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My fascination for dishcloths continues…I am trying to make things from my Ravelry queue nowadays, and this has been on it for a while now. It’s a variation on the diagonal knit pattern, from eLOOManator and I used about half a skein. Details in the usual format:
Yarn: Lily Sugar n’Cream in Yellow. Remains of the skeins I used for my dishcloths last year. Here is my Ravelry page for the project.
Needles: Denise US #6 (3.75mm?)
Pattern: eLOOManator’s Diagonal Dishcloth (Ravelry link) Her webpage doesn’t appear to be working does not seem to give the pattern (she’s more interested in weaving with small looms), and she’s given the pattern on the Ravelry page, which isn’t allowed, so it might vanish any time. If you want it, now’s the time to grab it! ETA (08.11.2021): Here is the direct link to the pattern PDF.
Time: Overnight
Size: 9.5″ x 9.5″
Extra #1 I love how the cotton makes the stitches really stand out. What a nice bright colour it is, too! I still have about half a skein leftover (there were originally 2 full ones). Both sides look good, see:
Another item off my queue was finished in Agra (although I started it in Cochin). More cotton, again for the kitchen.
And the specs:
Yarn: Lion Kitchen Cotton in Navy. I have about three skeins and used about three-fourths of one for this. Here is my Ravelry page for the project.
Needles: Denise US #6 (3.75mm?)
Pattern: Kitchen towel (Ravelry link) from the Dishcloth Boutique, pattern here. The Dishcloth Boutique site works for me sometimes, sometimes not.
Time: Two days
Size: 10″ x 13″
Extra #1 I was doubtful initially about using a dark colour, whether the texture would show up well or not, but I’m happy enough with the product. Haven’t put in a button yet, but then I have a nail, not a towel ring to hang it from.
I still have about 65 projects on my queue. How many do you have and how old is the oldest? Mine dates from my joining, about 8 months old, but I hope to have it finished shortly.
They’re small and you learn new stitch patterns. What’s not to like about dishcloths? I love them! Bring on the cotton!
I flew back to Cochin from Hyderabad last week, and while I was waiting in the security lounge at Hyderabad airport (for the last time probably, as a new one is scheduled to open next month), I saw a lady walk past, wearing a silk blouse and pale green trousers, with matching shoes. Through my mind ran the thought…I wonder how she keeps those clean, and if one ought to have shoes that match different clothing. I’m lazy myself, and generally buy brown or black ones (in handbags also) so that they match everything! I’m always in awe of anyone who can perfectly accessorise. And my lighter coloured clothes are sure to get stained very shortly after being worn.
I’d scarcely finished the thought when she sat down, and took out her knitting! Yes, I finally met a knitter in public (not in someone’s house). She kindly allowed me to bust in rudely and spoil her peace sit with her and chat until my flight was called. I’d packed away my hook and thread because I’m not very sure about passing them through security. Jennifer, if you’re reading this, thank you! It was so exciting!
As you can see, she’s knitting the continental way with the yarn being fed by the left hand. I watched her, and it’s the middle finger that does the feeding. The yarn is wrapped around her forefinger for tension. I told her I doubted my middle finger has enough control to do that work. My forefinger is of course used to controlling tension for crochet, but with a single wrap only.
So far when I’ve tried the picking method, I assumed that the end of the right needle should pick up the yarn from my left hand, but obviously, without a hook on the end, this is an iffy business at best. All I end up doing is poking a hole in my left forefinger, and getting back to throwing the yarn. Perhaps that’s why I’m a slow knitter. What I need is someone to sit with me and show me how. I don’t think I could learn from videos.
Jennifer also sent me a picture of a baby set she made for a friend, very cute! Almost convinces me I need to try colourwork.
Isn’t that cute? I wish I could have talked more with her. It is a rare bird, a public knitter in the circles I move in.
A certain someone sent me some lovely cotton yarn a few months ago, which I’ve been afraid to use (I’m petrified of using good yarn, and hate cutting it! There must be a name for this phobia…). But I got my hands on a copy of One Skein (thanks to another friend) and found this project in it, just right as I’ve been searching for something nice to make for a colleague’s new baby (the husband’s colleague, not mine). In our weather, warm clothing isn’t required, so I thought a bib might be more useful. The pattern went by very fast, but here are the tech specs:
Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta Catania Color (whew!) in 226 (how romantic), about half a skein
Needles: Metal 3.25mm
Pattern: Petal Bib from One Skein (mind the corrections)
Time: 3-4 hours (more for finishing than the knitting itself, see below)
Size: 4.5″ x 8″
Extra #1 Very cute pattern, but omg, the number of ends to be woven in for such a small project! Each of the petals is begun separately and then all are attached and knitted together. About 14 ends in all. I finished the bib in about 90 minutes, but the weaving in took me two hours or more.
#2 My short rows came out beautifully, can’t spot where I wrapped the stitches, yay!
#2 My first time doing applied I-cord, and I’m very pleased with the result. See for yourself:
#4 Perhaps I could have arranged the petals better to get a more symmetric striping, but it’s okay.
#5 I suspect the recommended yarn has a larger gauge, so the finished size would be bigger.
#6 I might knit the project again if I can think of a way to do away with the ends. In such fine yarn, carrying along the ends while knitting isn’t an option, especially not in stockinette stitch.
Since a good bit of the yarn was left, I sought around for another pattern to knit, and didn’t find any likely bibs, but I did see one for a dishcloth, so I cast on and knit that instead.
Yarn: The Catania again
Needles: Metal 3.25 dpns
Pattern: Multidirectional dishcloth
Time: A couple of hours.
Size: 6.5″ square
Extra #1 Loved the pattern. Makes me want to knit the multidirectional scarf it’s inspired by, and I shall, too, when I have some appropriate striped yarn in enough quantity.
#2 Added straps by chaining a desired length, and then turning and hdc-ing (US) all the way back, hdc over the bib, chaining again and hdc back to the bib. Simple.
Even after all that, I still had a bit of the yarn left, so I cast on chained for a whimsical pattern that’s been on my mind for ages (it’s how I discovered the parent blog).
Yarn: More Catania!
Hook: 2.25mm Clover double-ended
Pattern: Solipsis from Redshirt Knitting
Time: An hour or so.
Size: Doesn’t matter!
Extra #1 I made mine in crochet, because I didn’t want to cast on 60 stitches…All over hdc (US).
#2 Great fun! I plan to use it for my stitch markers.
#3 those buttons were the only ones I could find 2 of and I was in a tearing hurry…
Now I’ve gotto run. Duty calls.
A friend sent me some gorgeous DK cotton yarn and as usual, I was stumped on what to make with 114 yards. Inspiration struck via Ravelry, and I crossed two three projects off my queue with great joy. I don’t know what it is about garter stitch, but I like it immensely. Also, give me variegated yarn and I think “dishcloths!”
The first one is the popular Garterlac cloth:
The photo is small, because it came out a bit fuzzy (so what else is new?). The details in my usual rigid format:
Yarn: Narvik Young Touch Cotton DK (I cannot find a website for it)
Needles: Denise #6 (~4mm), actually a bit too large
Pattern: Garterlac dishcloth by Criminy Jickets
Time: Very quick.
Size: 7″ x 7″
Extra #1 Very well-written directions, just follow them blindly, even if they seem odd. I didn’t have to refer to the extra Flickr tutorials.
#2 When a pattern says “Cast on loosely”, you better believe them! My beginning is somewhat unsightly because my cast-on isn’t quite loose enough 😦
#3 I could possibly have used a smaller needle for a neater look
#4 The Narvik Young Touch is a tad too sophisticated for a dishcloth, I suppose, but what would you do with 114 yards of variegated cotton? No, seriously, I’d like some ideas.
Having about half the skein left, I decided to tackle another of the dishcloths on my queue and that was this one:
Yarn: Narvik Young Touch Cotton DK in shade 7517.
Needles: Pony 2.75mm straights
Pattern: 4 corners dishcloth by 1870 pearl
Time: Overnight
Size: 6″ x 6″
Extra #1 Nice and easy. A bit like my Short Rows Rectangular Cloth, but different. My wrapping, turning and finishing has apparently not improved in the year since I made that one, it appears.
#2 I like garter stitch, what can I say? And the play of the colours is always fascinating.
#3 I still have some yarn left over…
And here’s the last of the yarn:
Yarn: Narvik Young Touch Cotton DK in shade 7517.
Needles: Pony 2.75mm straights
Pattern: Tribble by 1870 pearl
Time: About an hour or less
Size: 6″ at the end of yarn (recommended size is at least 8″). That’s why I’m calling mine a Tribblet 😀
Extra #1 Fun! Dang if I know what to do with it, though!
Heehee.
The Boteh scarf first. Neat design, neat outcome.
And the specs:
Yarn: Patons Kroy sock in Blazing Blue that Rosi sent me, 2 full skeins (mine have only 192 yds, not the 203 as currently advertised). I liked working with it, it felt nice and squishy.
Hook: Clover Takumi 4.00mm bamboo from Vicki
Pattern: Boteh scarf by Kathy Merrick, from Interweave Crochet Spring 2007
Time: 2 days (took longer because I had to redo the edging when I realised the spacing I was using would leave me short of yarn before I finished)
Size: 5″ x 96″
Extra #1 The pattern has errata, but if you just follow the chart, that shouldn’t be a problem at all.
#2 Boteh is supposed to mean a bouquet of leaves or something, but it reminds me of how we drew plaits as kids.
#3 This is meant as a surprise gift for someone.
#4 I did only 15 motifs overall, refer to yarn shortage. But it’s a very good size anyway. That’s the best part about scarves, I suppose!
#5 I hate these three words: Pick up evenly!!! I never seem to get the count right.
Now here’s the Beret:
Yarn: GGH Aspen, in pink (the website calls it mauve), one skein.
Needles: Denise #8, not strictly 5mm
Pattern: Rollin’ Beret by Woolly Wormhead (scroll down). Nice and quick and easy 😀 Somehow I chose to do it in the same colour a similar colour to the one that Ruth made hers in.
Time: Overnight
Size: 5″ x 96″
Extra #1 I have a doubt about the finished product (size-wise), but until this reaches its recipient, I am not voicing those. But otherwise, a good, satisfying knit 🙂
Here’s how much yarn I was left with after finishing the edging on the Boteh:
Cutting it very fine!
Does anyone have any hints/tips on yarny shopping to be done in Beijing? My father is visiting there next week and I’d like to give him some specific requests. Someone on Ravelry said China yarn is cheap(er). So what fibre would be good? I know bamboo needles and hooks sound likely, but…
LYS recommendations also welcome, please?
Two weeks ago, we wrote a complaint that the washbasin in our bathroom was shaky. So two guys came (Malayalam only) and dismantled the whole thing, leaving the washbasin in the fire escape and the only word I understood was “nala” meaning tomorrow. Well, the tomorrow only came after a week or so, when 4 (!!!) men showed up to “put in a flug”.
Having given up on anybody ever replacing the washbasin, it took me a minute to understand that they’d come to do something about it. I let them in, they carved out a hole in the wall, put in some cement and a wooden flug (now you get it!) and went away, asking me to water it twice a day and Monday (yesterday) they’d come and put the washbasin back up.
I’ve been faithfully watering the flug, but alas, no one has come to complete the task. And so we roll.
In knitting news, I’ve been working on this pattern, which caught my eye. I’m using Lion cotton and Sugar n’ Cream. Although the designer’s work looks scrumptious, mine is definitely going to end as an Ugh. The problem might be that (a) I knit too tight therefore my floats are too tight, thus not giving that gingham look, (b) cotton isn’t slippery enough for the pattern (c) general shabby knitting.
Also, the handle is done in double knitting in two colours, which has me completely floored, me never having done double knitting in colours before. I’ve tried checking out the videos available online, but I wish someone would explain this particular pattern to me. I’ve finished the body of the towel and it only needs a handle now. There is a chart, but I’m not able to understand that very well. 😦
As you can see in the photo, it is still raining here. Apparently Kerala (and much of India) has had 20% excess rainfall this monsoon. Somebody forgot to tell the southwest monsoon that it must retreat before the northeast monsoon comes calling. We went on a cruise of the backwaters on Sunday, taking around the husband’s superior and family. That isn’t our boat, although ours looked identical. They do you for lunch. The boats have two bedrooms with attached bathrooms. You can hire them for the night as well. Food is traditional Kerala cuisine. The backwaters are used as the main media of transport in the region, and it was startling to see distance signboards we normally spot on highways. All in all, a unique experience.
Me, I’m a dry land creature, and while the life on so much water is fascinating to study and brood over, I much prefer less moisture. Water scares me. Nice for a break, though.
ETA: The designer is holding my hand while I attempt the handle. Progress shall be reported.
After the scintillating response (not) I had for my last couple of posts, I took a deep breath and realised (besides almost hyperventilating), what a dull blogger I’ve become. (Some people might think otherwise, but I’ve taken a voice vote here and you can’t change my mind).
My blogging has flagged partly because I’m frequenting Ravelry so much and partly because I’ve been travelling. I find it more difficult to blog outside of home, somehow.
Anyhow, I’ve got to confess to not having set foot in either Crochetville or Knittyboard in several months now. At the former I find myself recognising fewer and fewer people, and at the latter I was always too intimidated to post most of the time anyway. Ravelry and Google Reader remain my sole social entree into the yarny crafts.
In great news (I think), I met and played with a kitten on Sunday at the Hyderabad home of a cousin, with no sneezing whatsoever!!! Maybe it proves my alleged allergy to cats is much exaggerated, or something, I don’t know what. Here is pictorial evidence:
Please note the poor thing is scared and pointy-eared, and freed itself immediately afterwards. I suppose I was overwhelming (like a binge-eater). But it did let me scratch its ears later. Just not a hold-y, cuddly type, I suppose. It is thus far nameless, but is a she, about 3 months old. More photos in the same set at Flickr. I am on my phus-phus (allergy steroid nasal spray), maybe that helped.
It is my not-so-secret ambition to adopt two kittens, one ginger striped and the other black tuxedo and name them Lola Kutty (viewers of Channel [V] will know who she is). One could be Lola and the other Kutty. Or both together could be Lola Kutty. The only thing stopping me is uncertainty of what will happen to them when I travel.
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I am test knitting a pattern for Jacqui. Unwittingly I chose almost exactly the same colours of a similar fabric garment I have to knit this in. So predictable. Bought the 100% acrylic (of course, what else?) yarn in Hyderabad before returning to Vizag. Here’s the yarn: (and yes, it is every bit as scratchy as it looks)
The pattern so far is nice and simple and if I were a faster knitter I’d be zooming along. I jumped on it because I was dying to do some brioche knitting and this pattern has some. It’s a long way to go before I get to it, though.
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In other news, we are loading our luggage this Saturday and will be flying to Cochin on Tuesday. From what the husband tells me, the quarters are cramped, with bad roads, little running water and not enough storage space. Then he loses his temper because I ventured to say that nothing of what he’d told me so far made me look forward to moving. Apparently he’s given me too much information. Whatever.
Since I live in cyberspace so much anyway, hopefully it won’t take too long to get online again.
A simple cabled hat also using magic looping.
Specs, quickly, since it only took me a three-four hours to knit.
Yarn: The same Shepherd Cynthia Helene that I won from Nona when she was giving away some of her stash last year. Still some left over, which I’m hoping will make some socks or booties or mittens.
Needles: Denise #8/5mm with magic loop from this site. Nothing to it! Cabling with a needle, not without.
Pattern: Hey Julie’s pattern, the one with 10 cables. I preferred how it looked to the 5 cable one.
Time: 3-4 hours.
Size: 8.5″around (about 19″ circumference, which makes it giant-baby-head size, but that’s okay, I think. My friend can wear it otherwise. 🙂
Extra: #1 Not much! Law & Order: SVU coming up, gotta run.
Here’s Teddy in the meantime.
Magic loop is really magic! I was in a desperate situation, making this pullover, and needing to make the sleeves. I do not have dpns in the size I required, and no way was I going to convert a knit-in-the-round pattern to a knit flat one, just for the pleasure of seaming. So I grabbed my longest circular (it’s actually a size smaller, but then I didn’t have the size required in circulars, either) and googled, and landed upon this site which has pictures explaining how to work small circumference items on two circulars or one circular using the magic loop technique. So simple and so well explained! I never want to go back to straight needles or dpns!
So I’ve come this far:
Using the NZ merino Shepherd Cynthia Helene that I won from Nona when she was giving some of her stash away. It’s yummy! 400 yards that went from NZ to the US and came to India for me. Now I’m planning it will go back to the US, for a friend of mine who’s having a second boy (something in the water, perhaps?).
This yarn refuses to be photographed in its true colours, but it’s a lovely dark browny kind of shade, named Ginger.
The circular I’m using is Heide‘s, and is some soft plastic-like material, but flexible. I tried using my Denise with the shortest cable length, but found it was too rigid. Must try and see if magic loop works with Denise, as the cable and the tips on this one are all the same piece and fused together, but the cable is quite a bit narrower than the tip, making it difficult to slide the stitches over.
I’m halfway through the second sleeve to the point where the sleeves and the body will be joined together and the yoke worked.
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Can someone explain why my “Yarn and Thread Stores in India” page gets the most spam? Does that phrase mean something it shouldn’t in some language, perhaps?
swakrta.com 