u/books_cats_please

Hello, I recently got a Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine off eBay for less than $100. As much as I'd love a punch card machine, it's not in my budget right now.

So far I'm really enjoying learning how to machine knit vs hand knitting, and I'm mostly able to work through the quirks of the USM, but the one issue that I haven't been able to figure out yet is really killing the fun for me. I've watched a ton of videos, followed the instructions, and found the recommended blogs etc. but can't find much on this specific issue.

Getting the first row of stitches on my machine is almost impossible. It jams almost right away every single time. I don't think it's the carriage getting caught on the bed, a tension issue, or a problem with things being level, not lubed up (I keep waxing the plate) or anything like that because when I do finally get the first row of stitches on and the needles are in the standard working position, everything works perfectly. There's not even the barest hint of jamming once I get past that first row.

The problem seems to happen when the needles are in the forward working position, and it happens even when there is no yarn.

I've triple checked that the needles are in the correct position when this happens, and I do sometimes notice that the needles all seem to push back a little in their beds once the carriage starts engaging the first couple of needles, but using the yellow card to adjust them forward that slight bit again hasn't really helped.

I've gotten it to work a couple times by slightly shaking/jiggling the carriage or even opening it and just kind of jiggling the plate while being careful not to accidentally lift it up or mess up my other needles - but I have to do that 2 or 3 times on the first pass, and sometimes nothing seems to be able unjam it other than taking the carriage off and trying again.

When it jams, it's a dead stop, like if I really try to force it something will break. I look and look, but can't tell what is catching since the keyplate has ridges on both sides of it which makes it hard to see if any of the butts on the needles are out of alignment for the keyplate "path". It's also not consistently jamming in any particular place. Often it's right away, but sometimes it's after 10 or so needles, and then halfway or towards the end.

I'm new to this, so I'm open to the possibility that I'm completely wrong and my issue is actually due to the table not being level, or tension etc. And advice on troubleshooting this is greatly appreciated!

I've been inactive for 20 years now and my husband and teen daughter have never been members of the church. Just this week we got a "For the Strength of Youth" magazine in the mail. At first I thought my parents subscribed us to it, but the magazine was in my name and not my daughter's. I kind of think if they did it, they'd request it for her with her name.

Before I go dive into an awkward conversation, does anyone know if the church just randomly sends out the magazines to people?

Also, it's legitimately creepy how much the church knows about people who haven't been active for decades...