EXFOLIATE!

We have had a busy week, it was the first full week of school (wow, 2nd. graders have a lot of homework!), we’ve had several random but necessary appointments, and we’ve had a houseguest all week.  Whew, I’m tired!
As a remembrance of his trip I knitted our guest this washcloth. Yes, he is a Dr. Who fan.  Head over to Ravelry to get a copy of the free Dalek pattern.
Have a super crafty weekend!

Christmas Knitting

I know that it is only September, but if you’re knitting gifts for the holidays now is peak knitting time.  I have been working on a set of washcloths for my Father-in-law.  I am trying to use up a large cone of natural colored cotton yarn that I bought for a project that has been frogged.  I think I’m going to keep making washcloths until I run out, washcloths for everyone!!!  If I find a local crafter who makes soap and I’ll be set for teacher gifts too.I will be sending him a set of three, here are the first two.  I love how the ballband pattern looks in just one color (I’ve always knit it in two), so textural and classy and the Chinese waves pattern is so pretty and so easy.  Now I just need to decide on a third pattern. I also need to start a baby gift set for a boy.  I have a selection of yarn in turquoises and chocolaty browns.  I think maybe a cocoon, a couple of hats and maybe some booties.

What gifts will you be crafting for the upcoming holiday season?

Washcloth Woman

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but my Mother has a thing about washcloths.  She always has washcloths on her Christmas list and no matter how expensive or high quality a washcloth is she can wear it out in a year.  I don’t think I have ever worn out a washcloth, gotten tired of the color and bought new ones, yes, but not worn out.  She says they get thin in the middle, I must use mine differently.  I’m more of a pouf user anyway.

When I started knitting washcloths were a good way to try out new patterns without a big commitment and they were really good practice.  Bonus, I really liked knitted washcloths and so did my mom.  I don’t have a pattern that I always use, I like to try out new stuff, but I may have found my go to washcloth pattern:  The Linoleum Dishcloth. I love this pattern because it makes a thick, textured cloth that is easy to knit and the back looks nice too.This would be great for a beginner, the only thing you need to be able to do is the knit stitch and the slip stitch and using multiple colors is easy, only one per row.  I think that I would prefer this pattern in only two colors, what can I say I like it simple. On my needles now is the Amber Perry dishcloth, I like the pattern, but there is no texture and I even tried to add a bit by using garter stitch in the design.

I’m making these for a friend, we are doing a trade washcloths for soldering, I think it’s a fabulous deal!  I will be making one more, I just need to decide what pattern to use.  What is your go to dishcloth/washcloth pattern?, I’d love to try something new.

Eco-Friendly Fancy Rags

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to use up my knit t-shirt scraps from the Sienna dress for another project and today I’m sharing what I made, fancy rags. Using old clothing for rags is nothing new, when I was growing up we had a drawer full of rags cut from old stained shirts, but these are a little nicer.

I cut up my dress leftovers and two old white shirts from my scrap pile (I really can’t throw anything out and it’s really more of a mountain) into 5” x 7” pieces. Using my colorful thread from old projects I zigzagged around the edges of two rectangles layered together. This was a great way to use up leftover colors of bobbin thread, I cleaned off two whole bobbins, yay!

For the white ones I tried to sew right along the edge and I rounded the corners when I came to them. I got smarter on the colored ones and just sewed near the edge, making the corners square, and trimming the edges closer to the stitching when finished, they look much neater, lay flatter, and it’s a lot easier. On the top left you can see I even used the printed part of the shirts, just remember to turn it to the inside. I will be throwing these in with my regular wash, I expect them to last quite a while and if I ever use them for a particularly nasty job I won’t feel too bad throwing one or two out along the way.

I will be keeping these on my kitchen counter in a basket and they will be used as a substitute for napkins, paper towels, Kleenex, sponges, and dish cloths. I have 24 and I will slowly be making more as I use more of my knit stash. I am excited to switch over to these and am hoping to create even less trash and save a little money as well. Slowly I am trying to make my household more eco friendly and this is just one more small step.

Harmonic Mosaic Washcloth

Yes, I am still knitting washcloths, this time I used the harmonic mosaic pattern from Ribbed For Your Pleasure (I love the name of this blog!!!)

This pattern reminds me of DNA for some reason.  I love the pattern, but I don’t know how I feel about the color of the variegated yarn, its Peaches and Cream Pink Lemonade, it will grow on me, right?  I think I have enough left to make two more washcloths and some facial scrubbies, I must use up the entire ball!  I guess I’ll go to Ravelry (my username is crafterella, add me as a friend) and find another washcloth pattern to try.

Knitted Washcloth Gift Set

I have been on a bit of a stash busting mission lately and instead of just making a couple of washcloths and then rolling to remaining yarn into balls and storing I decided to knit until I ran out of yarn. I did make my washcloths smaller that usual, but really how big do you need your washcloth to be?  I was able to get two ballband washcloths, two circle cloths, two tawashi flowers and one scrubbie(a ravelry download).  I’m almost out of turquoise, just the tiniest bit left, less that 2 yards, I may try an eek one more scrubbie out of it so I can have a complete matched set!  I do have a bit of the red and white yarn from another project, I wish I knew how to make the bath puffs, but every pattern I’ve looked at seems to be written in some strange and foreign crochet language, I definitely need to work on my crochet pattern reading skills.

Now I just need to make a matching bucket organizer and I can save this set for a Christmas gift, I’ll just have to add some lotion and shower gel and it will be good to go!

Simple Tawashi Flowers

I found this adorable crochet pattern and just had to give it a try, especially when the instructions said you could whip one of these up in about ten minutes.I confess it took me a little longer than ten minutes, but I am not a crochet expert.   I used left over bits of cotton yarn and really a full ball would make a ton of these!  I think they’ll make good facial cleansing pads, yay for green products.

I also have to share this little story about the yarn I used for these.  You know how once you tell your family and friends that you’ve started knitting or crocheting you inevitably end up with a garbage bag of red heart yarn?  At the bottom of my bag was this very interesting vintage 100% cotton terry cloth yarn that I have be attempting to use for years.  Terry cloth yarn seems like a good idea, but the texture of the yarn makes it impossible to frog anything (the picture does not do it justice), it just won’t come undone, but it’s cool.  I was able to use it by doubling it up with regular cotton and the result is awesome and super soft and spongy.  I will finally be using up all of this yarn for this project.

Tie Dye Washcloth

I recently bought a tie dyed t-shirt at the goodwill for $.99. I took it home and cut it into strips that were roughly 1 inch wide.I used size 19 knitting needles and simple garter stitch to make this rainbow washcloth. I had originally used size 15 needles and it was just to tight/dense. It still seemed a little stiff, so I threw it in with the laundry and boy did it shrink (it must have been a new shirt). I was able to stretch it back into shape. The garter stitch has given it a lot of texture, it will make a good dishcloth or swiffer cover.
I have read that using well worn t shirts makes super soft washcloths, new ones not so much. I think maybe I cut the strips to wide, I'll try 1/2 inch wide next time. I already have a nice worn shirt ready to be sacrificed.