Your Path to Cranking with Joy

Part 1

Where to Start

There are many paths to circular sock machines but they do not all lead to an equally satisfying experience.  When I was a kid in Missouri & Kansas during the 1950’s the most common means of getting a sock machine was to inherit it or discover it at a farm sale with little certainty all the parts were present or functioning. Part of the excitement of discover was Wow! I wonder if I can make it work. I was reminded of that this weekend during a crank-in held in the farming community of Brighton Colorado. These fine old sock machines continue to capture our imaginations today just as they did 60 years ago.

Our crank-in was being hosted by the Owner of Brighton’s “Deer Pants” yarn shop on Main street. We had a great turn out of 10 or so crankers from all over the central and northeastern part of Colorado with one driving some 70 miles to come. One visitor actually arrived from as far away as San Diego. She was visiting family but with the intent to attend our crank-in as an essential part of her trip. What a great group of crankers we had. All shared their CSM moments, creative solutions and yarn discoveries freely; everyone contributing and helping each other. That included one guest that had come for help in repairing a broken Auto Knitter shell and like any stalwart Cranker she left with information in hand and new hope. In another turn a wonderful couple walked in the shop without a machine but were clearly stunned to see us all there cranking. She had been cranking socks on her 47 in near total isolation. They had discovered us through a printed notice that we would be in the Yarn Shop that weekend.  They had come to see if we were really cranking socks like she did.  It is our hope she will join us at next months meeting.  
Yes, the fascination still lives and is being renewed in a new generation as nearly half our attending Crankers were younger than 40.

Obviously, being a blogger, my primary audience are those who use the Internet to acquire most of their CSM information. For the last 5 years or so it has become common for new CSM seekers to try using various aspects of the Internet to find there first sock machine. But as cranking becomes more common, at some point for each of us this experience of cranking socks becomes local and very personal.  I would suggest that if you have a local group of sock machine users, the sooner you seek local resources for information about sock machines the more likely you will have a satisfying CSM experience. It is this personal connection to other users of sock machines that can provide the new seeker their best opportunity for not just finding a sock machine but discovering a social network that brings with it a great deal of joy. So if you are a new seeker for sock machine information, a good start is to find a path that leads to your closest sock machine user group. It is among other users that you will experience the practical wisdom of what really works.  There you will have the opportunity to use more of your senses to gain a fuller understanding of how to use a CSM.  As you see, hear and touch the machines as they crank you develop a far more complete picture than can be gained by using the Internet alone.
The old adage of " buyer be ware" was never more true as there is no one stop source for CSM consumer reports.   Because even new is old technology being reproduced, new does not mean trouble free and old does not mean troublesome.   With several sources for full restoration, new needles, cylinders and dials, even the common older machines can be updated.  Today's CSM seeker has every opportunity to  put together a great machine designed around their needs and their pocket book. So lets take a journey between now and December to explore these choices starting with “why buy any sock machine”.