Valentine’s Reloaded February 26, 2007

Valentine’s Day 2007 found me sick as a dog. Chocolate and candy was wasted on me on that day (though I’ve since made up for it . And although knitting continued throughout, blogging did not. So it’s time for a little catch-up.

This time last year my stash yarn choices for Valentine’s dishcloths consisted of white and ecru. Thankfully, things are more colorful now.

Garterlac in Peaches & Creme Pink Lilacs and Potpourri
Heart Lace Cloth in Sugar & Cream Strawberry
Love Day (AKA February KAL) in red Sugar & Cream

Bored and ill on Valentine’s Day, I whipped this mug cozy up in under an hour. The yarn is some leftover Bernat Softee Chunky in color Carnival (of which I still have plenty left – perhaps a pair or four?). The pattern is from the Winter Knits Kit book, but this specific pattern is also available online for free.

It seems a bit slippy to me in use, but perhaps it would be less so in an appropriate wool. Incidentally, the mug it’s wrapped around is heart-shaped. Neat, eh?

I’ll end this entry with an emergency knit. A couple years ago I knit Mom a scarf for Christmas. Sadly, it went missing in early January and with winter temperatures finally starting to kick in, she needed a replacement ASAP. Mom is a no-frills type of person so I used the same basic ribbed keyhole scarf pattern as the first in another neutral (but not boring – for my own sake as much as hers) yarn. Her only request was that it be “longer.” Every time I showed her my progress she’d say “maybe a bit longer.” Little did I know she meant nearly two feet longer. Two feet in ribbing – one of my most hated things. But thanks to combined knitting, I kept my sanity and finally got it done.

Pattern: Windy City Scarf from Stitch ‘N Bitch
Yarn: Artful Yarns Candy in Toffee, 4-5 balls
Needles: Red Heart Starters 7″ straight needles, size 7
Finished Size: 5″ x 60″

Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler! February 20, 2007

Pattern: Mardi Gras mask by Rainy Kimbrough

A Belated New Year January 29, 2007

It’s shameful for me to see that I haven’t blogged here yet this year! I would blame it on the fact that I haven’t reinstalled BlogDesk yet, but I know it’s really just laziness.

As you might expect, there has been some dishcloth knitting…

Three in One Checked and Snowflake

Some might recognize the first from the MonthlyDishcloths KAL back in August. The yarns I chose back then didn’t have enough contrast, so I gave up on it. I must say I’m really pleased with it now, though.

The snowflake is not actually meant to be a dishcloth pattern. The recommended yarn is wool because only a fool would attempt such complex cables in cotton.

cotton = no stretch
no stretch + muchly cables = owwie hands and arms

I knew this but did it anyway. The result is lovely, but if I get the urge to knit it again, I’ll reach for wool instead.

Speaking of lovely…

Yet another great free dishcloth pattern from Smariek Knits. I particularly love the geometric lace cloth series. I don’t know how she keeps coming up with them!

As it just so happened, Mom was looking for a small gift to give to a leaving co-worker, so she bought this off me for $5! A bit excessive, I thought, but she insisted so it went into the yarn fund. Now I get to knit another one!

And just to prove that I do knit things other than dishcloths from time to time, here’s a WIP:

Party Apron from Knitty knit in cheerful, old school Cotton-Ease. The trim is Fuzzy Fur, one of the infamous $1 Target yarns.

Next time I’ll talk about Project Spectrum, Holiday Headstart, and how 2007 is looking to be the year of the afghan.

November and December Dishcloth summary December 31, 2006

1. November Dishcloth KAL – Turkey,
2. Mid-November 2006 KAL – Poinsettia,
3. December KAL Cloth – Galloping Holli (rocking horse),
4. Mid-December 2006 KAL – Snowy Drops lace,
5. December 2005 KAL dishcloth – tree shaped cloth,
6. Peppercorn Ombre Dozen

These bring my total for the Dishcloth Knit Along to an even 40! Not bad for 3.5 month’s work.

18 Days ‘Til Christmas December 7, 2006

…and some of the gifts are finally starting to look finished. I present Twelve Dishcloths Blocking:

Since I know this colorway (P&C Peppercorn Ombre) fades like the dickens, I’m trying the vinegar bath method. They soaked in a half vinegar/half water mix for a half hour, were rinsed, then blocked. The vinegar smell is still very much in evidence, though, and I don’t know I’m going to fix that short of plunking down $2.75 at the laundromat.

The patterns used: Garterlac (of course), Chinese Waves, Bee Stitch, DW, Basic Modular, Eyelets on the Diagonal, and Ballband.

The plan had been to do six patterns, two dishcloths of each, but I started panicking when it looked like the cone wouldn’t last and switched to ballband (with ecru as MC) for the last two. Naturally, I still ended up with quite a bit left. My big discovery was the Eyelets pattern. It’s wonderful, especially – dare I say it – for the uglier ombres. The diagonals break up pooling nicely. When I started this quest I hated this Peppercorn colorway, but I grew fonder of it toward the end – due in no little way to the Eyelets cloth.

But it’s not all dishcloths! My Absorba bathmat now has a little brother:

Knitted with size 13 needles instead of size 15 but otherwise identical to the first Absorba.

November dishcloth November 13, 2006

From the MonthlyDishcloths group.

This one’s been done for ages, but I’m just now posting it. Flickr and I have settled on mutual loathing, and I’m trying to make a decision on alternate photo hosting (or indeed blog hosting) options.

By the way, kudos to those of you who are doing NaBloPoMo this month. I thought about it but knew I’d fail miserably. :p

A Bad Yarn Day October 24, 2006

I told a fib. I did not cast on for tons of exciting new project last Monday. I discovered that my Kentucky Blue Broadripples (as I have now dubbed them) were so close to completion that it seemed prudent (ugh.. I dislike that word) to finish them off first. Which I did… kinda.

Now I need to buckle down and finish weaving in the ends (all 10 of them – I hate knots!!!) so they can count for SAM2.

I believe I also said something about cutting back on dishcloth knitting…

Yeah, not happening either. You should recognize the Garterlac. The other is a Bauhaus cloth. I liked the look of the dishcloth posted by Lion Brand recently, but if you follow the pattern as given you end up with just ribbing! The cloth in the photo looks more complicated than that. I don’t really remember much about the Bauhaus school of design from university, but the article accompanying the pattern mentions squares. So I examined the photo and made notes of how it looked to me. This is what I came up with:

Cast on 48 stitches
Rows 1-6: (k4, p4) across
Rows 7-10: (p8, k8) across
Repeat rows 1-10 until the required length
Bind off

Simple enough, eh? If you like smaller cloths (like me), cast on 36 stitches and change it from multiples of 4 to multiples of 3 (k3, p3, etc).

Other than the next pair of Broadripples, I haven’t cast on for anything new recently. I got as far as winding yarn for two new pairs of socks but kept running into imperfections in the yarn.

1. A knot and a slub, 2. Moda Dea Sassy Stripes – 6 knots, 3. Knit Picks Simple Stripes – bad nylon

The Simple Stripes nylon thing is toward the end of the skein, so I might not even need that bit, but six knots in two balls of Sassy Stripes?! I know these aren’t high quality yarns, but doesn’t anybody have standards anymore? Anyway, because of this I’ve lost interest in these socks for the time being.

The next thing on the agenda is a pair of much, much needed legwarmers. Not even these are coming easy. I’m using a Target kit which had all of the yarn (the pattern calls for two different yarns held together) on triangular cardboard rolls. No sweat, I thought, I’ll just wind it into balls. One went fine but the second yarn is slippery. Slippery yarns don’t wind well, not that I knew that. I ended up spending 2 hours untangling and winding it by hand. Of course, it was only after all this that I realized that achieving gauge with the needles they supplied would be pure fantasy… I’ll regroup and retry tonight.

The Dishcloth Parade Continues October 15, 2006

Wave Pool Washcloth

Garterlac VII: Sea Mist

Sea Mist is my favorite Peaches & Creme ombre, and yet the only other time I’ve used it was for my first ever, plain garter stitch dishcloth. It’s been in the stash but I have been hoarding it for some reason. It was great to work with it again.

In the month since the Dishcloth Knit Along began I’ve knit 18 dishcloths! Mom remarked yesterday, “You could have made a sweater in the time it’s taken you to knit all those.” That’s probably an exaggeration, but she does have a point. It was fun at the beginning (and I surely haven’t run out of dishcloth patterns to try), but I am starting to grow weary of 100% cotton and size 6/7 needles. For many weeks now my knitting has consisted of exactly one pair of socks and one or two dishcloths on the needles at any one time. Bo-oring. Tomorrow I’m going to cast on for some new stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with the d-word!

Avoiding Matchy-Matchy October 12, 2006

I still profess to love the ballband pattern, but after that first rush of discovery, I’ve mostly been at a loss as to what to do with it. The problem is the all important color combination. There needs to be enough contrast that you can see the design, and therein lies the rub. My first instinct is always to pair an ombre with a solid that matches exactly, and so you get something like this:

Ugly, ain’t it? It’s even ooglier up close since the white in the background is pinkish.

In my heart I believe the ballband is at its best when ombres are left out of the equation entirely (notice the examples in the Mason Dixon book only show solid with solid), but then I’ll catch a glance at another knitter’s awesome work and start to itch. I’ll knit a few bands, wince, and rip it all out. In the past month I’ve began at least 6 ballband but only saw 2 to the finish line.

Which brings us to the most recent attempt:

The Winterberry ombre consists of purple, pink and blues. And I paired it with green! Green!! I second guessed myself every step of the way but have now decided I like it. I’m learning.

Pinwheel, Pinwheel, Spinning Around October 10, 2006

Look at my pinwheel and see what I found.

Remember that old Nickelodeon show? I’ve just about forgotten it myself, but the theme song popped in my head while knitting this:

The Pinwheel Dishcloth has been on my list for a few months. It looks complicated, but you only knit one triangle at a time, decreasing until there’s one stitch left. Then stitches are picked up along the side for a new triangle (just like Garterlac). Even better, there’s no grafting! Stitches are picked up along the cast on edge during the final triangle to close it up.

Short Row Rectangular Wash Rag – Didn’t like this one so much. It’s easy enough to do, but I’m starting to get tired of garter stitch. It draws in so much that you have to knit a considerable amount more. And I personally think it’s too thick for washing dishes.

That said, I’ll keep doing Garterlac because it amuses me to no end:

Garterlac VI – I took Manda’s advice and searched for a redder Peppermint dyelot than last time.

Lastly, October’s cat from the Monthly Dishcloths KAL. Black isn’t really the best choice for picture cloths, eh? The suggested colors for the mid-October cloth sound suspiciously like last year’s to me, so I think I’ll sit this one out.

I’ll end with a little shopping alert for those who live in the Midwest. Meijer has been quite good recently at putting Sugar & Cream on sale ever 3-4 weeks. This week it’s $1 a ball, $5 a cone! The sale ends Saturday.

I heard a rumor that we’re supposed to get a Meijer store on the outskirts of town (not very accessible but at least within taxi range). I do wish they’d hurry! As it is I have to wait in vain for someone to offer me a lift to Lexington.