpg

suessarm2.jpg

I also tried some Classic Elite Waterspun. The machine treated this strangely, running smoothly except for one needle, which caused an interesting pinched effect on one of the tubes:

pinched.jpg


and dropped stitches to very cool effect on another:

ladders.jpg

Stay tuned... I feel some experimentation coming on.

Posted by cari at July 27, 2004 09:16 AM
Comments

wild boy, i _need_ some of those dropped stitch kinds, in dark red maybe? or black? or or or.. me love them...

Posted by: big foot

We are young...heartache to heartache we stand...

Thanks. Well, I suppose it could be worse.

I LOVE the tubes. Hey, The Tubes had a hit song back in the 80s, too.

Posted by: Em

I LOVE those colors! Knitting machines. Mmmmmm. And you know, I saw the Tubes in concert way back when!

Posted by: Mariko

that orange one makes me wanna dance....

Posted by: Rachael

I love these! That last one, with the dropped stitches? Couture, baby.

Posted by: alison

Oh man, that last gauntlet is just so late-80s-urban-decay chic! You could do it in grey and be an extra on the video for Dancing With Myself!

Posted by: David

I have a similar knitting machine. It's a Barbie knitting machine I bought at Toys R Us 2 years ago. I let my 5 yr old grand son crant out a piece that was dubbed a bracelet for mommy.

Hope you enjoy.

Posted by: Ruth in Houston

Hey- I'm on St. Mark's Place, shall I buy you some black nail polish? Some magenta Manic Panic hair dye? (Oh wait, you already have that.)

Posted by: Iris

I don't know who the costume designer was for that one, but I loved the idea of hookers dressing like post-apocalyptic circus performers.

Posted by: Mindy