Spring into Summer CAL-Dishcloth

This pattern is called Absolutely Fast Dishcloth. It was certainly a quick project, but it wasn't 'absolutely fast' for me. Unfortunately, I'm kind of particular about my dishcloths. Am I the only one?

In fact, the term 'dishcloth' vs. 'washcloth' is an important distinction for me. Wow. What a freak, I know.

Regardless, there are certain 'cloths' that I will use for washing dishes and others that I'll use for wiping down counters or tables. What I use for washing dishes needs to be of medium size with fairly tight stitching.

This pattern looked to fit the medium requirement, but the stitches were obviously pretty loose. Treble crochet was used to make it 'Absolutely Fast.' It makes sense!

However, to fit my tight-stitch preference for washing dishes, I opted for a much smaller hook. It slightly changed the speed at which it came together and the look of the final product, but once I start using it at the sink, it will never look the same again anyway! =D

Camping Project #3 and #4

Next, I had time for another quick headband that got the flowers attached once we got home (I feel like that was just "an angel earned its wings" moment...).

I finished off the weekend with a couple quick washcloth/sponges for my friend.

All in all, it was a pretty productive weekend!

Another camping project

Next up was the cotton yarn for some kitchen projects.

Just a simple potholder and washcloth. Only problem is that I don't know anyone with a pink kitchen...

Friday night project

Here's what is going on in my little corner of the world:
A new baby blanket is in the works. I had all that yarn and came across a pattern that looked fun; it was meant to be. ;-)
My mom got some large knitting needles, so I had to give a little try to Broomstick Lace.
You loyal lovely ladies have helped me figure out the Mystery Stitch!!!! Yeah!! Pictures of the sample and pattern will be coming.

On Friday, I wanted to do something a little brainless. I threw together a washcloth.

Please don't look too closely, I did it in the dark.

This little guy was next. Without counting stitches, it turned out larger than my favorite little washcloth/sponges but smaller than a potholder.

Perfect for a coaster!

Better with the coffee in it, don't you think?

Kitchen Washcloths

Time to use up some random scraps!

Yes! Perfect for wiping up the table and counters. Hubby said he likes the round ones, and I always appreciate any help cleaning up the kitchen! A great way to use up bits of cotton.

There was also a pattern I considered making in a larger version for a baby blanket. I figured this was a good way to try it out first:

Quite boring, but it gets the job done. =) I don't know if I'll do it for a baby blanket yet. Maybe if there was a nice stripe pattern...

Bridal Shower Gift

It has been a pretty busy week and weekend for us. We're starting to get caught up on sleep again, I've finally caught up on (hopefully) all your posts, and there's an end in sight to catching up with all the laundry folding that I missed. Phew!

Now it's time to catch up with my projects that need to be posted.

The first one is a collection of kitchen items for a bridal shower. Please don't tell anyone this, but I scrambled like a crazy woman to get these done. We had some ideas of what we wanted to do for this shower gift, but we changed our minds once we saw the kitchen colors she had picked. I had all the yarn on hand, and I was excited about putting something together.

Sure wish we'd decided that before Thursday... ;-)

No worries, they work up very quickly, and I had the 3 potholders done by Friday afternoon. Friday evening, I made all the washcloths. All set for the Saturday morning shower!

 (This made the yellow washcloth look skewed, but I promise, it is a rectangle!)

It seems that everyone out there knows how to make these potholders (though in the interest of full disclosure, I just learned the actual pattern last summer...) and the washcloths were super fast.

Washcloth pattern
Ch 31.
Row 1: (Dc, ch 1, dc - V-stitch made) in 5th ch from hook, sk 2 ch, V-st in next ch across to last 2 ch; dc in first ch.
Row 2: Ch 3, V-st in ch-1-sp and in each across; dc in last dc.
Repeat until desired size; sc border in complementing color.

These were fun. I hope they like using them!

Yarn, Yarn, Yarn...

It's everywhere!

Join me as we take a short walk through a few rooms in my house to see a sampling of yarn in various states of project completion.

There's a bag ready to go out the door with small portable projects.

Here's a stack of finished potholders, washcloths, and a Pirate Hat all piled on a basket full of afghans.

A bucket full of yarn is at my feet when I sit at the couch and crochet.

There are even some yarn items in the toybox!

It's in the closet.

It's tied to the doorknob for some crazy game that little boys are known to invent and that the rest of us will never understand.

It's on school projects.

Ah, this one, I love. "Mama, can I play with this ball of yarn?" No sooner do I give permission than I find it tied to this old table, and a large cardboard tube is being "zoomed" across the rooms down this yarn. I didn't have the heart to take it off, so for my own silly giggles, I left it there during Easter dinner while 10 people sat around a table in the same room with this random yarn-tied-table. Am I the only one that finds an odd joy in that? I (occasionally) try to be dignified, but when there's a 5-year-old in the house, it's going to show! By the way, no one asked about it. Do you think it's because of the 5-year-old or because they're afraid I'm just such a horrible hostess that I didn't even notice it there?

Huh. This is an interesting project hanging on the back of a door. Maybe I'll have to tell you about it sometime.

There's yarn in my kitchen drawers. (Oh gross, apparently that one needs to be washed!)

More kitchen drawers...

And this is a fairly small representation from the room that holds most of my craft supplies. This was just what was readily accessible.

Isn't yarn amazing? So many colors, textures, material content, thickness...what's not to love?

Wild With W

How did I get so much for W today?

We'll start with What I learned about Washing.

This

...turns into this in my dishwasher.

Which is Why I love SC Johnson products! That has never happened to these containers!

(I also love SC Johnson products because of this Wonderful item that Works so Well for Washing Window blinds, but I already told you about that.)

Anyway, lesson learned. Wash it by hand.

...With these little Washcloths I Whipped up!

The red one seemed way too much work for just washing dishes, so I probably won't do that pattern again. The green one was a little trial to see what would work. I added a strand of thread to make a rougher surface for better scrubbing. I'm not sure yet if it is helping, but it looks cute.

Work-in-progress seems like a logical addition, but I just showed you an update on my Ugly Blanket. So I thought I'd show you my newest toy that I was using with it: a ball Winder (thanks, Mandy!).

It turned this funny pink snake that was given to me...

...into this!

Admittedly, this was the second time I used it. The first time, I didn't have the "feeder thing" in the right spot, and it wasn't pretty. Once I figured out how it was really supposed to work, great success!

OK, that's all I have for W. Only three letters left for the A to Z Challenge!

Mystery Projects

Have you ever started a project and wondered if it is really going to turn out the way you expected?

I don't particularly enjoy projects that require a lot of little parts that need to be pieced together when I'm done, but sometimes a pattern is just too cute to pass up.

Back before Christmas, that was what inspired my Mystery Project.

Have you posted a Mystery Project? Sounds like a fun game in the making. Best guess wins a prize or something!

We're halfway through the A to Z Challenge! If you haven't already, go back to G is for Giveaway and enter to win your choice of prize.

Sage Headband and Washcloth

The headbands I've been working on sure provide a lot of opportunities for creativity!

Here's one of them that I made this weekend:

It's hard to tell, but the buttons are sort of metallic. It was a great match with the sage green headband.

(I think it's time to find someone to model these headbands. They look so much cuter ON someone!)

Once I was finished with that, I had a couple extra minutes. I put together a washcloth/sponge. You can never have too many!

Day 1, Friday morning projects complete. More coming soon from the rest of the weekend!

Potholders and washcloths

It's been a busy week, so I haven't had much time for "big" crafts. My hands had to stay busy on smaller projects! =)

Here's my updated collection of potholders and washcloth/sponges.

Washcloth/Sponge Crochet Style - Free Pattern

I learned from a friend to cut my dishwashing sponges in half when I take them out of the package. It fits my hand so much better, and you can try to extend their life by only using half at a time. This has worked really well for me, especially since I had a large supply of sponges for some reason.

Recently, I noticed I'd be running out of them soon, and I figured I'd just use the variety of washcloths I've made. That little finicky part of me that loves the small size of the sponge was sort of dreading that. Also, who else out there HATES that smell that suddenly develops overnight on a washcloth? Maybe it has to do with water quality because I notice it at some houses more than others.

Anyway, I figured, why not make some small washcloths for myself?

So I did.

I absolutely love them! The double-thickness makes it easier to hold, and it won't "break down" as quickly as a sponge tends to do.

(Hmmm...NOW I think about the fact that I should have had a frame of reference in that picture... ;-) sorry!)

This is very similar to a Hot Pad/Trivet pattern that is out there, so if you've done that, this will be a snap.

Here's how to make them:
Cotton Worsted Weight yarn
Size G hook
Chain 20 (15 for smaller size--I can't decide yet which one I prefer)
Turn, sc in each stitch across.
When you get to the end of the row, DON'T turn. Continue around to the other side of your beginning chain, sc all the way across. The whole pattern is done in one continuous round, so as you go, the corners will curl in at you. Continue until the sides meet and it becomes the shape (square or rectangle) that you want. Mine were about 6-8 rows.
Pull another 12-15 inches of yarn before cutting. Weave through the loops to bring the sides together. At the end, I added extra chains to make a loop for hanging this at my kitchen sink.

FYI: You might have to reshape them just a bit after washing and drying them.

Let me know if you try this!