knitting:multi-color shawl

I kept looking at the Mandala yarn at Walmart, because they have such pretty self-striping colors, and they are only $4.98. I figured even if the result wasn’t high quality, at least it would be a painless lesson in figuring out how to make a triangle shape. I really wanted to make a lop-sided triangle, so I did learn what I needed to know. Even though this made a traditional triangle.

I love the colors. Daughter says these are “sad” colors, but I think it looks like a Hoggwarts shawl. If they throw all their colors together.

It’s straight stockingnet, because I wanted the colors to do their own shining.

I used size 7 needles. Next time I’d use 10 or 11s, and two balls of the yarn instead of one.

I cast on five stitches, then added one stitch every other row. That’s it.

One ball of yarn made a shawl big enough to knot over your shoulders, without extra drape.

I like shawls that wind around a couple times like a scarf, so definitely two balls of yarn are needed. I don’t love acrylic, but it sure is warm. If it pills the first or second time I wear it, I’ll edit this so you know.

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knitting: washcloths

Knitting up more wash cloths.

These have a sort of nautical feel, don’t they? I didn’t know that would happen. I was just combining Americana colors.

Or could be a racing-stripe feel. Maybe?

Then I thought more than Americana, they have a French flair….

I’ve got twenty-three wash cloths finished right now. Definitely a couple year’s worth!

So, since I don’t need that many wash cloths, I am going to have a give-away. Yes, you could win five all-cotton hand-knitted washcloths. Don’t like the above colors? You could choose my blue/green variegated. . . .

The blue-green don’t have a hang-loop, they are just square.

So leave a comment in this post, and I will enter your name in a hat to win 5 of my wash cloths. If you’re like me and hate the micro-fiber cloths they sell now, you’ll be pleased by how absorbent these are.

The give-away will end, let’s see, September 20th. At 5 p.m. Eastern Standard time.

The give away is now closed and the lucky winner knows who she is!

mspt: knitted wash cloths

I am trying to fit in a little knitting every day as my zen time. I don’t have anything I particularly need to knit, I have enough scarves (can one ever have too many scarves?) so I am knitting simple washcloths. Quick, easy, and something you always need.

This is Peaches & Cream cotton. It is very rough and definitely not high-end, but great if you want an exfoliating washcloth. Or maybe a good dish scrubber.

And the color is so pretty for a bathroom.

make something pretty today: knit shawl (08/17/17)

I am happy with craftsy.com, I can pick out a knitting pattern AND find the right yarn to use and know I’m not buying too much or too little yarn for the project. Because I always buy too much, just in case, and I hate that.

This pattern is called Over the Sea to Sky, and it is a quick knit–like two weeks of evenings, or so. Easy, repetitive stitches, so it’s hard to make mistakes. And I love the yarn–Cloudborn pima cotton. The hand feel is just right, creating a loose and soft shawl.

Yes, the point is off-balance, so you have an extra long tail to wrap around one more time. I think this color is called “Pearl.”

 

 

 

I would make another of these, but in a brighter color.

Pattern and yarn found here: https://www.craftsy.com/knitting/kits/over-the-sea-to-skye-lace-shawl-knitting-kit/60879

 

making something pretty: a finish!

I forgot to link to the pattern I used to make my shawl. It’s this one. Remember I went to the knit shop and picked out the pattern because I saw a finished example on the wall. When I went to buy the pattern, the shop owner logged on to Ravelry for me and downloaded the pattern right there and printed it for me. A link to the pattern was sent to my email address, too, in case I needed a re-print.

So what I didn’t realize when I looked at it on the wall, is that the finished shawl is pretty small. I would call it a scarf more than a shawl. You can see that if you look at Ravelry page and the other images of finished products being posed.

But I’m glad I did it and I’m glad it’s finished because now I can work on something else. 😀

I took a photo of the reverse side, darn it. How did I not notice when taking the photo? You can see the pretty color gradations in the yarn, though.

Here’s an example of the beadwork. Yay, I now know how to add beads to knitting.

I ran out of beads about 20 beads from the end, so I had to adjust my placement to hide the fact. Isn’t that life?

So it’s a child-sized shawl, or an adult sized scarf. Frankly this was waaaaay too much work for a scarf! It took me 3 weeks of evenings, and that’s just too much time. And probably some weekend afternoons in there, too! The shawl is showing the reverse side in this photo, too, drat. It really is pretty lacework on the front side. You can see that in close ups above.

time for knitting

Just in case it seems like I haven’t been doing anything other than painting, here’s some photo of the gloves I’ve been knitting for next Christmas.

I started with 44 stitches, ribbing knit two purl two, and put in two eight-stitch cables. Pretty easy to remember, as long as I remember, “Did I twirl the cable on row 11 or 12?”

I made one different pair (so far) using directions from knitty.com. In the end all those little cables just slowed me down too much, and I went back to my first version. Plus I changed the thumb because I didn’t understand the directions, but knew how to do what I did.

I used an inexpensive Red Heart yarn for the white, I bet I was going to get six or seven pairs out of that skein (one of those Really Big skeins from Walmart). I’ve given away three pairs already.

I find I can make one glove an evening, so a weekend is just right to finish a pair. I might be running out of steam on knitting for now, so I’m glad I got several gifts out of the way for next year!

knitting fingerless gloves

It’s taking me a weekend to make a pair of these, and I’ve completed several pairs now. They are quick enough to be satisfying. And a great gift idea for next year!

I’m working with acrylic yarn, as the wool of the last pair ended up being a little scratchy. I hate that.

I’ve made several pairs in white, and I’m going to list a pair in my etsy shop and see if there’s any interest. You can see I’m making these a longer-than-average length, because I want the whole wrist to be covered up-to-and-underneath the coat cuff. Why have an inch of skin showing if you don’t have to?

Making things yourself ensures you get exactly what you want. And if you don’t know how to make it, you can always find a craftsperson on etsy.com who does!