How'd you do that?

So, last night I crocheted this little bath cloth:

I think it's really cute and David likes that it puckers up a little and provides a good grip for a bath cloth.  We'll see if it is big enough when it's washed and dried...it looks a tad small to me, but these things do grow.

Anyway, I sent the pic to mom and she said, "how'd you do that?"  I told her I read the pattern and then made it up (what I got out of the pattern is that I was supposed to chain 5, create a ring, single crochet in the ring and then chain 7 off of the ring).  From there it was crocheting in the pink to create the body of the cloth...decreasing at the base and increasing at the tips of the flowers.  It really wasn't hard and I totally made it up once I did the first round.

And if I can figure out how to make it lay flatter then I'll definitely be blowing up this idea into a bath rug because that would be the cutest cutest thing in the world. (or placemats...)

Anyway, all of this is to say that crochet somehow makes intuitive sense to me.  I "learned" by watching Knit and Crochet Now! and Knitting Daily TV...so the process of the steps had been shown to me over and over (and yes, I watch them over and over and over)...but the act of creating items from crochet...it makes perfect sense.  Once I figured out where to start my first stitch on a row, I was cruising!

I'm testing different stitch patterns out on bath cloths...I'll have a bunch by the time this is over...and what I like I'm making into stripes for the girls' bath mats...Liz's now has two, and I think I'm going to alternate these two patterns with the different colors to create a really run and very textured bath mat.  What I love about doing these mats in the single strand of cotton is that they can be thrown directly into the washing machine easily...we will see how they hold up, but I think they'll be good.

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Daddy's story:  When I was younger my daddy had a "big old belly" and I used to tease him that he had a baby in that belly.  I would watch tv with him and prop my head on his belly while we watched.  That baby would "kick" and knock my head around and I would laugh and laugh.

I'm busy...and distracted...and it's a good thing

Last week I knitted up these 4 dish cloths:

And then on Saturday I knitted up these 4:

Top photo variegated yarns are Dishie from Knit Picks.  I have enough in each ball to do another one.

The other 2 from the top photo are I Love This Cotton by Hobby Lobby.  The resulting cloth is super soft.  Definitely more of a bath cloth than dish cloth.  I don't think they'd be sturdy enough to withstand actual scrubbing.

In the bottom photo, the two on the left are actually a snow man and Santa.  You can probably see the images if you click on the photo to make it bigger.  I used Lily Sugar and Cream for the White, and the Red is Dishie again.  The pink is also Dishie--and it's hearts.  The green one is a yarn I got from Discontinued Brand Name Yarns...I have a good bit of it and keep drawing it out of my bag, so my current knitting is also in this green.  I like how the lace pattern showed up, and it wasn't difficult to knit...remember I can't handle difficult knits these days.

On Sunday I got interested in knitting things other than dish cloths, so I worked on and finished David's hat.  Then I started Alyssa's hat.  Upon finishing up the laundry on Sunday I decided that I don't have enough socks, so I pulled out my current sock knitting...and I'm about half way done with the foot on the first sock.  That's like getting a major bonus in the sock knitting department, so I worked on that a little bit last night.

It was a nice relaxing weekend, also spent in my pjs.  I've needed that a good bit lately, and won't get pj weekends until December...we have travel coming up.  Any recommendations for yarn shops in Roanoke?

Things that give me pleasure

Pretty kitties sitting in a chair.

Pretty stitches sitting in a row.

 (It's Trellis or Bee Stitch.  Yarn is I Love this Cotton by Hobby Lobby).

A weekend in my new pjs...too big, but oh-so-comfy.

A WEEKEND

I truly hope you all had a great weekend.  Mine was just how I wanted it.

On Friday I sat down on the couch and was knitting away and I thought, "It would be heaven if I could park it here in my pjs and not get up until Monday morning."

David, being the awesome husband that he is, told me to rest.  He would wash the clothes, clean the kitchen and do all the other things to keep the house comfortable and I could rest.

I rested.

And I knitted.

And I could have used another day of it, but alas...

What did I make?  Well...dish/wash cloths of course.  Two of my favorite stitch patterns are here:

The first is "Star Flower" made using Knit Picks Organic Cotton.  It's a sport-weight cotton in natural colors (this one is called marshmallow) and is so soft that it won't be a dish cloth, but will definitely be a bath cloth...I may keep it for myself.

The second is called "Tiny Bow-Ties"...and I used a Christmas speckled cotton yarn line from Hobby Lobby called "I Love this Cotton."  It's surprisingly soft and was super easy to work with.  So far, of all the yarn lines available at the big chains (where I can shop in my home town) this is the best.

My favorite yarn overall has been Knit Picks' Dishie.  I made an orange to beige variegated cloth that is pretty wonderful...but I'll show that in a day or so.  No special stitch pattern on that one.

I also started a super-simple hat for David's Christmas/Birthday present (haven't decided which yet).

AND I ripped out the only sweater I've ever made.  I made it for my larger self...it now fits like a cape.  And while I'd really like a cape, this one is definitely a sweater that's way too big.  I have to say that I was terrified that it would come unraveled.  I can't believe how well I tucked in all the ends.  It's all finally unraveled though and it will become something else wonderful one day--maybe two sweaters...we shall see.

I really wished I could have stayed home again today, but I couldn't, so I'm at work wishing I was sitting on the couch knitting....

And, in case you didn't know it, it's going to be super cold here in a couple of days.  Freezing temps before Thanksgiving is really quite unusual...brrrr...

Indulge me

You'll have to indulge my fancy for knitting dish/wash cloths for a while.  I hope this doesn't bore you.  It isn't boring me, and I'm finding that it is a great way to get some knitting in (which I must do), make something practical (which I like to do), and not tax my brain during this overly stressful time in my life.

Indulge me in saying that 2013 has been a year that I will be glad to put an end to.  Starting with a tornado in February, in-laws diagnosed with cancer in March, my aunt who almost died with her lung disease in May, and my dad's recent diagnosis and surgery in September/October.  I'm just about wrung out and done for.  I will not tempt fate and ask "what else could possibly go wrong this year" because honestly, lots could and I don't want to experience it. 

Instead, I will, every night, find my thing to be grateful for...and during the day I will knit little squares of cotton that will keep me from going a little wacky during all of this.

I hope you enjoy today's sample:

It's a purple and white mitered square cloth that I finished Monday or so.  I really enjoyed making this and have plans for many more.  It's great when you have about 20g or so of one color, or scraps and bits.  It could look really cool with different colored stripes alternating with the white, though that could be an unmerciful number of ends to weave in...something to consider.

I didn't use a pattern for this. I just worked from my current knowledge of knitting mitered squares but instead of decreasing in the center by K3tog, I marked the center stitch and decreased one stitch on each side of it.  The end result is more of a curve in the middle than a point, but I like the effect for a cloth...plus I didn't have to go crazy counting stitches to find the middle and could knit and carry on a conversation with my family.  Always a huge plus.

I'll have more to say tomorrow about knitting these little cloths.  Trust me :)

Still Obsessing

I'm still obsessing about knitting dish cloths.  I've completely given in to the obsession and am not worrying about anything else.  If you're on my gift-giving list, expect a dish cloth or two (or three depending on how much I like you!)

This lovely little purple one was finished over the weekend.  Isn't it sweet?  The flowers are just perfect, AND it used up every single inch of the yarn.  I should have knitted an extra pair of garter rows at the top, but didn't have enough yarn.

Since I finished this one I made one in a stitch called "Bee Stitch" which I loved a lot.  Not only is it a really pretty stitch, but the way it looked with the speckled yarn is really cool.  Then I made one in purple and white stripes...this one is a mitered square.  I decided that while counting to the center stitch to decrease using the K3tog is possible when I cast on 31 stitches, it would be miserable when I cast on 80+ stitches, SO I cast on 40 or so stitches (I don't remember today), put a marker, cast on one more, then put another marker and cast on the equivalent to the first half.  Then I knit a garter stitch pair of rows and decreased on each side of the center stitch.  It worked perfectly.  I cast off when I had 5 stitches left.

I am now making one in purple again (for my hairdresser...he requested purple dish cloths).  The patter is called Crocus Buds and I'm doing something wrong, so I'm going to give it a few more rows during lunch today to see if I can get it right, and if not, I'll rip it out and start over with the next pattern in my booklet.

And you know what else is really cool and fun.  After I finish one in a color, I get to move on to another color.  This is so meeting all my knitting ADD needs these days!