I bought a Legare 400 circular sock machine over the summer. When it arrived, I unpacked it and was immediately overwhelmed by all the itsy-bitsy (and not-so-itsy-bitsy) pieces. And so it sat, in the original shipping box, in the corner of the living room, mocking me daily.
Yesterday, I spent the day with Kathy and she very patiently explained what all the parts were and how to assemble the pieces, including showing me all the tips and tricks she’s acquired — most of it from the school of hard knocks.
I can’t tell you how lucky I felt to be on the receiving end of all this wonderful knowledge. In 8 hours, not only did she show me how to care and feed my CSM, assemble it, but also got me started cranking right away! I learned to thread the machine, make a picot hem, figure out the number of rows to crank for leg and foot, and make short row heel/toe. Yes, people, at the end of the day, I walked away not only with the knowledge and confidence to start cranking out socks, but also with a completed bonnet (just needs to be kitchenered to a D ring) and a completed sock. That is, it would have been completed if I didn’t drop 2 stitches right as I knitted it off to the waste yarn. I still might be able to rescue it with some careful crochet hook work.
Today, I went off to Ikea (have you tried to go to an Ikea weeks before Christmas and on a Sunday afternoon? Not a pretty picture) and purchased a Vika Fagerlid trestle stand to hold the CSM. It’s now assembled and the CSM mounted on it. It really is quite sturdy and will withstand some heavy cranking without tipping over.
