Linen Cotton Hand Towel

Darn that Mason Dixon Knitting site! If Ann or Kay writes about it, I find myself wanting to make it. So this blog post for a hand towel was no exception. Except their towels are made of Euroflax linen, which a google search revealed is discontinued. What to do?

I went to the LYS in search of a linen/cotton blend suitable for this hand towel. All they had was linen/silk, which would be great for a summery shawl or a tank top, but that wasn't what I had in mind.

I don't know if it was on the way home or the next time I was in town, but I went to the thrift store and found a blue crocheted linen/cotton cardigan - for $2.50. Yeah!

I'd never reclaimed a crocheted garment before. Man, does it go fast!

Here is the sleeve.

Skeined, and ready to be soaked.

Wound into a center pull ball.

This pattern is my adaption of MDK's Moss Grid Towel.

Linen gets softer the more it's used. This towel is so soft and absorbent, I wish I had half a dozen. Well I have enough yarn, I could do that...

Little Boys and Rocks

Nathan and family came to visit over the weekend. We make sure to get out and walk so the grandsons can 'get the wiggles' out. Walking along one or another of the creeks in our area has become a must-do activity for the kids.

Frank is our photography, so I try and remember to get him in front of the lens once in awhile.

This is a retake of this picture from September.

A Pacific Coast iris.

Wool Toothbrush Rug

I love frugal crafts, making something pretty or useful from something someone else threw away. It seems to add another layer of joy and satisfaction to the making.

So currently I'm trying my hand with a toothbrush rug, also called an Amish knotted rug. I saw it demonstrated at a quilt show recently and came home to figure out how to do it.

I've been saving cast-off wool yardage for a rug, ever since I knit one from cotton strips. That was slow going and hard on my hands, because there wasn't any stretch to the cotton fabric. I always thought I'd knit another one in wool when I discovered that the knotted rugs work up a lot faster.

It took several false starts and some trial and error, since I had to mentally adapt the instructions for my left-handedness, but I finally got the swing of it. I tend to move clock-wise on some things when right-handed instructions move counter-clockwise.

I had doubts about the way it was turning out, so I took it to my knitting and fiber group for advice. One of the members makes large-scaled crocheted bags and rugs and was very interested in this method. She encouraged me to keep going. "It's great, don't stop now!" Sometimes that's all it takes to push against the doubts.

Another Baby Berry Cap

The first baby berry cap was such a hit (with my quilting friends!) that I was asked on the spot if I would make one for a soon-to-be born great-grand baby. I don't usually do production knitting, but I said yes.

She loved it.

Another Jingle Ball

Small knitting projects are so satisfying! I love it when I can finish something in just a few days.

I was given a nice collection of wool remnants, in bright colors. I used some of them in the felted flower bowl. I gave it to the local hospital boutique fund-raiser.

So I made another clutch ball, using a different color on each side, also for the hospital boutique.

It didn't shrink as much as the flower bowl, but the fabric got tighter. It has a great hand to it, perfect for a small child's toy.

Points of Procrastination

You know, every project them. You're happily tooling along, making decisions, choosing colors, piecing successfully; and then you get to a point where you aren't sure what to do next. I mean you know what to do, but not how to do it.

This quilt top has been together, minus the first border, for weeks. All I needed to do was apply an unpieced border with mitered corners. But I dragged my feet, did all sorts of other projects and procrastinated, because quilters grumble about mitered corners; they might pucker, or have a gap in the center or not lay flat. The last time I mitered a border was four years ago, for my son's wedding quilt. But that was a mirrored miter, this one should be a lot easier.

When I finally got down to it, the miters themselves only took about a half an hour. 3 out of 4 turned out spot on the first time. DH says I need to trust myself more.

Then I needed to figure out how to make the pieced chevron units for the second border. I avoided the project for another month or so, while it stared at me from the design wall. I started something else, a Log Cabin quilt, with easy no-thinkum sewing. When I finally took a Sunday afternoon of uninterrupted time to focus on the problem, I solved it in an afternoon. Bam! That was so satisfying.

I've been motoring along ever since, piecing 82 - 2" x 1 1/8" chevrons. Last night it was time to lay them out.

It's good for me to write these things down. I can see my progress better over time. Maybe it'll build confidence!

Felted Flower Bowl

On a lark I decided to try this felted flower bowl. I didn't need to make it, but felting knitted projects is fascinating to me.

Here is it before it's felted; sort of lumpy looking and floppy.

And after. I love how the fabric firms up and holds its shape. A perfect bowl for displaying yarn.

Berry Baby Cap

A friend of mine from the community garden is due to have her third child this month. I just had to knit something for the new little one. This is Berry Baby Cap.

Blocking on a pint canning jar.

With a rolled brim.

The crown decreases are worked every round, which creates these fun leaf shapes.

Such a fast, fun knit and so cute!

A Bright Spot in the Kitchen

I gift from a visiting friend.

I've never had a cyclamen before. It bloomed for weeks and weeks.

Honeyed Garlic

I still have a large amount of garlic from last year's harvest and it's starting to sprout. So I decided to preserve it by lightly fermenting it in honey.

Here's the how-to I followed. The weather was cool so it took longer to bubble than I had read. Once it was done I started using just the honey-garlic syrup in marinades and salad dressing. Yum! And the cloves have a smooth taste, not hot like raw garlic usually is.

Avoidance Quilting

This quilt was started so I wouldn't have to solve the points of procrastination I was facing with my Fruit Basket quilt. An easy Log Cabin, with all straight sewing, in colors completely different from clear pastels, how refreshing...

I just started pulling colors from the strip bin and sort of matching shades.

Spunky always has to come and help.

Cut into 2" strips and ready to go.

I can create a layout in EQ7 to get an idea of where I'm going, but then I just sew until I have enough blocks to actually lay it out. It's always good to see it in the fabrics I'm working with.

 

Log Cabin has so many fun options, but I think I like the first one best.

Finally Finished Flying Geese

I've heard about second sock-itis and thought - "That won't be me, I'm too completion-oriented." HA!

But nobody kept track of how long these took me, but me, so it doesn't matter.

I love 'em! My husband asked me if I'd tried them on yet and I had to laugh. I was so busy being pleased they were off the needles I forgot they're something to wear! They fit beautifully.

Although I'm done, I'm not exactly finished...

A Bit of Unusual Knitting

One of the ladies in our knitting group suggested a community project, knitted prosthesis for breast cancer survivors, euphemistically called Knitted Knockers.

It wasn't a difficult bit of knitting and I felt good helping out in a small way, by providing a soft, knitted prosthetic for someone who didn't want reconstructive surgery.

After a couple of weeks, the group had made maybe 8 pair and we mailed them to the organization. They will stuff them and distribute them free of charge to those in need.

Happy Valentine's Day

Rosebuds Community Quilt

The call went out from our guild for more community quilts, the hospital we donate to was out.

I made a quick quilt with leftover fabric from Mom's quilt, this one backed with flannel. This is the first time I've used flannel on the back. What a nice, snuggy quilt.

Family of Four

I wanted one more elf to round out the group I was creating, but I didn't have any heathered blue yarn. I asked a spinning-weaving-knitting friend if she had a remnant she'd be willing to let me have. We were at the local Farmers Market, she with her spinning wheel and me with my current WIP, and she reached in her bag and pulled out what she was going to spin that day, heathered blue. Serendipity!

I wish I had a miniature burn barrel they could stand around, they look like they're singing a capella.

Beginning Sewing

In December two coworkers asked me if I'd be willing to teach them to sew. Of course! I enjoy helping the next generation of sewers get started. We met every two weeks and I started with the basics. This is a sewing machine, this is how it's threaded. This is a bobbin, this is how it's wound, and so on. We laughed a lot and they gradually made headway.

For their first project they made fabric gift bags, learning to sew a straight seam and stitch a narrow hem on both a free arm and flat bed machine. The second project was lined totes that would work as a book bag or grocery tote. And recently they finished quilted nine patch potholders.

Our schedules required us to take a hiatus from the lessons, but we hope to resume in the fall.