Ruk is a good friend of my sister. Ruk is a long-time knitter (I got my go-to sock pattern from her several years ago). She’s also very generous. A couple months ago, Ruk asked if I might like her old knitting machine.

Yes, please—and thank you!

I had no idea what kind it was, but I thought it would be fun to try.

My sister brought it over yesterday. This morning I looked it over—it appears to be in great condition (even the original Styrofoam pieces that secure a couple of parts were intact!)—and noted the brand and model number: Studio 155.

Looking from one end of the knitting machine to the other.

A peek into the accessories box.

The heart of the knitting machine.

As soon as I posted that information on Ravelry’s Machine Knitting group fellow knitters replied saying it’s a wonderful workhorse of a machine and offering links to information about machine knitting and tips about what to do before trying to use it. The most important thing being I need to check, and possibly replace, the sponge bar. I didn’t know what that was, but again, they provided me with links and information.

My sister said Ruk found another thing that goes with the machine, so I’ll get that later on. In the meantime I’ll read the owner’s manual (which I was able to download thanks to another link from my new friends in the Ravelry group) and a two-volume set of books Ruk also gave me, Bible for Machine Knitting.

Thank you for this wonderful gift, Ruk. I hope I can learn how to use it well enough to make some exciting new handmade projects. (To me, hand knit still means something it made one stitch at a time on handheld knitting needles.)