Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Waffle knit dishcloths


Waffle knit dishcloths
Originally uploaded by lavaughn
My mother-in-law had seen my first effort at a knitted dishcloth and admired it. She said she had had some many years ago that had worn like iron. As her 82nd birthday was coming up on July 5th, I rushed into production, taking the July KAL as my guide. I picked up another cone of yarn (Peaches & Creme shaded brown) as well as a small gold ball and decided to use them with my natural colored yarn. I finished them in time for her birthday and earned a big hug and a smile.

Friday, June 26, 2009

More progress on a new project

Having finished both shrugs, I decided to try something a little different - a tank top in deep plum. I'm using Caron Simply Soft Eco, "helping to save our planet one stitch at a time." The label states that "NatureSpun is a high-quality polyester fiber made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles." I've never worn a bottle before. LOL! Tonight I made it to the neck decrease. I might have been a little further along, except I got invited to join a lovely forum on Ravelry known as Dishcloths R Us. I had absolutely no idea that so many people knit so many different dishcloths. Here's my very first venture, a pattern known as Grandmother's Favorite.It knit up quite quickly and gave me a sense of accomplishment that might hold me until I finish the tank top.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Project completed!

Here's a picture of my first completed shrug (flash and all.) It's a bit heavier than I thought it would be, but it's done. My stitches are regular - the stockinette stitch is easy - simply knit one row and purl the rest. The first part of the week is supposed to be somewhat chilly, so maybe I'll wear it to work.

I began my next project, another shrug, on May 12th. Here's a link to the pattern site www.canandianliving.com and a picture showing my progress to date:

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Re-igniting an old interest

I'd been to one of my favorite websites, the Pioneer Library System, and downloaded the audiobook, The Friday Night Knitting Club. It was a very engaging book, so much so that I found myself picking my knitting needles back up and starting a project.

Then, being me, I simply had to roam the world wide web to see what had transpired in knitting during the intervening years. Whoa!!! What a plethora of patterns are available, some for free, some not. And the types of yarn that are now available to order simply by clicking a few keys. (I grew up using Red Heart knitting worsted that I bought at the Wolcott Bargain Center.) This is a whole new world of wool with access to yarns I had not been aware of. And the materials they now use to make knitting needles - it boggles the brain. I saw lovely handcrafted rosewood needles and some that seemed to be made of glass. And the websites that are devoted to knitting - a Google search pulls up 20,900,000 that are currently indexed and available.

I've located an excellent site, Ravelry - A knit and crochet community. It not only has searchable patterns, but it functions as a living community with forums, groups and a place to share the project that you're currently working on. I'm a neophyte there, but I did see that what I blog about here can appear there. So, I'm once again inspired to blog.