Palette Ripple

A new ripple has been a long time in the conceiving stage. I'd wanted to make one as interesting and fabulous as my Rowan Ripple, but couldn't find just the right yarn. Along came Knitpicks Palette, originally purchased for a finicky colorwork purse. At around 2 dollars a substantial skein, this fingering weight yarn comes in an insane range of saturated colors and is a fabulous bargain. I'm using a size E Clover crochet hook with ergonomic handle, and the whole experience is delightful--the yarn isn't splitty, but moves along the hook with speed and ease and shows the swoops and peaks of the ripple pattern very nicely. I'm in deep like with Palette, I can tell you. And I'm really happy with the crazy color combo of this blanket. All in all, a satisfying project.

Heart Dishcloth

I really enjoy the clever simplicity of the knit-purl pattern dish cloth. So easy to do, if you just keep track of rows--easy stitching, alternating knit and purl, and a picture emerges! I did this dish cloth in plain old Peaches & Creme--followed this pattern for a knit-and-purl heart, omitting the garter stitch border. This type of border is always used to prevent a piece from curling, but I already knew I wanted to add my own crochet border when I was done, so I suffered the curling (and curl it did!). I picked up stitches with my crochet hook and pink cotton, and did two rounds of half double crochet. I then added the scalloped edging for an extra fancy embellishment.

The last step was to embroider backstitch in pink over the outline of the purl heart, just to get it to stand out as much as I wanted. I was oddly pleased with the girly-frilly-silly effect of this. I love saturated colors, but, honestly, I don't mind pastels either, in moderation.

This one is going out tomorrow in a dishcloth swap.

It's the Little Things

Sometimes you want instant gratification. That's when dish cloths come into play (don't they always?). And sometimes, you want a project that's not really even a project at all and that doesn't require a pattern or more commitment than part of an hour...

Here you have the simplest dish cloth in the world. Cast 23 stitches of cotton onto size 6 needles. Seed stitch until square. Border with half double crochet. Beyond easy. Useful. Lovely. About 75 cents a piece.

Potholder/Dishrag Set

I made this set for a swap, and was a bit sad to see it go. The result was both soft and sturdy at the same time! A characteristic desirable in a kitchen set. I began with a pattern from a pamphlet, don't remember which one, and got bored half-way through and began to improvise.

Root Veggies

Crocheted food is so much fun, and all the more so when you add little embroidered faces.  I made up some carrots with embroidered smiles and button eyes for the babies of two of my friends.  Then today I did a turnip, by request.  I made up the pattern as I went along, using Knitpicks dk-weight Palette in a variety of purples ranging from light to dark, white for the body, and grey for the face.  The eyes are little french knots.

My next project is to be a bigger carrot, more huggable.  I'll probably use Vanna's Choice, as I have so much of it in my stash.  I happen to have just the right orange, and green for the carrot tops.

Blizzard

For ages now, I have had in my stash two enormous single skeins of Schaefer "Susan" pima cotton in the Catherine the Great and the Rachel Carson colorways. Both were originally destined to be baby blankets, but, really, there are only so many babies...



I decided to do a very very quick project, the Blizzard shawl from "Scarf Style." It took me two evenings to finish, and I was able to memorize the pattern after only a few repeats. This yarn has gorgeous drape, although I might have liked it to be a bit longer. Oh, well. I think it is essential to make this scarf with a drapey yarn, or it wouldn't have the same appeal--and the Schaefer has a very nice sheen to it, so it has both drape and a nice depth of texture. I would definitely make this again in the same yarn, or another similar pima cotton.

Another baby has recently come into our circle, so the other Schaefer skein is now earmarked for a receiving blanket.

Flannels

I love that Britishism for a face cloth; I wonder if they still use the word, or is it just something from books...

My mother needed three special little gifts to give, and hoped I could oblige within two days (short notice!). I came up with the idea of using the Dorothea Dishcloth pattern, a very simple single crochet-double crochet repetition that makes a complex texture, but doing it as a square for a face cloth.

I dug around in my cotton stash for something a little finer than Peaches n' Cream, and discovered a cache of Plymouth Wild Flowers dk. I love this yarn--it's inexpensive, but feels soft and is nice to work with, and I like how it shows off the pretty stitch:



I did three sets of two, and packed them up with some of my favorite scented soap: