A Love Affair with Dish Cloths

What's a girl to do with a giant storage bin full of cotton yarn scraps?

Make more dish cloths.

My all-time favorite dishcloth is the Peaches and Creme Ball Band dishcloth, re-popularized in "Mason-Dixon Knitting." The color combinations are limitless, although I especially like bright, primary colors all mixed up:







I've also applied the Ripple Principle to the cotton dishcloth, crocheted rather than knit:



And finally, another favorite, the Dorothea Dishtowel (see below for pattern). I like to do this with a slightly better quality yarn; I've used Lion Brand cotton bamboo. I don't have a picture, but these are so fancy that they can be given as special birthday gifts (I gave my mom a set of three this year).



PATTERNS:

1. Ball-Band Dish Cloth

2. Dorothea Dishtowel

Monterey Pop Hat: A Quick Crochet

This sun hat worked up quick as a wink, made for Hedgehog. If you're making one for a child, you won't need more than a skein or two, DK weight. If you have scrap yarn, DK weight, or half-finished skeins, this would be lovely in stripes. I made a basic bucket hat to fit, then added a row of scallops around the brim.

I crocheted a simple applique flower in the contrasting color, and stitched each petal flush to the hat.

I love how it makes my little girl look like she should be in the audience of the Monterey Pop festival, 1967. Hence the name.


PATTERN:

I didn't use a pattern, but Lion Brand has a good free one for a simple bucket hat. One could adjust the size of the brim, and add any embellishment, either crocheted applique, or buttons or bows. Whatever took the fancy.

Ripple: the Ultimate Scrap Project

What better first post for my scrappy blog, than to introduce you to the Queen Mother of all scrap projects: the ripple afghan. This is the simplest thing in the world to crochet, but extremely time-consuming. I've made a whole bunch of these now, and I've found that the more colors you use, the more fun the project is. My favorite Ripple afghan is still the first one I made, of every color of Rowan Cotton Glace. This was one expensive mother of a blanket. It's got gorgeous, heavy drape, and it is Sarge's fave:



Here's the Ripple I made for a friend's baby, out of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, all leftover balls from various projects, including an Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket:



Baby Ripples are satisfying because of their size: they just don't take all that long. Especially a newborn "receiving" blanket. I also recently made my little girl a Little-Girl-Sized Ripple (also quick to make) out of Lion Brand Wool Ease in a rainbow, with a red border. The colors weren't as saturated as I would have liked, a little subdued, but perhaps that added an elegance to an inelegant color concept (the rainbow...)...or so I like to think:



Currently I'm working on a new Ripple, of Rowan Cashsoft DK--it's fantastically luxe, and I got it in a nice variety of soft pastels. It feels wonderful to the hand:





PATTERNS:

For me, the classic Ripple pattern is "Soft Waves" by Jan Eaton in the book "200 Ripple Stitch Patterns." There is another pattern, with an inspirational photo, in the book "Vintage Crochet". Or, if you don't want to purchase these, Lion Brand has a perfectly serviceable set of ripple patterns here.

LINKS:

Be sure to visit the No End in Sight Ripple-Along for more inspiration!