Test Knitting Dishcloth

Ravelry... a great place for inspiration and a lovely community of people who love the same hobbies you do. I spend way too much time there but it's much cheaper than therapy! LOL

While cruising the boards, I came across a nice quick test knit opportunity. It was for a beginner dish cloth. With my friend, Peggy, always wanting me to make her dish cloths, I could "kill two birds with one stone" by testing the pattern and at the same time, making Peggy another cloth.

The Checkered Blocks Dishcloth is designed by Angela Childress and is a teaching pattern for beginners. It is very detailed, included a practice swatch and even has a place for your notes. This is definitely perfect for teaching someone how to knit a useful item. This free pattern will be released on 7/1/2019.

I made my sample using Lily Sugar 'n Cream Scents in the Chamomile colorway. The pattern was not only easy, but made a nice size cloth of about 8" x 8". This is the first time I've used Lily Sugar 'n Cream Scents and honestly, for the price and yardage difference, it's not worth it. There was a slight scent but nothing really noticeable. When I picked up the yarn, I was getting different colors and never even noticed this was a "Scents" and not straight up Sugar 'n Cream.

Braids Crochet Scarf Cowl

My Christmas list has grown significantly over the past couple of years, and I have been searching for something useful and "different" to make for those on my list. I found a very interesting cowl on Ravelry, and knew I had to make it! It looked quite complicated although it was listed as being super easy to make. On Ravelry, the pattern is available for purchase as well as a link to a video. I viewed the video to see if it was something that I'd like to try and found that I really didn't need to purchase the pattern, as the designer, Karen Valladares, gives all the counts as well as very detailed instructions in her video!

After viewing the video, I just had to dig out a Lion Brand Mandala cake and start hooking right away. I chose the Unicorn colorway and found in no time, I had the beginnings of a most odd looking cowl developing. My husband took one look at it and asked exactly what was I making and who on earth was I making this odd thing for?!!

I have to admit, it does look quite strange in the stitching process, but the beauty is in the piecing together. I continued until I reached about 35 inches, then finished it off. I did have someone in mind when I picked the colorway, but after finishing the length, I'm not sure if I'll still give it to her or someone else. The person I made it for loves the color pink, but there's not a lot of pink on it.

After braiding the loops together, the cowl had quite a different look. Hubby certainly liked it better than the wild loop look, but he dislikes the colorway. Personally, I think it's pretty, and even though it's called Unicorn, it makes me think more of Hello Kitty. That's why I thought about someone else - because she's a Hello Kitty nut and has things in her wardrobe that will match the color scheme of this cowl.  Oh the decisions!

The cowl is finished except for weaving in the 2 ends and adding buttons. I'm going to have to go to Michael's, JoAnn's and/or Walmart to see if I can find buttons the correct size and color to match. I hope the recipient will love it as much as I loved making it. It should be warm and easy to put on and take off without messing up one's hair. I love cowls, but the one thing I dislike is how easy it is to muss your hair when taking it off.

If you'd like to make your own Braids Crochet Scarf Cowl, I've included the video below. If you prefer to have a written pattern, you can find Karen's instructions for sale here.

Newborn Hats and a Great Weekend

The weekend was quite fun for us. My son gave hubby a HD video drone that he played with all weekend. Unfortunately, the drone will only fly for 10 minutes on a charge. It frustrates hubby that he can't get much flying in between charges, but he's still having a blast with it.

Our daughter lives on the other coast, so she mailed him a package that won't arrive until today, but also bought him a fun mug that says "I don't snore... I dream I'm a motorcycle". That girl nailed it! LOL

Since our son had to work over the weekend, he couldn't spend time with Dad, but it gave us an excuse to get out and go to a local Beer Festival. We had VIP tickets and got a glass and early entrance. Of course, hubby had a good time!

I've been going through more boxes. I've got a goal of one a day, but have been doing more. It's amazing the things I'm coming across, like baby clothes, stuffed animals, etc. and of course - yarn. I've pulled out the baby clothes to wash and will donate those that aren't stained and are in good condition. I had put them away in the attic in case we had another child, but that didn't happen. Unfortunately, they moved with us and ended up in storage. Well, time to go!

I so enjoy making baby and child size items, but with no grandchildren, I was starting to feel a bit sad that I didn't have anyone to make anything for. Well, the light bulb came on one day when I thought, "Why do I need grandchildren? So many children need warm clothes and I have all this yarn..." Talk about a DUH! moment. I don't know why I didn't think about that before. Shoot - I used to make things for charity years ago. I guess it didn't hit me then, since the kids were still young.

I made a few newborn size hats for charity using Bev's Easy Round Baby Hat pattern. The pattern is written for both preemie as well as newborn sizes. The charities I'm considering donating to both need newborn and larger, so I made 5 to add to the charity box.

I used 2 partial skeins and wasn't sure how many I would be able to get out of them. The striped had finished off the skeins. I ended up playing yarn chicken with the pink and had to change the bottom from the FPDC/BPDC ribbing to a single crochet round in blue, then a slip stitch round in pink. I had 19" of pink left.

That's two more (partial) skeins out of the stash!

Shell Beanie Makes Three

Honestly, I'm surprised how quickly these crocheted hats are working up. I guess I've been knitting for so long, that I forgot why I used to crochet instead of knit. Knitting takes a much longer amount of time to get the size hat and you won't get the distinctive look of a crocheted item. Crocheting, on the other hand, can replicate the look of knitting, however, it will be heavier.

This hat was made using Breann's Shell Beanie pattern from last year's CAL. I used a 5.5 mm (I) hook and Caron's Simply Soft in Sky Blue and obtained a gauge of 6.75 stitches and 4 rows to 2". I did find that I had a tendency to make the shell area a bit tighter, until it clicked in my brain that I'm working in the round and not flat. Once I figured that out, I was ok. I have no idea what the difference was - but hey - whatever works! My hat fits an adult woman (adult medium).

This makes hat #3 to donate.

Strawberry Patch Hat

Yesterday I told you about Breann's Crochet Along for A Cause 2019. I also mentioned that she had great patterns and that she also had tutorials. I went back to last year's crochet along and looked through her patterns and to see what she had done in the past to decide if I wanted to join in. The first pattern posted for last year is called Strawberry Patch Hat. It is an adorable hat!

Well, I had to try it out to see how the pattern was done. I was really pleased! The pattern was quick and easy as well as well written.

I used Caron Simply Soft in Sky Blue and a 5.5mm (I) hook.  My gauge was 6.75" and 4 rows to 2". The finished hat fits and adult woman (adult medium).

Crochet Along for a CAUSE

Nothing is more fun than crocheting or knitting with others. Unfortunately, not all of us can get out to meetings due to when they are scheduled, where they are located, time constraints, no baby sitter or an illness/disability. An online crochet or knit along is the next best thing! Everyone comes together and does the same project(s) and some like to have a discussion and show off what they made, while others like to sit back and enjoy seeing and reading about others experiences. There is no pressure in a group like this.

Hooked on Homemade Happiness is having a Crochet Along that runs all summer. One FREE hat pattern per week will be posted and only takes a small amount of time to complete. Her patterns are well written, she has tutorials posted and everyone has fun while making something for a great cause!

I'll be joining this great crochet along and hope you will join along with me. We will have fun while doing something good for our community - sounds like a win-win situation to me!!!

For more information, visit:
https://www.hookedonhomemadehappiness.com/crochet-along-for-a-cause-2019/

Charity Crochet - Ugly Yarn

I have been going through boxes of things that have been in storage. When we moved here, we moved quickly and didn't have time to put thought into what we really wanted to keep or discard. What we didn't realize was, we were downsizing. Granted, the house is actually larger than the one we moved from by about 100 square feet, BUT, this one has no attic space. On top of that, the contents of a 2 bedroom apartment added to the "collection". UGH! So this is a huge project that is going to take some time (a gross understatement!)

While going through some boxes yesterday, I came across some very "dated" yarn that came from my mother when she died. It screams 1970's. I wonder what made my mom purchase such a color scheme. Was it on sale at the right price? Or maybe she had a project that called for it. Could she have possibly LIKED the color combinations? Or maybe it was just given to her. Mom never said no to free yarn! Unfortunately, I will never know.

I figured I'd give it a chance and crochet a swatch up to see if by some chance, there would be a surprise result. One never knows exactly how the yarn will work up while still wrapped on the skein.  I worked the swatch over 20 stitches using a size 10 (J) hook. I did 5 rows of single crochet and 3 rows of double crochet. Maybe I'm just not seeing the beauty, but it's certainly not getting any better than my first reaction... UGLY!

Now I felt I had a challenge on my hands. I had to do something to make this yarn into something useful and something someone would want to wear. Margaret Olander (her YouTube channel can be found here) is such an inspiration to me. She loves the challenge of crocheting and knitting with scraps and she does a lot of hats for charity. She was showing a some hats she had made using the Better Late Than Never Beanies by Kathy North. It was perfect for using this yarn in!

I think it tones down the yarn some. Unfortunately, the picture is a little off. The brown is a bit darker than what it appears here. I used Red Heart Super Saver in Brown for the main color. I also changed the pattern a little. I followed the pattern for 18 rows. In the directions it says to end the main color and work the last rows in the contrasting color. I ended the contrasting color and continued with the main color.
Row 19: Double crochet around.
Row 20: Chain 3 and work a Front Post Double Crochet and a Back Post Double Crochet around
Row 21: Single crochet around. Finish off.

I liked the ribbing look on the bottom. This hat was made in the Adult large size. I used an "I" hook and the gauge came out spot on.