Brother KX-350

I decided that I needed a knitting machine that is not a standard that is very portable.  I have a standard Brother KH-341.  It is a little fold up carry with you machine.  It is  pretty neat but being a standard it won't take the larger yarns.

I don't know if they ever made the bulky Brother machines in a portable machine, except for the convertible ones. The problem with the convertible machines is you loose bed size for the bulky when you change the gate pegs and it converts from bulky to standard. That is not want I want to have happen and I already have that portable standard. So I checked out getting one of the Brother KX350 mid-gauged machines.

I saw several of these for sell on e-bay but most went for a price higher then I wanted to pay for a machine that is old and not tested. Then recently there was one that I managed to purchase for not too high a cost. I got the auction at $54.97 plus $15 shipping. So not too bad a price.

Then someone on groups mentioned that this machine you could add to and so make a longer bed for knitting. I figured that someday I might consider purchasing another for that purpose. Then I started looking at some other auctions for this same machine for a friend who wanted to purchase one. I found several and sent the links to her.

This friend has a bond machine but has been having trouble doing some fair isle patterns she likes to do. She is hoping that this 350 machine will work better and not drop stitches as much as the bond. She is also the one who gave me the Brother KH-930 machine I am currently using.

So back the the auctions. She watched one but says it went higher then she could afford. Then she bid on another but was outbid. While she was bidding on that one, I asked her about another that I had in my watch list at ebay. She said that was not the one she was bidding on so I figured, well if it didn't go to high I would give it a go. I won that one also. So now I am waiting for another machine to get here.

My friend did not win the auction for the 350 she was bidding on but she later found one at a reasonable buy it now option and she purchased that one. So now we will both have the same machine. It is too bad that we live the entire country, well almost, a part. We will both be learning a new machine but emails will do to pass on to each other what we learn. Oh yes, I know the machine will need a new sponge strip, I haven't ordered but will soon. I have been looking for a good replacement site to get a sponge strip, and have been told that there is one for another brand of machine that others have used. At this point where I have found the strips are the same places that sell the sponge bars and the price runs the same as a bar. I just cannot see paying the same price for a sponge strip as a sponge bar.

The first machine I won has a video with it, but they said no instruction book. I went to the online brother site that has many manuals and downloaded the one for this machine to look over. The second machine they said has the book but no video. So I will have both anyway. Both sellers say that all the tools and other parts are there, so that at least is a good thing. I need to find a source of needles, but those I have seen come up on ebay from time to time. So I will watch there and a couple other places. As it is for now, I will only be using one machine and the other can be a source of needles if need be.

According to group members, the KX350 will knit sports to worsted weight yarns. It is light in weight so that I can move it easily and it will be a machine that I hope to take to the yard with me. I am not a stick in the house during the spring and summer months. If I can be outside, that is where I will often be. I do have my knitting looms, needles, and my crochet and they go outside with me a lot, but a machine will be nice also.