Here it is Sunday evening already. I have not written in more than a week. Time has certainly flown. It has been good to have free time.
At the moment there are four dishcloths on my knitting needles, all in different stages of completion. Details and pictures are going to wait until I am more awake to do them justice.
Even though I knew I was scheduled to work today, I was up until the wee hours of the morning last night/this morning. The radio went on after only 3 1/2 hours of sleep. I got involved in reading web sites from other bloggers. It was fun and well worth the time.
My knitting time this week has been spent making dishcloths, a bib and more squares for Greensburg. The dishcloths and bib are from the stash of cotton recently purchased.
About two weeks ago I posted a picture of the first part of the Mad Dash
I would have taken a better picture of it , but it is in the soiled laundry basket. This picture does not do justice to the lovely pattern.
Recently I talked about needing to get out of a rut when it comes to making dish and wash cloths. After completing the Mad Dash cloth I decided to make the well known Darrell Waltrip Cloth. My original plan was to make one just to do something different. I liked it so much I have completed two of them. A third one is on the needles.
This is the first one I did. It is made with Peaches n Creme Passion yarn.
Even though I saw pictures of it on Knitting Knonsense, I was amazed at its beauty. It does a wonderful job of bringing attention to the colors of the yarn. Since it is also an easy pattern for me to memorize this a good pattern to use when spending time with my family. It also works up quickly. Because the designer lists the multiples of stitches used, it is extremely easy to adjust the size of the cloth. I prefer smaller cloths than a lot of people so this is important to me when making them for myself.
Here is a picture of the second one. It is made with P&C Butter & Cream
I rarely buy patterns for dishcloths or other items, choosing instead to use free available resources. Several weeks ago, while doing research for my other blog, I came across a baby bib pattern at that caught my imagination. I wanted to buy it immediately, but chose to wait and see if I changed my mind at a later date. In the end the pattern was ordered and very promptly delivered. It is the Eyelet Diamond Baby Bib from here.
It is made from Gumdrops by Peaches & Cream. The colors are much more vibrant in real life. This was a real experiment for me for a couple of reasons. It has been a very long time since I have used a pattern requiring the use of a stitch holder. It was not a challenge to my ability by any means, but it made the pattern interesting. The other reason is that this was my first time to make an I-cord. It was pretty cool! This pattern is a great addition to my pattern collection. It will become well used in the future.
Here are pictures of a couple of other dish cloths made recently using two of my favorite colorways of Peaches & Cream: Gumdrops and Potpourri Ombre.
Posted onJune 28, 2007|Comments Off on Here and Knitting
I am still here and knitting daily. My emphasis is dishcloths and squares for Rebuilding Greensburg. I weighed a couple of squares on our new kitchen scale last night to see how much yarn it is taking to make one. Of the five I checked, two weighed 1.2 ounces and three weighed 1.1 ounce. It takes so little yarn to do so much good, regardless of their destination.
The Mad Dash Cloth is finished. A picture of it will be posted tomorrow along with a couple of other dishcloths. I am currently making the Darrell Waltrip cloth using Passion yarn from my recent purchase from Elmore Pisgah. It is so pretty. Pictures of it will be posted tomorrow. This will become a well used pattern for some of the multicolored yarns in my stash.
While updating one of my blogs today, I realized that I am in a rut. One of my passions is making dishcloths. They can be crocheted, knitted or Cro-hooked. The method used depends on my mood at the moment. I go through phases where one method is used more than the other. They are quick, fun and can be as hard or easy as the pattern chosen.
There are lots of free patterns available on line; in my home, in the stores and in the Library. My own collection includes a fairly large variety of new and vintage books which abound in patterns and pattern ideas. This does not include the patterns which have been downloaded over the years from friends, groups and web sites that may or may not still be with us.
When it comes time to start making another dish cloth, do I bother to check any of the above resources? Normally the answer is “No.” Instead I automatically begin using one of several patterns that have been used so often they are memorized.
Today was different. In the course of working online I came across a site that jerked me alert to my laziness when it comes to dish and wash cloth making. I saw some of the most unique dishcloths I have seen in a while. The one that stood out from the rest for me today is the Mad Dash Cloth. The reason is not certain. What is certain is that one is on my needles now. It is being made with my all time favorite cotton color, Peaches n Cream Potpurri Ombre. I chose the small cloth because the smaller size is my favorite.
Hopefully, it looks like it should. If not, I will try again.
Posted onJune 9, 2007|Comments Off on More About Rebuilding Greensburg
I realized I forgot to say something about the Rebuild Greensburg Project in my last post. Items other than squares are being accepted. Wash and dish cloths, warm winter hats, socks, mittens and baby bibs are also welcome.
A few days ago I learned about Rebuilding Greensburg -Block by Block while reading Knit and Pray. This struck a tender nerve in my heart. First of all the community was wiped out by the effects of the tornado that hit it. Having lived in Missouri most of my life I have seen some of the effects of this type of storm. They can be horrific to say the least. My heart goes out to all of those affected by it.
Secondly, I made a commitment years ago to return to the community part of what it has given to me. Even though this tragedy did not strike my immediate neighborhood it did hit happen and does affect real people. I recall all too vividly the sense of loss and displacement my family felt last summer and winter during some power outages that hit our St. Louis area. I can barely imagine the great sense of loss happening in Greensburg due to the tornado damage. It must far surpass anything my town and family has experienced.
My response to this situation is to begin to do my part to help. This week has seen a cloth and one square completed.
This is not much, but it is a start. Please excuse the loose ends. They will be woven in before being mailed. Each is in various stages of completion. The square is made from a blue ombre in my stash.The cloth in the picture is a smaller version of the square pattern. It works up quickly and easily. In the next few days I will become a bit more creative in my choice of patterns used.
My choice so far has been to knit squares and cloths. According to the information on the website, crocheted squares are also accepted. I may crochet a few as well. The dish cloths I make will be knitted or crocheted.
Earlier this week the decision was made for me to order some cotton yarn from Elmore-Pisgah. I have been wanting to do this for years because the color selection available on line is better than it is locally. I was told the order would take a few days to arrive. Fair enough… I am in Missouri and the company is in North Carolina. Much to my surprise and delight, it came yesterday while I was home.
I knew the order was large, but take a look at this:
The box is big and packed reasonably full of yarn. I was so excited. It was fun unloading the box and examining its contents. Here are more pictures:
The last picture is of the Mill Ends I ordered. From what I have seen so far, they are fine. Based on my past experience with reputable companies such as this one, I don’t expect any problem with them.
This, combined with other cotton yarn from my stash is enough to keep me busy for a while. I will share more about the colors received as cloths are made from them.
Life has been very busy in the past month. Some of the things that have happened are:
Me returning to work full time.
An early winter ice storm hitting our area and leaving a lot of us without electricity for days. Some people were without it for more than a week.
Knitting dishcloths in my spare time.
This doesn’t sound like a lot until homeschooling, keeping up with a household and trying to answer email are added to the mix. It has kept me very busy.
Posted onNovember 24, 2006|Comments Off on Another Ball Band Dishcloth
I allowed myself the supreme treat of starting another dishcloth today. I am making it in red and green worsted weight cotton yarn using the Ball Band Pattern found in the Mason Dixon Book. It is my all time favorite pattern because of its ability to pick up crumbs from my table and counters.
This is not the most exciting project to work on, but it is enjoyable. There is a special rhythm in the pattern and color changes. It is fun to watch it take shape and to see the yarn be transformed into an object of beauty and usefulness.
This one will be a welcome addition to a growing collection in my kitchen.
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.
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.
