S5 E7: Inside the World of CSMs with Celeste Angello

In this week's episode, we are excited to welcome Celeste Angello, known as the Cranky Spinster, about her journey into the world of circular sock knitting machines (CSM). They discuss the importance of community, the process of restoring antique machines, and tips for beginners looking to get started in sock knitting. 

Celeste shares her experiences with crank-ins, the innovations in the CSM world, and the creative possibilities that come with using these machines. The conversation highlights the rich history of sock knitting and the excitement of exploring new techniques and ideas within the craft.

Takeaways:

• Celeste identifies as a maker, encompassing various crafts.
• Crank-ins are essential for learning and community building.
• The best sock machine is one that works, regardless of age.
• Budget and intended use are key factors in choosing a sock machine.
• Beginners should focus on mastering the basics of sock knitting.
• The online community for sock knitting is vast and varied.
• Innovations in sock knitting include 3D printed machines and accessories.
• Creativity in sock knitting is limited only by imagination.
• Restoration of antique machines can be a rewarding process.
• Celeste shares her journey and encourages others to explore the craft.

Transcript

UNKNOWN: 0:00

you

SPEAKER_02: 0:08

All right, welcome to the Sweet Georgia Show. This is a podcast about craft, creativity, and what compels us to create. I'm your host, Felicia Lowe from Sweet Georgia and also the School of Sweet Georgia. And today I am thrilled to welcome Celeste Angelo, known in the fiber world as the cranky spinster. Now, I met Celeste a few years ago at the Earl Bakker Homecoming and the Crank Inn in Missouri, and she was expertly cranking socks and telling me about how she was restoring circular sock knitting machines. And it seemed like very, very intense work. And so I wanted to ask her a lot about that. At that event, she also introduced me to the idea of knitting with Kevlar yarn to make super, super hard wearing knitted socks. And so I came home with a cone of Kevlar yarn. And so since that time, since that day that we met, I found that Celeste is awesome. Also doing lots of very interesting things in this world with these machine needles and things like that and making a very, very popular tool called the triple stitch I-cord tool. And that really blew up and exploded on social media. And so I have lots of questions about the circular sock knitting machines, about the CSM community and what is happening in the world of CSM knitting. So I'm looking forward to exploring all of that today. Welcome to the show, Celeste. Thanks for having me. Very, very excited to have you here. So okay, first off, my first question is, I am often very, very challenged by what to call ourselves, like when we are doing the things that we're doing. I know like I... spin and I weave and I knit and I dye and I do all these machine things now. And I often find like, I don't know what to call myself. I call myself like knitter slash spinner slash weaver. Or do you call yourself a fiber artist or maker or crafter? Like what, what do you call yourself and how do you describe all of the work that you do?

SPEAKER_00: 2:03

I'm a maker, I think, because I do way more than sock machines and knitting and spinning and I sew for a living. And I work on, I mean, I have a wood shop. We have a machine shop. So we're makers. I'm a maker. That's what I would refer to myself as. But as far as sock machine goes, I think we're crankers. Crankers. You think all sock knitting machine people call themselves crankers, right?

SPEAKER_02: 2:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 2:33

Yeah, we could be crankers or cranky.

SPEAKER_02: 2:36

Or CSM knitters. Does that come up as a thing?

SPEAKER_00: 2:41

We could be knitters, sock machine knitters. We're still knitters. Knitters.

SPEAKER_02: 2:46

Yeah. Yeah.

UNKNOWN: 2:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 2:49

So can you share with me a little bit of a story and background about like how you came into this whole world of circular sock knitting machines and antique machines? Because like you just said, you have a wood shop and you're sewing and you're doing all these different things. Like how did this one particular part come into your life?

SPEAKER_00: 3:06

You want the long story?

SPEAKER_02: 3:11

The best version of the story.

SPEAKER_00: 3:13

Okay. I was sitting at an auction with a friend and she knits and I knit. And we were sitting there talking about how socks were the most functional knitting. Like, I feel like if you give someone socks, they're going to wear socks. You give them a sweater, they'll save it for a special occasion. Hat, they'll probably wear. But I felt socks were pretty functional and I was knitting socks. And she says to me, I think they used to make this machine that did that. And I was very intrigued. And... started kind of looking into it. And I had a job at the time where I got a tax return and they said, you know, I kind of was looking for a machine and thought that was the year I was going to buy one. And I tell my spouse and he says, let me ask around in the junk world. And sure enough, he found a guy a mile from my house that had one in his junk pile. So I quickly went down there and I got it and taught myself how to use it. And it was a Steber, which is a really odd little machine. But I learned how to use it and joined, I think, a Yahoo group at the time. Yahoo used to have these groups. I don't know. There was a sock machine group on Yahoo and kind of taught myself, kind of found a couple other people in my area and met up with them. We went to a couple of crack ins with them, met some more people, got on Facebook when they started making groups for sock machines. And it just kind of blew up from there. And I think I've been doing this since 2010. So I'm 15 years into this.

SPEAKER_02: 4:55

That's amazing. So like picking up this antique CSM machine out of out of a junk pile? How do you even know where to start to A, fix it, and then B, learn how to use it? And this is like you're saying in a day and age when people are on Yahoo groups, this is before Facebook, right?

SPEAKER_00: 5:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 5:16

Where is all the information about how to do these things?

SPEAKER_00: 5:19

Yeah, whatever you could find online from the people in the Yahoo group or YouTube. And YouTube was really limited at the time as far as like there was maybe five or six videos on YouTube of people making socks and using a machine, but none of them were the machine I had. So I kind of was in my own world trying to learn how to use it until I got to a first cranking machine. And then I think I picked up a lot of information. Second crank in picked up a ton of information. I feel like my socks improved with every crank in I went to. I picked up something else from somebody else who was willing to show me, you know, a tip or trick. And I really feel crank ins are needed. You need to go and be with your people. You have to do more than just a video. It's it's hands on.

SPEAKER_01: 6:09

So,

SPEAKER_02: 6:10

I mean, for anybody who's listening who doesn't really know what a cranking is, can you describe a little bit about what this event is?

SPEAKER_00: 6:16

It's a group of people that have sock machines and want to meet up and hang out and use their sock machines. And sometimes there's classes and tutorials on how to do things. And Sometimes it's just a group of people making socks, but it's definitely someplace you can go and get help if you need it. I mean, all levels are welcome.

SPEAKER_02: 6:43

Yeah. So, I mean, I have only personally been to one crank in ever since I started working with these machines. And I mean, we're in Vancouver here. There hasn't been, I would like to organize one. I mean, I feel like it is great and really, really helpful to meet up with other people who do this and then learn from them. There just haven't been a lot of opportunities for everybody to get together. But the one that I attended is the one where I met you. And I just remember how there were so many experienced crankers. there who were teaching people like how to take the machine out of the box for the very first time, how to cast on for the very first time. And they were so incredibly generous with all of their knowledge. And it was just such like a sharing, welcoming, encouraging place to be. I thought it was amazing. So I've been encouraging everybody to go. But yeah, for somebody who wants to organize ones, like what do you feel like is the most important thing about a crank in?

SPEAKER_00: 7:47

I don't know. A good space. Find a good space that's convenient for people to get to. I have a crank in that I have organized in May and it's at a fiber festival in central Pennsylvania. And I get people from Ohio and Virginia and New Hampshire, New York. I mean, I get people from all over the area to come to this. And so a good space with a positive atmosphere. I don't know. I mean, people are like, this is a great cranking. You did such a great job. And I said, I just make a space for you guys to come hang out with your machines. I don't know what makes it good. I think the people make it good. You have good people, you have a good cranking.

SPEAKER_02: 8:32

Yeah, this is amazing. So one of the places that if people are looking for crank-ins to attend, there is a calendar and a list that they can find online, circularsockmachinesociety.org, I believe it is. I

SPEAKER_00: 8:47

forget what the CSKM– there's a bunch of letters.

SPEAKER_02: 8:51

Yeah, we'll put that link in the show notes for sure. I'm really not good at that.

SPEAKER_00: 8:55

Yes, definitely. And they have an event calendar there where you can post events and– They're all a lot of fun, but they tend to be in the Midwest a lot.

SPEAKER_02: 9:08

Yeah. And I mean, like this one that I attended, the Earl, Earl Walker one, I just found that there was a lot of people who drove from super far away, like driving for 14 hours to come and attend this crank in. And so I feel like it is like this, this great space where everybody can kind of come and it becomes a bit of a destination, right?

SPEAKER_00: 9:27

Like, yeah, I drove 14 hours there and 14 hours back. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 9:32

It's an important thing to attend, right?

SPEAKER_00: 9:34

Yeah. It's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02: 9:37

So in terms of like restoring all these machines, I mean, that wasn't the first machine. I mean, you restored the first machine and then after that, and you've been doing this for 15 years now, how many sort of machines have you sort of seen and faced? I

SPEAKER_00: 9:53

have no, I have no count on the machines. I mean, um, I ended up buying a machine. I think during the pandemic is where I really got crazy on fixing and repairing machines and started talking to other people who buy and sell machines and parts. I ended up buying one woman's collection who lived in Iowa. And that was a journey. I drove to Iowa, picked up a whole bunch of parts, filled my car, and drove it back. And then I had a woman who was an elder in sock machine community call me last year. And I think I made five trips to her house. She had a heck of a collection of machines. And I ended up buying all of her machines. And I have just been, you know, finding machines at auctions or flea markets. I have a lot of friends that are clean-out crew of antique dealers, so they all know what I'm looking for. And the trade is, I'll make you socks. So they get kind of excited about having socks. So that's kind of cool. But yeah, I can't really tell you how many machines I've had that have gone through my possession, but I could give you a my opinions on them. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 11:20

Yeah. Do you have a favorite machine? What's been, what's been a favorite machine?

SPEAKER_00: 11:26

I really like Laguerre 400s and any version of that. I think if, when you saw me in Missouri, I had my sham board with me, which is the new version of the closed cam Legare 400 based, basically the same thing. I really like those. Right now I'm on any base of Creelman Moneymaker or any of those machines that were made by Creelman. I think they also made machines for Auto Knitter and Home Profit, which I've had, currently I have a Home Profit and I think I posted in the 3.0 group, all the paperwork that came with that machine, which was really interesting. Finding a lot of paperwork with machines is interesting. But yeah, that style, yeah, that's an open cam cast iron machine. Those are kind of favorites of mine. What kind of paperwork comes with them? Sometimes you get, like, the one that I just got came with paperwork from the original owner that she bought in 1922. It was a contract for making socks for the company. And also a lot of correspondence between her and the company on things she was stuck on. So imagine, you know, you're stuck on something. Now you can go to the Internet and ask someone. She had to write a letter and then wait for a response.

SPEAKER_02: 12:54

Were the responses good? Were they

SPEAKER_00: 12:55

helpful? The responses were good. And you know what? When I started playing with that machine and getting it running, I understood exactly what she was talking about and where she was stuck. And I don't think she ever used it. I think she got frustrated and put it down, but it turned out to be a really nice machine once I worked on it a little bit.

SPEAKER_02: 13:14

That's amazing. It's like picking up this machine from like the 1920s and then going through the experience of what someone else had experienced back in the 1920s. It's almost like time travel, right? Some of these machines are like about 100 years old. Yeah. I mean, I first heard about... like machines and, um, CSM and crankers back in about 2008, 2009, somebody had come to my studio from back East in Canada and said, Oh, you should join this group of people who they all make socks. We're all called crankers. And I went online immediately and it was looking for, well, where can I get one of these machines? And at the time I couldn't find anything that was made new. Um, I maybe was looking in the wrong place, but all I found was antique machines and they were all starting at about like$800 us. And I was like, Oh, that's That's quite a lot. That's more than I was willing to do at the time. And then I also wasn't sure if I knew how to use it or anything like that. So I know that since I started getting down into this path, people email me a lot asking about what CSM should I buy? Like, where should I start? If I want to do this, where should I start? Should I get a used machine? Should I get an antique restored machine? Should I try to restore my own? Should I buy a new machine? Like what advice can you give to somebody who wants to get started?

SPEAKER_00: 14:32

The best machine is the working machine. And I tell that to everybody. And then after that budget is, you know, what's your budget? How much money do you have to throw at this? Because you could spend thousands. And I think, I don't know what the average new machine is probably close to$3,000. And it really, you know, it depends on what you want to do. And I always ask people, you know, do you knit socks? Do you hand knit socks? How many stitches do you like to cast on for a sock? And I go from there. I'm like, there are people that like sport weight or heavier DK weight somewhere on the thicker end. I always suggest a 60 cylinder. If they like fingering weight, you know, commercial sock yarn, I always go with a 72. If they are used to hand knit patterns that that only cast on 64 stitches than I suggest a 64, but it's all about budget and what you want that machine to do and what you want it to do down the road. You know? I mean, you could buy a new machine and it would make socks really well. You can buy an antique machine for half the price that'll do the same thing and it's just as nice. And I have new and old in my collection, in my personal collection, and they all work really, really well.

SPEAKER_01: 15:57

So

SPEAKER_00: 15:58

it's just, I think, what you want it to do and what your budget is. Do

SPEAKER_02: 16:03

you think somebody has to have like a real mechanical mindset in

SPEAKER_00: 16:07

order to do this craft? You have to be kind of mechanical. You have to understand how that machine works and how to take it apart and not be afraid of it. there are a lot of people that like, I don't know what to do. Like you use it, you have a screwdriver, everything is held together. You know, you take it apart, you can put it back together. It's not that hard to do. I don't think it's that hard to do, but I, you know, used to take apart cars. So it's just a machine that knits in a circle. It's not that tough, but for people who don't, if you just knit, um, It might be a little too much for you, but you have to learn how to be your own sock machine mechanic.

SPEAKER_02: 16:49

Yeah, it's a bit like becoming a mechanic, right? Like you come out of this, you're knitting a sock and all of a sudden you're like, oh, my hands are covered in grease. Yes, why are my hands black?

SPEAKER_00: 17:01

Yeah, that's

SPEAKER_02: 17:03

common.

UNKNOWN: 17:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 17:08

Okay, fantastic. So now, you also mentioned the 3.0 group. Can you describe what these things are? Because I know that when I tried to find the community of circular sock knitting machines online, I did get pointed a lot to Facebook groups. But there's more than one, and there's many, and there's multiple versions of all these Facebook groups. So I'm wondering, how do you navigate all this? Where are the sock... knitters like where do they hang out uh online

SPEAKER_00: 17:39

they're they're all over facebook uh there's you know i i think a lot of the sock machine groups started as one group where somebody got angry and then started another group and then that group got too big and somebody started another group and then there's groups that are you know regional groups that are new england or um Pennsylvania, mid Atlantic groups, and then there's, you know, Minnesota groups. And then there's groups that are, you know, people in glorious socks, the pigs group, the cows group, crankers of wonderful socks. And those are groups of people that actually have crank ins once a year and meet up. And I mean, there's just so many, I think I just kind of go with, there's the sock machine society group and yeah. Yeah. One's dedicated to specific machines. I mean, I don't know. I don't know where the best place to find a group is. Find the area you're in and join some of the groups and figure it out because there's a lot of it.

SPEAKER_02: 18:42

Yeah, I think that that was my end. I mean, that's what I ended up doing is just ended up joining all the groups, whichever group I could find. Yes, we're in all the groups. Yeah, and they're all actually very active on Facebook for sure. Are they... you know, anywhere else, um, like where, where would you find other sock knitters these days besides like online? Probably

SPEAKER_00: 19:05

Ravelry. Ravelry has some crankers. I know all the social media platforms kind of have groups that are dedicated to sock machines, um, and people who knit, but, um, yeah, Instagram, all the, the social media is TikTok, all of them. Blue Sky, whenever you have their sock machine people there.

SPEAKER_02: 19:28

Now, in terms of like, you know, learning how to make your own sock from scratch, do you have like. tips or suggestions for beginners who are wanting to get started? And, you know, like, like someone who, you know, from your 1920s contact who had sort of started a sock and then gotten frustrated, where do you find people like find the most challenges and how do you get around all of those?

SPEAKER_00: 19:56

I always tell people that just get the basics down to start. make sure you can knit in a circle, adjust your tension, tighten your stitch, loosen your stitch, get a feel for that, figure out how to turn a heel and a toe, get that organized. Once you get that down and then make a hung hem sock, go from there. And then once you get good at that and your tension's nice, try to hook up your ribber and figure out how your ribber works properly. And It is trial and error. There's no right way to make a sock. Everyone does something different. And it still ends up in a sock. So...

SPEAKER_02: 20:39

Yeah, no, I think that that's where I found a lot of the, you know, challenging opinions on on some of these groups and conversations. It's right, because there's so many different ways that you can make a sock. And I think that there was one was like, Oh, I'm going to make a sock with my heel spring on the entire time. I'm that that's good idea. That's not a good idea. It was just, there's a lot of conflicting information. So I guess in the end, it's just depends on like, well, what do you like? How do you want your socks to feel? How do you want them to fit? Right? So it's kind of finding your way through all of that. all of the different ways that you could do it.

SPEAKER_00: 21:12

Yes, I think we call that your sock recipe. Whatever your sock recipe

SPEAKER_02: 21:16

is. Do you have your own personal sock recipe? I do kind of. Like your favorite way of knitting socks? Yes. Like a couple of techniques and things like that? I

SPEAKER_00: 21:25

do. I do like 40 rows of one-by-one ribbing, and then I switch to stockinette. And then sometimes I like to do my heel a little deeper. some people like to turn heels on and uh so that the stitching's on the bottom I do mine with the top I'm kind of old school that way but there's a lot of new techniques out there that are you know that make your sock better that make your sock fit better that are uh just you can get really into making a sock your way and there's no right or wrong way to do it Are you making anything else with your sock machines besides socks? I've done a lot of fingerless mittens. I have a bumblebee that I did toddler pants with. Oh, cool. Which I could only make a 2T with because I'm limited. But they turned out kind of neat and they were really popular. And when I sold socks, I hung them in my booth and it was really a draw to get people interested. in my booth to look at socks. So those were neat. You can make all headbands. I mean, it's stuffed animals. People were making support, the emotional support chickens with the machine. Oh,

SPEAKER_02: 22:46

really?

SPEAKER_00: 22:46

I didn't see that. I think somebody's doing that. I mean, it's infinite. Oh, we totally make that. I think somebody was doing my little ponies that were really, really cute. Yeah. You can do anything. Teddy bears. It's all about imagination.

SPEAKER_02: 23:07

So you have to tell me about some of the other things that you make. I know that on the cranky spinster, you have a couple of other things. You have a lathe, like you have a woodworking shop. You said you have a lathe and you're making a bunch of things. Can you tell us about what else you make?

SPEAKER_00: 23:23

I was making an I-cord tool. And I think that came from fall. I think it was like September, October. where somebody in South America made a video of three needles stitching in a circle and everyone went crazy for it. What is this? Where do I get it? And I was asked by Lar Nelken to make an iCord tool and I did. And I sent it to her and she made a video and I think it was me and... I forget all these names. Another lady who made a 3D printed version and she posted a video of both of them and talked about us. And I think my Instagram jumped from 900 people to over 3,000 overnight. And people were sending me messages and I'm like, oh my, what did I just do? Okay, so I started making iCord tools, and I was trying to do it as much as I could, and I need to get back to it because everyone's sending me messages asking for more iCord tools. People still want them. But yeah, I just haven't had time to get to my lathe, and the amount of yarn I've purchased in the past year, there's a folding table full of yarn in front of my lathe that I need to sort through. So... I will be getting back to the lathe soon. It's just not right now. I have to get it cleaned up first.

SPEAKER_02: 25:00

I can only imagine. There's so many, so many things to do. The I-cord tool is basically three machine needles, and then you lay the yarn over top, and then you're basically just machine knitting three stitches at a time, which creates the I-cord, which is basically what we do when we hand knit I-cord as well. I am so curious what everyone is doing with all of their I-cord.

SPEAKER_00: 25:21

People were making signs with wire. That was one thing somebody was doing. Somebody came up with a pattern to put it on the bottom of a sweater using the tool. Because I've knit i-cord on the bottom of something. That is time consuming. So they figured out how to do that. Yeah, I was wondering what people were doing with all the i-cord as well.

SPEAKER_02: 25:47

We've made... like yards and yards and yards of I-cord in the past as well. But we used it for Christmas decorations around the studio because we used up all the scrap yarn that we had. And then it was just became this giant garland. I didn't make it. I believe Charlotte made it. So credit goes to Charlotte for making all of that I-cord. And then we keep it as Christmas decorations. It's been fun.

SPEAKER_00: 26:09

You can do anything with it. I don't know. I think Laura Noken was adding beads to hers. She was doing all kinds of cool stuff with hers. Putting beads on it, making something to hold your glasses. She was coming up with a lot of creative ideas for this.

SPEAKER_02: 26:28

Yes, actually, you know, when I met Laura Nelken years and years and years and years ago, her first things that she was doing was she was knitting jewelry. So she was putting beads on yarn and then knitting it into bracelets and necklaces and all sorts of things like that. So that makes a lot of sense, you know, being able to make beaded knitted jewelry with an I-cord tool.

SPEAKER_00: 26:50

Yes. It's pretty innovative, actually,

SPEAKER_02: 26:52

all the things you could do.

SPEAKER_00: 26:53

You're limited by your imagination, I guess. You can do whatever you want with it. I was trying to come up with new ideas of what I can do with these. I'm like, what can I do with this? I don't know. I can make a lot of it though.

SPEAKER_02: 27:08

But you can make them. And there's obviously like a wait list for these, these I-cords now, the I-cord tool now. So like looking ahead to, you know, the rest of the year and into the future, like what do you get most excited about in this sort of CSM world and what is happening and are things changing? Are there new things coming? What sort of gets you excited about more of this circular sock knitting?

SPEAKER_00: 27:33

I like to see what people are making that, you know, come up with really crazy ideas that are out of the box, interesting things they're doing with machines. We have a local knitter in my Pennsylvania group named Valerie who is doing argyle. She's doing pattern work. She's doing really crazy hand knit. Her socks look like they're hand knit. She's doing, you know, crazy things, and I call her the rogue knitter. People are like, what is she doing? I'm like, just let her go. She understands what she's doing. I handed her a sweater that was half finished, and she said, well, it was 84 stitches in a circle, and I have an 84 cylinder for my machine, so I just knit the rest of that sleeve on the machine. I'm like, okay, you can do that. You can totally do that. So, yeah. Yeah. You can do a lot with it. You just have to think of how to do it.

SPEAKER_02: 28:32

Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of people starting to do more stranded color work on their machines, which... It does. It like a little bit boggles your mind. You're like, oh, it is stranded colorwork knitting. It's just another way of doing it. Just the same as like knitting the socks in the first place. It's just the same as knitting socks on needles. It's just doing it in a slightly different way. So why wouldn't you be able to do stranded colorwork? It's just figuring out how it works. I think it's a little bit endless, you know, using this

SPEAKER_00: 29:00

tool. I've been amused with the people that are 3D printing and making accessories for machines and cylinders for machines and just machines fully 3d printed machines i just got a hat machine from belgium that that is i think 135 130 stitches around and it's just like came out of his head he somehow made this work it's very cool knit in a circle it's all neat i don't know

SPEAKER_02: 29:33

Do you have many 3D printed machines?

SPEAKER_00: 29:35

I have one 3D printed machine and it's the hat machine.

SPEAKER_02: 29:39

Okay. Okay. Yeah. I have never sort of had my hands on a 3D printed machine to see how it would feel. So I'm curious about all of that and sort of seeing if I can get my hands on one to try. It's very loud.

SPEAKER_00: 29:54

It's deafening loud. Really loud, but still really cool.

SPEAKER_02: 30:00

Yeah, I tried. I tried. I found some plans for making a 3D printed cylinder online. And so I tried to print my own cylinder. And I think I don't blame my printer. I think that each of the channels of the cylinder were too tight. And so the needles wouldn't go up and down. And it was it was a little bit. Yeah, it was really sad. So I'd have to probably try that again.

SPEAKER_00: 30:27

We have a retired engineer in the 3.0 group that makes some really cool accessories for doing color work. And just some of his ideas I think are really interesting and things that I wouldn't even think of to make for a machine that is accessible and makes things a little easier to do. Is that Dave Hulster? Yes. You've met Dave?

SPEAKER_02: 30:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 30:54

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 30:55

I have bought several versions of his cone winder, like multiple versions. Really? Because they're all so cool. So I talk about this cone winder all the time, that Sunfire cone winder. And I saw it at the crank in for the first time. I was like, Oh my gosh, that's beautiful. But I was afraid to touch it. And then I got one of the ones that Christina printed for me. And so we, I use that like all the time. And then they started making motorized versions of this or ones that you can attach an electric drill to. And now there's like a motorized version of it. So we're using it at the studio as well. Like it's a great, beautifully engineered cone winder.

SPEAKER_00: 31:35

Absolutely. And he really likes making things and I'm here for it. Like keep making cool stuff. I want to see more.

SPEAKER_02: 31:42

Yeah. And so I saw in one of those chats somewhere that he had started developing compound cylinders for CSMs, but I haven't yet had a chance to try that out and go down that whole path. But the whole idea there, can you kind of explain what a compound cylinder would be

SPEAKER_00: 31:58

for? So compound cylinder is, say you want to make children's socks, you want to use... a machine that has basically a smaller circumference. So it fits in your machine like a regular cylinder, but the circumference of the knitting is smaller. So it makes a tighter knit and... it's just a smaller sock takes a different needle and it's very neat. I have a couple of compound cylinders. I've used his, his is very nice. He's, he's done a really nice job with it, but yeah, compound cylinders are cool. And I think, I think Dave Lord makes a compound for a couple of machines as well.

SPEAKER_02: 32:43

Like you mentioned Dave Lord from Shamboard. Yes. Yes. Yes. So I have one last question before we go. One of the last questions is that that day that I met you, I did come home with that cone of Kevlar yarn, but I... kind of scared of using it. You have a new thing and you're like, oh, I only have limited amount. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. Should I use it? Should I not use it? And this is how everybody's stash ends up growing, right? Because I have yarn that I'm just too scared to use. Can you talk a little bit about using Kevlar in a hand-cranked sock? How does it work? What does it do?

SPEAKER_00: 33:21

That started as a gimmick to get men to buy socks. I figured if I added Kevlar to it, they would be really like, I must have this. This is, you know, bulletproof. And so I started with making the socks with Kevlar and the heels and toes and like reinforced with Kevlar and It worked. People, they were the first ones that would leave when I sold socks. That was a hot seller. And so I started telling other people about it. And I started putting Kevlar on cones and selling it. I should probably make a video on how to put it in your heels and toes so people understand how you can use it better so that you can use it and not be afraid to use it. But I have tons more. If you use it all, let me know. I

SPEAKER_02: 34:10

just need to do it. I just need to try it. I mean, I guess the idea is, I mean, I do have that extra little accessory that, you know, people use to hold their Lycra when they're carrying Lycra along with their yarn. I'll have to put a link in the show notes to the accessory that I'm talking about, but it's just like this little metal bar. You attach it to the stand, to the mast, and then you run the yarn up separate. So I think the idea is that I would run my sock yarn through the machine and I would run this strand of Kevlar yarn through that little attachment accessory. And then the two would knit together and you would only hold it together in the heels and the toes. Cause I don't think you would need that for the rest of the body of the

SPEAKER_00: 34:52

sock. I just put it in the heels and toes and it seems to work really well. Although sometimes it makes their, they become really slippery. So if you have hardwood floors and you want to run and slide, they're really good for that. They make, They make them a little slipperier, but I've not had any of the heels and toes wear out in any of the socks that I've put Kevlar in. I've sold them to people and I've asked them how they don't even notice that there's Kevlar in there. I mean, it actually worked out for me being trying to be funny and make Kevlar-enforced socks. It worked.

SPEAKER_02: 35:32

That's awesome. Okay, so by the time this episode goes live... I will make some socks and put the Kevlar in and see how it goes. Okay. And I can let you know. I will email you and let you know how it all worked.

SPEAKER_00: 35:45

Okay. I want to see a picture. Awesome. Yeah, I have a lot of projects here that need to be finished or started. I have a lot of tools that I've purchased that I need to use. Yeah, there's a lot to do. And I love the sock machines. The mechanical parts of that have not gotten old yet.

SPEAKER_02: 36:05

Mm-hmm. Well, been around for about like 100 plus years, right? And just glad to see that the whole thing can just keep going, right? This is something that can be preserved and then, yeah, taken into the future. I just think about the machine that I have and I wonder, you know, if my daughter will use it one day or, you know, it could be passed down or something like that. Yeah, I think it's really neat to see all of the history of it and where it's going into the future as well.

UNKNOWN: 36:33

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02: 36:34

So if people want to find you and your work and see what you're doing about all your machine restorations, I know I've seen some of your machine restorations on TikTok, but what's the best place where people can come and find you?

SPEAKER_00: 36:47

Probably the Cranky Spinster on TikTok and also the Cranky Spinster on Instagram. I think I post the most on those two about sock machines and restoration restorations. It

SPEAKER_02: 36:58

is really fun to watch. Yeah, it's really, really fun to watch and see what you do with all the machines because you can see them. You show how they like sometimes are all completely rusted or they're falling apart and all the things that you do in order to make them run. And then you show yourself knitting them. Of course. Fantastic. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me today. It's really, really interesting to hear about all the things that you're working on and doing.

SPEAKER_00: 37:21

Yeah. Thanks for having me. I was wondering what I was going to have to say.