Yarny projects update...

I can't believe it's June already!  And I can't believe that in a little over one month, the Year of Projects (YOP) group on Ravelry will start another year. 

Because the group started in July (of 2011), it has kept that tradition of starting mid-year, and I love it.  I find it refreshing to start something new mid-year.  And it's fun to look back when I create a "round-up" post, and exciting to imagine what I might end up making during the next twelve months. That said, some members choose to YOP on a calendar year schedule - and I would imagine they feel the same things I feel.  They just feel it in December and January instead of June and July. 😄

A few years ago (in 2022), I think because my hands were hurting and I was looking forward to hand surgery later that year, I decided to step away from the Year of Projects group - not realizing at the time time I'd be gone for two years.  Then in 2024 (after healing from yet another surgery, and cancer treatment), I wondered if it was worth it to come back at all.  I missed the camaraderie of the group, but because handcrafts had gotten pushed to the back burner during moving, and then health issues), I was a little afraid I'd regret putting pressure on myself to post every week.  I waffled right up to the last minute, but I finally decided to just re-join and if I fizzled, I fizzled. I knew there was no judgement in the YOP group.  There was only encouragement. I am nowhere near the participant I was in my earlier YOP years, but I am so glad I decided to take the chance this past year and jump back in.

Even though I don’t post every week, just knowing that the weekly YOP thread will be created, and fellow YOPpers will be posting about their crafts, has (a number of times) prodded me to pick up my languishing handcrafts and do something creative. That alone, has made it a net plus for me. All the encouragement fellow YOPpers offer each other is sweet icing on the cake.

I write all that in case anyone reading this wonders about these Year of Project posts that show up here every few weeks or so.  If you want to know more about the Year of Projects' group and get a feel for how the group members encourage each other, you'll need a free Ravelry account.  With that account, you can peruse all sorts of groups, and join them without any commitment.  You can join the YOP group and lurk for as long as you want as you consider whether or not it's a good fit for you.  If you want to join in on the fun, you'll just need a blog where you'd like to share your crafty progress, and can link to.  If YOPing sounds interesting at all, I hope you'll check it out.

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Projects I've been working on in recent weeks:

A couple of knitted beanies to kick-start a collection of donatable items that will be distributed come autumn/winter.  Rockport Double Brimmed Beanie

While these look okay (enough) in the photograph, I'd love to know if there are any special tricks seasoned knitters have learned for making neat decreasing at the crown.  It seems like my stitches get looser and looser and the decreasing ribs at the crown go a little wonky.  I think my first hats knitted years ago look much better. Is it just my aging hands that make keeping consistent tension more difficult?

One day a week or so ago more crocheted hexagons got made:

When I picked this back up, I decided this is a most excellent project to have in the background, ready to pick up and crochet however many I want whenever the motivation strikes.  Or when I felt no serious motivation to work on anything, just making one hexagon resulted in six more being made before I decide to move on...

And since April I've been knitting dishcloths again. They are great to knit when my hands want to be busy, my mind needs a distraction, and I'm too tired to do much physically - often at the end of a day (or right before bedtime).   Since I now only use two patterns or knit simple garter or stockinette stitch cloths, I've concluded my creativity with these is going to be in photographing them.  This is just fraction of what I've knit since April:

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And lastly... I found (and bought) a fun metal dish at a resale shop last week.  For all I know, this was originally purchased at Hobby Lobby (or some home store), but  thinking it might make a nice container for different kinds of displays or table centerpieces I brought it home to play with.

I auditioned it with some of my embroidery threads.

 And came up with this for the table behind our couch:

I'm living with it for a while to decide what I think of it.  Though I realize today I need to change out the May pillow...

I can't believe it's June already!

Adding a little magic to my knitting...

Life has suddenly become busy here.  It's a welcome change from the past few weeks that have felt sooooo sloooow as DH began his recovery and home-based physical therapy (PT) after knee replacement surgery in late June. 

He's doing really well, and this week he graduated to outpatient PT.  Fortunately, we don't have to drive to Indianapolis for these sessions (which was DH's original plan).  We live in a small town south of Indy that has a decent PT place just 5 minutes from our driveway - traffic is rarely an issue so it's a nice little stress-free drive.  While it is, of course, a pain (literally) for DH, it does provide for some nice little outings during the week.  I drop him off and have an hour and a quarter to myself three times a week, while he gets in a little social time that he craves. :)  Hey, sometimes you gotta take your fun where you can find it.

And the last few weeks we've also begun to make weekly trips again to DH's mom's house and "The Great Sort" continues.  I've brought home some pretty cotton fabrics that I hope to use to finish some cross stitch smalls with.  My MIL was a quilter extraordinare.  And a very fine seamstress.  If I can lay my hands on the photos of her many quilts (and church banners), I'll dedicate some posts here to showing them.

So with all that, my crafting this week has consisted of some easy projects.  Mostly, crocheting on my Leaps and Stripes  Leaping Stripes and Blocks blanket:

It's about half-finished at this point.

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And I've been knitting some fun dishcloths from left-over cotton yarns I combined into "magic balls".   

Pattern (which is great for variegateds) can be found here.

Mostly, I've joined the different yarns with a braided join, but for some reason these joins have a real knack for ending up on the edges of the cloth, and that can make for some wonky edges when knitting with worsted weight cotton.  So I may not bother with the braided join every time.  Rather, I may just wind the balls and leave the ends loose and weave/sew them in later.   At least I'll still enjoy how the colors change in a ball of wound-up mixed colors - which has this "magic" way of speeding along the knitting.  You gotta find the magic where you can too...  ;^)

And I end up with fun, colorful cloths with otherwise throw-away lengths of cotton yarn.

And that's a win!

I've found it!

After a month or more of slogging past my craft room, sighing, feeling like I'd lost something akin to my left arm (not my right arm, mind you, but still... my left arm would be a pretty big thing to lose), I'm happy to report that I think I've located my motivation again!  Motivation for a number of things, but since this post is about crafting, I'll keep it on topic.

Now...   I don't think I've gone to sleep lately thinking of color combinations and what new project I want to make (which I used to do), but I'm back in the groove of wanting yarn flowing between my fingers.  It feels natural again.   I don't mean to exaggerate, but honestly...  I don't think, since I've picked up crocheting again over the last 10 years or so, and learned to knit, have I felt so close to just stopping altogether.  I considered what it would feel like to just give all my yarn away, and I actually imagined it might feel good.  I was sure I wouldn't regret it if I did.  Thinking those thoughts would pass, though, I didn't do anything rash, but having the experience was a new one for me (regarding yarn).  And while the slog part wasn't pleasant, the feeling I could give it all away and not regret it was refreshing.  Relieving, even...

Anyway...  that's a glimpse into my recent, let's call it, COVID-brain episode.  I'm feeling motivated to "needle craft" again.  So let's talk about that.  😊

Sometime in the not too distant past, when Marsha (Lefty Crafter) was making a gift of white dishcloths for someone, I was inspired to consider a mammoth skein of white kitchen cotton I had lingering in a drawer and thought how much I'd like cloths made of it.  I really like large (like 10 inches or larger) washcloths for my face and body, so some months back I set out to knit my way through that skein and see how many large cloths I could get out it.  But interest waned. And, actually, I forgot about it.  I finally uncovered it, and picked that project back up this week, and by yesterday I had finished a total of nine cloths (having finished about half of those some months earlier).

It's not a particularly flashy project, but it's another WIP finished and another skein gone from my stash!

And then there were these:

This week I also finished the tedious task of weaving in ends of  12 or so already crocheted Maybelle Flower squares that had been lingering for... I don't know...  at least a couple of years.  Now that I've gotten my hands back on it, I think I'm going to try to move this project along by doing some version of Join As You Go.  

At the moment, I'm thinking of joining squares vertically into strips until I have a blanket-width's worth of strips joined together, then finish the project by joining the squares horizontally.  A big project, that will likely take me many months yet to finish, but I think seeing it grow will be more inspiring to me than just watching the squares accumulate - knowing that some day I'm going to have to join them. 

And that's all she wrote!

Hello March!

While I await the arrival of a small stitching stand I've ordered (for my scroll frame), I decided this week to pull out a little Christmas cross stitch I had kitted up a month or so ago:

Cute, simple, and goes with the other small Christmas designs I've made recently.

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And while I wait for a sale on the lilac colored yarn I'm using (and need more of) for my Leaping Stripes Blanket, I'm presently contenting myself with knitting dishcloths.  I almost always have a dishcloth going in the background as it's something I can just pick up and mindlessly work on while catching up on podcasts, or sometimes listening to audio books.  While I knew I was cranking them out fairly quickly, I'm amazed that I completed 19 cloths during the shortest month of the year:

And earlier today some of the extended family gathered to celebrate my Mother-In-Law's  89th birthday.   She's doing well after recovering from a heart attack in early February, and a second stay in the hospital (a week later) when her blood pressure was elevated.   It was a beautiful day to celebrate a lovely lady. 

Take heart, if you're in the northern hemisphere -- 
spring is right around the corner.  I'm sure of it!  

I hope you all have a good week!

Small things...

Other than knitting a little on dishcloths, I haven't been crafting for a couple of weeks.  Somehow I hurt both my shoulders and since they seem to be getting better, I assume I just strained them somehow and rest and Ibuprofen is probably what will serve me best right now.  And shoulder massages.  I'm not big on massages normally, but those seem to be helping to break up some really sore spots.

Some of you have been following along on my downsizing efforts (and I'm enjoying following some of yours).  Well, something came to my attention late last week, and I realized I have something to fit both a Year Of Projects post and a downsizing post today. 

I just got word this past week that a rummage sale is scheduled for next weekend to help raise funds for a little 8 year-old boy who has been fighting Leukemia since just before turning 2.   While I don't know the child or his family personally, he has been on our radar for years now, and other than pray for him and his family, nothing has come across my path that I could put legs (or hands) to to help.  But when I heard about the upcoming rummage sale, I immediate recognized that instead of taking things I'm getting rid of to a thrift shop, I can donate them to the sale.  The sale is next Saturday, so I don't have very long to come up with much, but this motivates me to concentrate on clearing out more stuff this week.  

The reason I'm sharing this information here on my YOP update, is that it dawned on me I could donate some hand-crafted items along with household items we're going through.  Now, if you've been reading here for any length of time, you probably know I have dozens of knitted dish/wash cloths at the ready, right?  So I pulled some together in sets of three and put (what I hope are fun) labels on them and will box them up for the sale with other donate-able items.

It's a win-win.  I enjoyed making these simple cloths.  I get to move them out - and for a worthy cause, no less.  And hopefully they'll bring a few dollars to the sale, and maybe they'll even make gifts for others.

I don't have much time, but this week I'm going through closets and cupboards to see what I can unearth to donate.  What better motivation to "de-junque" than when hoping it can benefit someone else.  I'll plan to post about my efforts in a downsizing post later in the week.

To see what other YOPers are up to, 

visit their blogs in my sidebar.  👉

Who knew a dishcloth could be so complicated?!?

Today is one long answer to a question I received last week.

I was asked if I had a preferred number of stitches to cast on when I knit dishcloths.  And my answer is YES!  But...  of course, as with many things, it depends...

What it depends on are the details regarding a particular pattern, as well as yarn and needles used.  Fortunately I've kept some notes - because once upon a time I imagined making a drawerful of neat and tidy knitted dishcloths, and my notes were going to eventually insure that every cloth I knitted would be perfect and uniform.  😄😆😂

Of course, the perfectly uniform dishcloths never materialized, but since I took notes as I was trying I'm going to share those notes here for anyone who might be interested - or for myself if no one else cares.

The first thing I settled on was the size dishcloth I truly like to use.  I used to think I liked dishcloths about 8 inches square, but I found that knitted cotton dishcloths stretch out a great deal when wet.  

While I went on for some time positive that I liked 8-inch square dishcloths, somewhere along the way I must have knitted a smaller cloth and realized that it was easier for me to handle.  Through some trial and error, I finally settled on a knitted cotton cloth approximately 7.25 - 7.5 inches square as being pretty perfect for me.  

To be sure, though...  A cloth that size shrinks to something that looks kind of silly once it's gone through a hot wash and a tumble dry.  But as knitted cotton is prone to do, these cloths will usually stretch out to over their original 7.25-inch selves once they're soaking wet. And the size they are when wet is what truly matters.

The size needles one prefers to knit with will also affect the final size of a cloth.  All my "kitchen cotton" is worsted weight and a lot of patterns will call for needles sized 6-8 for that weight yarn, but I get my best result with a size 4 needle.  

I use circular needles because I prefer the feel of the small needles in my hands as I knit a small project like a dishcloth.  And, in case anyone is curious... I use cheap aluminum circulars with slightly kinky cables.  They work just dandy.

Different cotton yarns will also affect the final size of a cloth.  My favorite cotton is Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton, but I've experimented with various kitchen cottons.  

I also have Knit Picks cotton and Crafter's Secret 

(both slightly thinner worsted cottons than those above)

Keep in mind that your tension may produce different size cloths than I've produced.  Generally, I'm neither a tight, nor loose knitter.  But I do find my stitches loosen up with purling, so sometimes my cloths get a little on the loose side (which, I'm sure, is one reason I like to use smaller needles).

Also, have you noticed that knitted cotton shrinks lengthwise, while crocheted cotton shrinks widthwise?  Weird, I know.  But I've seen it with my own eyes.  Because of this, when I knit a cotton cloth, I always try to knit it a bit longer (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch longer) than it is wide.  That way after it's washed and dried it's most likely to come out square. Just the way I like a dishcloth.  

The notes below apply to my two favorite dishcloth patterns:  Boxes (to which I add a garter stitch edging all around), and DW Darrell Waltrip Dishcloth.   

The Boxes pattern makes a pretty cloth (especially with solid yarn) that is flexible and slightly nubby.  Not quite scrubby nubby.  Just nubby enough to be interesting.

Boxes Dishcloth

The DW Dishcloth (below) makes a denser, thicker cloth that makes up for its slight sacrifice of flexibility with the fun way it has with variegated yarns:

DW Darrell Waltrip Dishcloths

If you're still with me, it's finally time to get to the specifics.  I'll try to be briefer and to the point here.   My notes aren't fancy.  But being basic, I hope they're understandable to anyone who knows enough (and cares enough) to be wanting to knit a dishcloth.  Keep in mind, your tension (and therefore size of cloth) may vary from mine.

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Thick cotton yarns :

Lily’s Sugar n’ Cream, size 4 needles, CO 38 stitches, cloth measures 8.25” x 8.25”

Peaches & Cream (solid), size 4 needles, CO 38 stitches, cloth measures 8” x 9”

Peaches & Cream (solid), size 4 needles, CO 36 stitches, cloth measures 7.75” x 8.25” 

My preferred size cloth with either of these thicker yarns is 7.25 - 7.5 inches wide.  I usually get this size using size 4 needles, and a CO of 34 stitches.

Slightly thinner yarns:

Peaches & Cream Prints, size 4 needles, CO 38 stitches, cloth measures 7.75” x 8.25” 

Premier Home Cotton Multi Grande, size 4 needles, CO 38 stitches, cloth measures 7.25” x 7.75”

Premier Home Cotton (solid), size 4 needles, CO 38 stitches, cloth measures 7” x 7.5”

Knit Picks Cotton (solid), size 5 (or 6) needles, CO 38 stitches, cloth measures 8" square.

I like a larger cloth for washing face and body with, so I worked up some according to these specifics:

Sugar n’ Cream or Peaches & Cream, size 4 needles, CO 44 stitches, cloth measures 9" x 9.75"

Here's a picture showing the size difference between my preferred dishcloth size (orange), and my preferred face and body washcloth (variegated):

In the end, it does seem to me that one needs to work a pattern once to see how large it's going to be and then figure what changes are needed to get the size of cloth one prefers.  Adapting the size can be a matter of changing needle sizes, or figuring out the the number of stitches in a particular stitch pattern (plus stitches needed for a border) and changing the the number of stitches cast on.

And, in the end, a little steam (holding a steam iron close above a finished cloth) and giving a little tug here and there will make any dishcloth look a bit better than when it first comes off the needles.

I'm sure this is all more than anyone wanted to know about what I've learned knitting dishcloths.  But I hope, if you like your cloths larger (or even smaller) than I like them, that I've offered some helpful information to give you ideas for how to adapt a pattern to whatever size you like in a cloth, and according to what yarn and needles you use.

Happy Knitting!

To see what other YOPers are up to, 

you'll find links to their blogs over there in my sidebar.  👉

Celtic Weave Infinity Scarf...

Last week saw the finish of my Celtic Weave Infinity Scarf:

Because I used worsted weight yarn, I made the middle of my scarf narrower than the original scarf  - which was done in fingering weight yarn.  The stitch pattern for the center panel of this scarf requires a starting chain of a count divisible by 4 +3.  While the stitch pattern took some concentration at the beginning and ending of rows, it did finally become intuitive for me, and at that point it didn't take too long to finish.  But I will admit, there was a fair amount of ripping back and redoing until that happened.

Fingering weight yarn appears to make a lovely drapey scarf while worsted weight yarn made a chunky, toasty one.  😊

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Since it's the first day of autumn when posting this, and I'm realizing I haven't taken a picture of dishcloths knitted since late June, I snapped a quick shot of all the cloths I knitted this summer:

Not very many, but they are certainly colorful!  😃

And that, dear reader, is all she wrote!   

To see what other YOPpers are up to, 

visit the blog links in my side bar!  👉

I am such a square...

Two years ago I joined the 2017 BAMCAL group on Ravelry.  For the uninitiated, BAMCAL stands for Block-A-Month Crochet-A-Long.  The idea is you  make two blocks each month and by year's end you'll have enough for a blanket.  

Theoretically.

That first year, I was excited and early on I made a number of blocks - mostly playing with colors, but I eventually made four blocks that helped me settle on my colors and were acceptable for putting toward a blanket I hoped to finish that year.

Here they are (again), for the record:

Then, in 2018, with the renewed enthusiasm that a new year brings, I joined the 2018 BAMCAL group and declared my intentions of making more blocks and hopefully finishing a BAMCAL blanket by year's end.

I made a total of zero squares in 2018.

So this year, I again jumped into the 2019 BAMCAL group, with lots of enthusiasm, but having a more realistic view of my likely progress, I hereby make no more declarations of when this project will finish. 

Finding myself in a bit of a lull between larger projects, this past week I decided to make a couple of new squares.  This was, in fact, the only crocheting I managed to get in finally - when things slowed down late in the week.

The first square I crocheted was Eye of the Beholder:

This was a fun square to see made by different people - That's always true, of course, but this square changed dramatically with different color placements.  If you don't believe me, you can scroll through the Ravelry thread here.

Then, rather than do the second square (which was too open of a pattern for what I want in this blanket), I searched the archives and found Hope Still:

This square was a bear, to be honest, but the finished effect was worth all the effort.  My advice if you chose to make this square...  Don't work it when you're tired, breathe deep, take it slowly, and take breaks.  And most importantly... trust the instructions.    'Nuff said.  

With two squares successfully made in January of 2019 I'm in love with the idea of a BAMCAL blanket again, and my colors.  All is well.

Regardless of how many squares I make this year, this is one of those projects that will eventually get finished.  Oops... there I go making declarations again.  Let's just say that's my plan, anyway.  If I live long enough.  

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I mentioned earlier in the month that I would be working on whittling down my kitchen cotton stash this year by always having a dishcloth or washcloth on the needles or hook.  Well, I forgot to mention hotpads.  I still have something of a fascination with hotpads.  😊

Seeing someone else's Pinwheel Hotpad recently, I was inspired to try my hand at making one:

Here's the thing, though...  Since I referred to two patterns and two videos to complete this pinwheel shaped hotpad, I really don't have a pattern to recommend.  If you want to make one, search for pinwheel hotpad.  It was fun, and not even difficult, but without a single pattern to refer to, I'm honestly not likely to make any more.  That said, I'm happy I made it as I've been curious about how these are made for some time.  My curiosity is now satisfied.  😉 

And the following pretties will be added to my dish/washcloth box for using or giving away at some point:

Patterns (or stitch patterns) used in the above cloths:

Simple garter stitch 
Simple stockinette stitch (with garter stitch borders)
Boxes Dishcloth - remains my personal favorite
My Heart Dishcloth  - this would make a sweet child's washcloth 

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To see what other YOPers are up to, 

visit our group on Ravelry!

2019 Yarn Stash-Down progress:  12/100 skeins