Tooty-ta!

I don't remember exactly when was the first time I saw this TV commercial for Cox internet service, but right from the beginning it struck me how much the woman in the video-within-the-commercial resembled yarn and knitting machine guru Margaret Olander. 

I came across Margaret's videos on YouTube. (And here's a link to her blog.) I think if anyone spends any amount of time exploring videos about knitting machines, they will eventually discover Margaret's reviews and tutorials. Have you seen her videos before? Don't you agree that she looks like the woman in the Cox commercial?!

After noting the resemblance, I just had to see if I could find the original version of the Tooty-Ta video that the Cox commercial used. And here it is: 

Personally I think "Dr. Jean" (the woman leading the Tooty Ta singalong) could be a doppelganger for Margaret. 

 

Margaret has a boatload of useful and informative videos. Here's one she made about the Sentro 48 that I found interesting:

CPAP hose sleeve re-knit

A few years ago, I hand-knit a sleeve/cozy for the hose on my CPAP machine. It used one whole skein of Big Twist Sincerely Ombres in Gray Denim. I knit it flat on size 7 needles, then (without breaking the yarn) left a long tail and used a 5mm crochet hook to single-crochet the long seam together on the inside, which would make it easier for me to undo the work and reuse the yarn later if I decided to redo the hose sleeve, since that was my first attempt at knitting one.

It was around that same time when I first started hearing about the wonderful circular knitting machines like the Addi, Sentro, etc., and after spending some time studying what the machines could do, I was certain I could reknit this hose sleeve using a 22-needle machine. It would be a couple of years before I'd decide to invest in the Addi Express Professional, but that time finally came, and this is the first item I knitted on it.

I cast on with waste yarn for about 12-13 rows then started knitting with some Grey Heather Red Heart Super Saver. When I hand-knit the hose sleeve, it was only 17 stitches wide, and since the Addi has 22 needles, I wanted to be sure the reknit sleeve would be long enough, so I knit with the gray Red Heart yarn for 48 rows (about 11 inches). Then I changed to the Big Twist yarn and continued knitting. The counter read 358 rows when I stopped knitting with the Big Twist yarn and switched back to waste yarn for another 12-13 rows before casting off.

I had left a long tail (about 6 yards) before starting the Red Heart yarn in the machine. I used that long tail to pick up and SC in each stitch from the waste yarn on the cast-on end. Then I continued to SC in each stitch around in a continuous spiral (without joining at the end of rounds) until the yarn ran out. There was enough yarn for about 4 rounds of SC on that end. I finished off with the gray yarn and then removed the waste yarn from that end of the hose cover.

At the other end of the hose cover I had also left a long tail of the Big Twist yarn. I used that tail to pick up and SC in each stitch from the waste yarn. Then I chained 16 to form a long loop for the frame of my mask to slip through (to help hold the hose sleeve in place during use), then SC in the next stitch to join the loop to the edge of the hose sleeve, and SC in the next 10 stitches and chained 16 again for the second mask loop. I joined that loop with a SC in the next stitch and SC in all the stitches until I was back to where the first loop chain began. I put a SC in each chain of the loop, then continued with SC around the edge of the hose sleeve until reaching the second loop chain. I repeated putting a SC in each chain and then continued in SC along the edge of the hose sleeve until the yarn was about to run out and finished off there.

I think the extra stitches in the width of the Addi-knit hose sleeve will make it a little bit easier to put on and take off this version of the hose sleeve compared to my hand-knit version. These yarns are nice and soft (after machine washing and drying), so they make a nice hose cover.

Sack Saver Stuffie free recipe machine knitting

This is a quick, easy, and useful knit for storing extra used plastic grocery bags, which you can reuse later as trash can liners, etc. This Sack Saver Stuffie will keep your plastic bags neatly contained and stashed away until you need them. It has a hanging loop and an opening at each end for quick access to add/remove the bags.

Using the Addi Express King Size machine (or similar size) cast on with waste yarn and work for 5 to 6 rows. Drop the waste yarn and start working in the main color (I used Red Heart Super Saver in Neon Stripes colorway as my main color). Work 60 rows in main color, then drop main color and continue working in the contrast color (I used Red Heart Super Saver in Black as my contrast color). Work in contrast color for 60 rows; do not cut yarn. Drop contrast color into center of machine and continue working in waste yarn again for 5 to 6 rows. Cast off project from machine.

Gently stretch the project, then fold the contrast color side of the tube inside of the main color side of the tube so the cast on/cast off edges are aligned. Using a 5mm crochet hook, join the contrast color edge stitches to the main color stitches, alternating one stitch from each side until all stitches are secured all the way around. Pull the short tail from the start of the main color section through the last loop on your crochet hook to secure. Remove waste yarn.

Gently stretch the project a little more. Position the contrast color working yarn (still attached to its skein) to continue working around the edge you just used your crochet hook to secure. Being careful to work around two strands of yarn from the project for each stitch, SC around this edge of the tube (you should have 46 SC around). Join the end of the round of SC with a sl in the 1st SC. Ch 1. Holding a large ponytail elastic against the top of the round of SC stitches you just made, SC over the ponytail elastic and into the top of the SC stitches you just worked, placing 1 SC in each SC from the previous round. Continue all the way around to secure the ponytail elastic inside the crochet stitches. Join the end of the round with a sl in the 1st SC. Don't break yarn yet.

To make the hanging loop, ch 10 and sl to join the chain in the same st right beside where you started chaining. Sl into the next st over on top edge of tube, then turn your work and SC back over the 10 chains to make the hanging loop sturdier. Sl to the next st over from where you started making the hanging loop. Finish off with a secure knot. Hide yarn tails in between the knitted layers.

Turn the work so the folded/open end of the tube is facing you. Place a slipknot of the contrast color yarn on your crochet hook and (being careful to always work into two strands at the folded end of the knitted tube) join this yarn to the folded edge. Ch 1 and evenly work 46 SC around the folded edge. At the end of the round join with a sl to the 1st SC. Ch 1 and (as before) hold a large ponytail elastic against the top of the round of SC stitches you just made and SC over the ponytail elastic and into the top of the SC stitches you just worked. Place 1 SC in each SC from the previous round. Continue all the way around to secure the ponytail elastic inside the crochet stitches. Join the end of the round with a sl in the 1st SC. Finish off with a secure knot. Hide yarn tails in between the knitted layers.

All done! This Sack Saver Stuffie will easily store dozens of used plastic grocery bags.

Puff Hat Addi Express King Size

It took me a week to complete this project because I never had much time on any given day to work on it. If you had a couple of hours available to focus on the project, it would only take one day to finish this.

Designer Claudia Bostic shared her free pattern to make these Puff Hats in the files of the Addi Circular Knitting Machines group on Facebook. This design is a good alternative for making beanies to fit larger size heads.

Since this was my first attempt at making the pattern, it didn't turn out 100% perfectly, but it's not bad for a first try. I attempted to use the kitchener stitch to graft the ends of the large (bottom) tube, based on instructions from Yay for Yarn's tutorial on YouTube. (Grafting the ends of the large tube is an optional technique; you can join the ends of that tube using any method you prefer.)

Pocket Scarf Addi King

Jojo Juju has a video tutorial for how to make a nice, simple pocket scarf. Her techniques are what I used for this design. The only difference is I knitted my scarf to 410 rows on the Addi King before folding the ends up and stitching the sides to form pockets.

I also sketched out my idea before starting. I thought I was getting about 5 rows per inch with this yarn on the Addi, so I did the math to make my scarf about 64 inches long, plus another 9 inches at each end for the pockets. However, after knitting the tube for the scarf I discovered that the gauge I had was closer to 4 rows per inch, so this turned out longer than I intended. Next time I need to measure my gauge more carefully. 😆

I turned up closer to 10 inches at each end for the pockets, and that feels just right. After sewing the pockets the scarf measures about 78 inches long. That's long enough to fit my husband comfortably! LOL! But it fits me pretty well, too. The Addi knits a tube of about 7 inches wide in this yarn.

I might add fringe to the ends later, but the scarf looks nice even without fringe or tassels.

Just for interest's sake: Working with a tight tension, I got about 297 rows from one skein of the Red Heart Ombre in True Blue. This project needed 345 grams of the yarn, or about 1 1/4 skeins.