I have decided to try this again just because I hate the idea of not having a place to talk about topics that are not fiber related. There is more to life than that.
I decided to move my new site Dish and Wash Cloth Mania to a new home because of the difficulty finding a template that fits my goals for it. You may find it here :
Dish and Wash Cloth Mania.
This is still my main site for fiber arts. and other topics.
I haven’t done much knitting or crocheting done in the past few days. I spent a bit of time on Saturday evening weaving in loose ends on some squares that need to be mailed in the next or so. I have also been working on another Mason Dixon Ballband dishcloth. I’ll post pictures of that when it is done. At the rate I am going, it will be a few days.
This evening after my husband gets home from work we are spending the evening mowing the lawn and doing some basic yard cleanup. Today is being spent working on blogs, doing dishes and straightening the house. They aren’t exciting things, but still need to be done.
It’s been a busy day in terms of Blog activity. There have been a few changes made on the side bar of this blog. I changed the order of the links around to suit my sense of organization. I also added some links, such as Star Gazer’s. I also created a new blog devoted strictly to dish and wash cloths. It will eventually be placed on the side bar. For right now you can find it at Cloth Mania. My goal is for it to be a comprehensive resource for all dish cloth lovers.
Another addition to the links is a web site having to do with web site accessibility. This is of special interest to me because of personal reasons which may be explained later. Please take a look at the site and consider the issues it discusses.
I can’t believe it has been so long since I have posted here! The weeks have flown by in a blur of activity. There have been several times when I have wanted to sit down an write, but have not been able to do so for a number of reasons.
My hooks and needles have been very busy. I made a bunch of crocheted 8 inch squares for a project I was involved in on Bev’s Charity Challenge.
They were made with some of the abundance of worsted weight acrylic from my stash. It was a good way to use some scraps for a good cause. I am amazed at how much scrap yarn I still have after this project.
I have done 11 MDK Ballband dishcloths so far. The first batch of 9 out of1o were made by casting on 33 stitches and making 9 bands. They looked like the right size for my hands before washing. Unfortunately I neglected to take into account the shrink factor and the fact that everything is normally dried in the dryer. Needless to say, they shrunk. They are still usable. I have learned to stretch them once they are wet to make them a bit larger.
Dishcloth #10 was made with 33 stitches and 11 bands. It turned out to be the right size for my hands in terms of length butis not quite wide enough.
I am now on #11 which has 39 stitches and I am planning to make 11 bands wide. This one is an experiment because it is being made from some Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece which was a gift from a friend. It is the first time I have ever used this yarn and I am loving it.Since one of my concerns using this yarn for the first time is how much it will shrink. After it is finished I will measure it before and after washing to see how much it shrinks.
I have recently discovered a pet peeve. It is tightly wound balls of yarn. Now mind you, I like the yarn….It’s the tightly wound part that is unpleasant, to say the least. In the past week I have discovered numerous of these yarn balls in my stash. True enough, they should have been dealt with before, but alas!!!…They got lost in the shuffle. The poor yarn in some cases has been wound so tightly that it looks like string when an attempt is made to use it. Most of them arrived like that, poor things.
These days I am on a rescue mission to revive them. It takes a while, but it is worth it to restore them to a better condition.
My solution is to unwind it and set it on the kitchen table to relax for a while. Sometimes it stays there all day or overnight until I decide it looks as if it has regained its elasticity. When I decide to rewind it, I do so very loosely so as not to undo the good that has been done.
Here are the pictures I promised. The squares don’t look as unique as I was hoping. Loose ends remain to be woven in as you can tell. They will wait for another day.
This one is done in scraps of blues and white. My son says it looks like a target.
This one is done in Red Heart Hot Pink and Sunshine Print. The scanned picture does not do it justice.
This one is supposed to be Pink, Green and white even though it doesn’t look like it. It is a very busy looking and cheerful square.
I have had to make some difficult choices in the past two days….What gets my attention: My needles or my hooks. The answer was…Drum roll…………..Hooks.Alas, my most recent Mason Dixon Big Dotty dishcloth is abandoned in its place in the kitchen. It has been banned from its place on the table. In its place is a huge plastic type bowl full of odd pieces of yarn surrounded by more yarn, some patterns, a small open notions bag, scissors and worst of all: the dreaded crochet hooks.
The reason is complex, but simple. An online group to which I belong is having a contest to see who can make the most 8 inch squares from now until the end of the month. That is simple enough. The complex part is that I also want to use some of the many bits and pieces of yarn that live here. You know the ones I mean. They are the leftovers from that skein of yarn used to make that beautiful scarf you made you mother. They are the scraps from the afghan you made several years ago. That particular yarn has been discontinued. The list goes on, but you get my point.
When I began making the squares I felt overwhelmed. My stash is so big. Where do I begin to choose yarns to use? I had to think about this one for a bit….Aha!!! The light bulb went on in my brain. It is time to use the odd balls that are taking up space in my yarn bins and recycled ice cream containers on one of the desks in this room.
I pulled out a fairly large bowl but discovered it is not nearly large enough to hold the amount of yarn it needs to hold. I then chose the largest bowl in the house to become the Bowl of Honor.
I also made the rule that squares for this project are supposed to made from the contents of this bowl as much as possible. I am allowed to supplement my yarn supply with co-ordinating colors if necessary.
In a mad frenzy I attacked the ice cream containers first. Their contents were raided. They were placed in this bowl. This morning I started tackling the Bowl of Honor. As it stands now the contents of the bowl have yielded ten 8 inch squares of assorted colors. The bowl is still full.
The pattern being used is the one I posted a couple of days ago. You might not recognize the squares as having come from this pattern when you see them. Color changes are made based on the amount of the scrap color being used. The corners are changed depending on my choice at the moment.
I have looked at and considered using other patterns, but this one is so much fun. :)
Pictures of my efforts will be taken another day.
Now it’s time to say “Good night to all my friends and family.”
I forgot to say a few things about the pattern I posted yesterday.
Here is a crocheted square I designed a while back. I am showing it and the pattern as an 8 inch square, but it can be made smaller or larger by the addition or subtraction of rows; by changing hook size and by changing yarn weight or type.
Fascination
Materials:
Small amounts of 2 colors of yarn
Size I hook
Size: Approx. 8 inchesWith Color A, form a loop around fingers to form a ring, draw a loop
through to form a slip st.
Rnd 1: Ch3 ( counts as first DC now and throughout ), 11 DC in ring,
join with a sl. st. at top of Ch 3. ( There should be a total of 12 Dc’s )
Rnd 2: Ch 3, DC in same st. as joining. 2 Dc in each st.around. Join
with sl. st.to top of beginning Ch3. ( 24 DC )Rnd 3: Ch 3 in same st as joining, 2 DC in next st. Then ( 1 DC in
next st; 2 DC in next st ) for
11 times. Join with a sl st at top of Ch 3. ( 36 DC )
Rnd 4: Ch 3 in same st as joining, DC in next st., 2 DC in next st, * ( DC in
next 2 sts, 2 DC in next st. ) Repeat from * around. Join with a sl st at top of Ch 3.
Fasten off Color B ( 48 DC)Rnd 5: Attach Color B in any st. Ch 4 ( counts as first TR ) and 2 Tr in
same st, then DC in next st, HDC in next 9 sts, DC in next st. *Then 3
TR in next st ( to form corner ); DC in next st, HDC in next 9 sts, DC
in next st. * Repeat between *s 2 more times ( for a total of 3 times ).
Join with a sl st to top of ch 3 and fasten off.
Rnd 6: Attach Color A to center TR in any corner ( group of 3 TR stitches ) with sl st and ch 3 (counts as a DC ), then ( 1 DC, ch 2, 2 DC ) in same st.; DC in next 13 sts. Then *( 2 DC , ch 2, 2 DC ) in next st; DC in next 13 sts.* Repeat between *s 2 more times ( for a total of
3 times ) Join with a sl st to top of ch 3.
Rnd 7: Slip stitch to center of the ch space and ch 3, then : ( DC, ch 2, 2 DC ) in same space. DC in next 13 sts. Then * ( 2 DC, ch 2, 2DC ) in corner space; DC in next 16 sts. * Repeat between *s 2 more times. ( for a total of 3 times). Join with a slip stitch at top of ch 3.
Rnd 8: Slip stitch to the center of the ch space and ch3, then: ( DC, ch 2, 2 DC) in same space. DC in next 19 sts. Then * ( 2 DC, ch 2, 2 DC ) in corner space; DC in next 19 sts. * Repeat between *s 2 more times ( for a total of 3 times ). Join with a slip st. at top of ch 3. Fasten off and weave in loose ends.
This basic pattern is very flexible. You can change colors any time you want for different effects. You can crochet in either the front or back loops for another effect. Please enjoy!!!
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Please be advised that this pattern is copyrighted to Norma R. WAMPLER and 2006-All Rights Reserved.
You may [PRINT OUT A COPY] for personal and charitable use only.
Please be advised that this pattern is copyrighted to NORMA R WAMPLER and 2006-All Rights Reserved]. You may [PRINT OUT A COPY] for personal and charitable use only.
Norma
Lately I have been on a dish and wash cloth make craze. At first I blamed it ( tongue in cheek ) on the Mason Dixon Knitting book. I have come to realize that there is more to it than that.
There are lots more reasons than that ranging from them being a quick portable project to the simple fact that I enjoy making them. They can be knitted, crocheted or cro-hooked….It just depends on my mood.I have been thinking about the ways they are used. In my house they are dish cloths, wash cloths, coasters, placemats and when worn out become rags. Last weekend at Stitch and Chat one of the ladies shared that her family uses them as cloth napkins. This sounds like a good idea. I wonder what other uses can be found for them.
