Monday, June 22, 2009

Three days - three dishcloths

This weekend was my five-year college reunion. I love going to reunion with the wonderful ladies of the old Western College for Women, and I haven't missed one yet!
This year there was a call for people to bring old kitchen supplies so that the current students can have all the cookware they might want in the dorm kitchen. Since I've only had my own kitchen for not quite 5 years now, I haven't really accumulated much in the way of kitchen ware that I don't use anymore. So I knit them a couple of dishcloths instead!



I knit these while in reunion events this weekend out of one ball of Sugar'n Cream. Both knit on the bias, increasing one stitch every row until I felt it was big enough and then decreasing one stitch every row. Somehow the rates of increase and decrease look different, so I ended up with non-square dishcloths, but I figured it didn't really matter. On one I used yarn overs to create a little border and on the second one I did not. I love watching the variegated yarn change colors and stripe or pool. The colorway is Sunkissed, and the darkest blue here (not that you can tell from these pictures) is almost the right color to be Western blue. Just in case you're wondering, my new camera can indeed take better pictures than this; I just took these quickly in the ground floor corridor late Saturday night before I turned the cloths in to the collection box. They got a lot of cool stuff for the kitchen, including dish soap and cook books. The students should be all set next year!

I finished the two Western dishcloths before all the reunion events were done, so I knit another one. This is the advance guard of the Christmas Knitting.

That's a somewhat better photo. Also Sugar'n Cream, Summer Splash colorway, knit in the Bee Stitch from Leisure Arts' "Kitchen Bright Dishcloths." Again, you can see I'm not terribly focused on the idea of square. Which actually fits really well with being at a Western reunion.

I had to set aside the third Cotton Candy dress for a week, but am ready to get back to work on it at knit night tonight. Meanwhile, enjoying a rare afternoon off!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

TA-DA!

I have received a new digital camera for my birthday!

I did not previously have a digital camera, so I am quite excited. I foresee much more regular blog updates now that I will be able to show my progress on a more regular basis!

My most recent finished object is my first charity knitting project. My church recently started a once-a-month knitting/crochet group, to make things for the local Family Resource Center. At about the same time one of the great church ladies gifted me some yarn and needles. Someone had given them to her, but she hasn't learned to knit yet, and was in a cleaning-out mode. So my first projects for the resource center will be from this yarn. The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, and the first pattern I've done is the Shepard Bulky Rainbow Hat from One Skein Wonders.

The whole thing is knit flat - the cable band in one direction, then the top picked up along one edge, and seamed together at the end. I love the way the decreases on the top spiral around.

Coming up next is an ear warmer, also cabled. This will be my first project with a provisional cast on. Luckily I took a little Crochet 101 class at the LYS last year and know enough of the basics.

I'm also working on my third of the adorable little cotton candy dresses. Good thing I have so many nieces to wear them! And I've started the blanket for this spring's first new niece. Posts about those items soon!