New Dishcloth for the New House

I've been quiet on the blogging front because I've been busy moving house! I made this dishcloth to celebrate! Its just a simple square of ridges in yellow, green and blue 8 ply cotton from the Bendigo Woollen Mills. After I made enough ridges to make a generously sized cloth, I edged it with a round of sc.

large square dishcloth with striped ridges

We only got proper internet connected last night, I've been surviving with limited access via our new smart phone. The whole process of moving has been very stressful, but I still have my sanity and that's the main thing! Thank goodness my mother-in-law offered to stay, we just wouldn't have managed without her. Who would have thought trying to move with a toddler hanging around would be such an impossible task without a dedicated babysitter?

detail of the striped ridges

While I was waiting for the internet to be connected I worked on a few things like a new watermark for my photographs. I wanted it to tie in with my other banners and branding. I think it looks better, what do you think?

Cotton Anniversary Gift, Man-sized Dishcloth

Today is our 2nd wedding anniversary, and the traditional gift to give is "cotton". My husband has already given me the best present ever, a packet of cotton seeds! My eldest plant is nearly 7 weeks old now. But what can I give him? Well, how about a man sized dish cloth for the kitchen, in a romantic lovey dovey design?

love hearts detail, perfect for a 2nd anniversary gift

I used a pattern from a photo I saw on pinterest, which sent me to the free pattern called "I love scraps" by Mary Ann Frits. But I had to work out how many starting chains for a small dishcloth. The number you start with must be a multiple of 7, plus 1. There will be one less heart cluster than the number of 7s you have, as half a heart is on each edge. For this dish cloth, I started with a 6 x 7 +1 (43 chains), which gives you 5 heart clusters across. Then I went up for 7 rows of hearts, which gives you a cloth that measures about 22cm x 25cm, if you use a 4mm hook with 8 ply cotton, like I did here.

man-sized dish cloth in pink and green

This man-sized dishcloth is perfect for when my husband is working in the kitchen! I have other gifts to give him of course, including a new cookie tray for baking, but none of them are cotton. So I thought I could pop this into the wrap! Happy Anniversary, darling!

Blue Cotton Dishcloth

August is my husband's birthday month, and already I've given him a couple of presents, included a red and black basket he asked me to make for his desk. Here is another present that he asked me to make for him, a generously sized blue cotton dishcloth.

generously sized blanket stitch dishcloth in Australian made blue cotton

 I used a vintage blanket stitch I saw on crochetspot, and edged with sc. The dishcloth measure 9.5 inches by 8 inches. I've made this dishcloth to test how well this stitch and size holds up in our busy kitchen. If I have some of these for sale in my online shop by Christmas, you'll know it did well!

blue cotton dishcloth, folded

Black and White Striped Tea Towel Topper

This is the last in a series of 3 tea towel toppers I've made for my sister's birthday. It compliments the white tea towel topper and the black tea towel topper I've made which will be in the post to Darwin very soon!

black and white striped tea towel topper

For this tea towel topper, I changed colours to create stripes to match the tea towel. I did not fasten off each colour after each stripe, but left the cotton at the side and picked it up when it was time to change. So I could do that, there are 2 rows of each colour, so I could go back to the side that had the cotton waiting. The white stripes are 2 rows of dc, the black stripes are 2 rows of sc so they are thinner. Other wise the decreasing rows are the same as the black tea towel topper I made. I'm glad I decided to do the sc edge in black, I think it looks better than if I did it in white. Lastly, I chose a pretty grey button that I think compliments the stripes.

Happy Birthday, Sis!
<3 <3

Black Tea Towel Topper with white flower

Here is the second tea towel topper I've made for my sister's birthday, which is this weekend. It's a plain black one, with a simple 7 petal flower at the button. Here is a link to the white tea towel topper I've made.

black tea towel topper with contrasting flower

For this one I used a 3mm hook so the stitches are not as spread apart as the first topper I made. I began with an embroidered chain stitch using needle and black 4ply cotton. The first row of crochet is a sc in every embroidered stitch, the second row is a dc in every sc. I started decreasing at the 3rd row, decreasing every second dc, the 4th row is a dc in every dc. The 5th row is decreasing in every second dc, the 6th row does not decrease with a dc in every dc. The next 3 rows are decreasing, with a decreasing stitch in every 2nd dc. By the 11th row there are about 8 dc, if not a decrease a couple more until there is. From there the strap is 8 rows of 8 dc each. The last row of the strap is 2 ch, 3 dc, 8 ch (for a button hole), sl st into top of 3rd dc, 4 dc, turn. Then I put about 15 dc into the button hole at sl st at the other side. Then I slst to the button hole and did a round of sc on the inside of the button hole and fastened off. This last round forms the foundation of the flower. Still in the black cotton, I went around the edge of the topper with sc. Changing to a constrasting colour, I started the 7 petal flower at the sc round at the button hole. I started with sc in 1 sc, then in teh next sc its (hdc, dc, trb, dc, hdc) sc in next sc, etc. I just put enough petals around the sc round to form a flower with petals that lay flat, skipping a few sc to do so. Lastly, I attached a large button of constrasting colour.

Well, I hope my description of what I did to make this topper makes sense. Its not exactly a pattern, as its not something I think you can predict perfectly, it depends on the tea towel! I'm not overly keen on tea towel toppers myself, but I'm pretty happy with this one, I think its rather cute!

White Tea Towel Topper

white tea towel topper

This is not my first attempt at a tea towel topper, but the first worth sharing! This one I unravelled a couple of times before I was happy enough to leave it.

My sister's birthday is coming up and she's asked me to make her something black and white for her kitchen. I was thinking of making dishcloths, but white dish clothes are not a good idea as the white part will stain and end up looking grubby. I thought I'd make some oven mitt pot holders, but then I realised the acrylic blend cotton I had bought was not suitable, as anything that is exposed to heat like that should be 100% cotton, otherwise it might melt! I finally decided I would give some tea towel toppers a try. The first one I tried a couple of years ago was just a random effort, I did not follow a pattern at all and it wasn't very good.

This time I decided to try a simple tea towel topper pattern at the Lion Brand Yarn site, but after I did it I wasn't happy with that either. It was too gathered and the decreasing stitches were too spread apart. The next morning I went to my craft group, taking Thomas with me which meant I only had a little time to do it before he woke from his nap. While I was there, I unravelled the topper to the 3rd row, and then went on making my own pattern that was not as puckered, changing from a 4mm hook to a 3.5mm to make the stitches closer together. Instead of decreasing every stitch in every row, I did every second stitch in every second row. Every other row was just a normal 1 for 1 row. This made it less buckled up. By the time I got to the strap I realised another lady at the craft group had some vintage tea towel topper patterns, so I found one I liked and just copied the strap part only, it was a pretty fan design. Then I went all the way around with sc to finish it off.

a fan design on the topper strap

I had to change the fan design slightly as I didn't understand the vintage pattern, this is my version of it.
Fan strap design added to work
1. 8 dc, turn.
2. 2 ch, dc, 2 ch sk 1, sc, 2 ch sk 1, dc, dc, turn
3. 4 ch, tr into dc, 5 tr into sc (fan), tr into dc, tr into dc, turn
4. 2 ch, dc, 2 ch, sc into middle tr of fan, 2 ch, dc into tr, dc into tr, turn
5 - 10 repeat row 3 & 4 3 more times

The Lion Brand Yarn pattern said to start the first row as an embroidered chain stitch with needle and thread. I found this method works better for attaching the crochet, rather than trying to crochet straight through the cloth, which I have tried before with minimal success. The problem with this first attempt is it is wonky, not going straight across the middle fold exactly, so next time I will have to draw the line so I can follow it more accurately.

I intend for this to form part of a set of three. Watch this space for more tea towel toppers to come!

Simple Gifts - girl's handbag, soap savers, dishcloths

 I made these things to give as gifts this Christmas, finishing the dishcloths today.

My sister told me her daughter would like a grey and pink bag like the one I gave her last year, but this time with a zig zag or polkadot pattern. So this is what I came up with! It's my own pattern and required a second attempt, the first one was just to work it out, then it got unravelled! The pattern is basically a sl st, sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, sc, sl st repeated, every second row does the same pattern but inverted with the sl st falling on the middle dc, if you know what I mean! Two rows one colour then the next two rows the other colour result in these wavy stripes. Otherwise, it's a pretty straight forward bag, with a row of dc in the handle. I think I used a 4mm hook, I really like the pink I used its a vibrant colour, and some dark grey wool.

My favourite soap is the pink Dove soap, its a pink ribbon fund raiser and is very nice, soft and creamy. I decided to use some pretty pink cotton I have left over from the sun hat I made for my niece last year, to make some pretty soap savers! Again, I had to have a second attempt, the first go I worked out the pattern then had to unravel it and start again properly. I started at the bottom with 9 ch, then a dc in every ch, 3 extra at each end, then another 9 on the other side of the ch to make a round. After that there are 7 rows of lace, the pattern is 2 dc 1 ch 2 dc, sk 2, 1 dc 3 ch 1 dc, sk 2, then alternated into the sp, if you know what I mean! Then the top is 1 dc 1 ch, and a ch threaded through and sl st onto itself to make a closed tie handle. I used a 3.5mm hook and a 50/50 cotton and acrylic blend. I hope the recipents like these, I think they're really nice anyway!

Today I finished these pentagon dishcloths using up the last of the pretty 50/50 cotton acrylic blend. It's so sad to see the last of it go! Again I used the 3.5mm hook, and my own pattern. This is like other pentagon dishcloths I've made, but slightly bigger as my husband has said they need to be! If I didn't run out of cotton they would be even bigger! I've made these for people who mentioned they'd like home-made dishcloths, I hope they like these!

Merry Christmas!!!
<3

Three Small Things - baby beanie, dishcloth, headband

small sea green beanie for a premmie

Here are another three small things I've completed in the last couple of days, a baby beanie, a wavey dishcloth and a crochetted headband.

I bought some yarn made from the Wangaratta Mill Shop , part of the Australian Country Spinners, that Lincraft had on special. I'm wanting to find some locally grown and spun yarn, hopefully this is what I've been looking for. I really liked this sea green colour and made a beanie for Tom with it. I used a 4.5mm hook and used front post ridges to mark the increases in the crown, then plain down the sides, and finished of with some star-fish looking clusters. I wonder if the nurses will use this beanie? My starfish cluster pattern goes something like this ... ch 1, [sk 1 st, (htrb, trb, d-trb, trb, htrb) in next, sk next, dc in next] * repeat to end

wavey yellow and green dishcloth

I've been meaning to make something with this wavey stitch for quite a while and have never gotten around to it. The cotton I used for the pentagon dishcloths was so nice, I decided to use the last of it up to make this cloth, which I might use as a dust cloth for my piano. There are references to this wavey pattern in many places, in the end I used one at eHow. I used a 3.5mm hook for this cloth.

I'm really proud of this new headband, this is the first time I've made something like this. I only have one headband, made out of black t-shirt material, and I am so very over black that I need a different colour! So I gave this one a go, using a 3mm hook and some greyish-lilac cotton I bought and still haven't used until now. I found the pattern after searching google for 'stretchy crochet headband pattern'. My pattern is based on this but it is different as I turned for every row.

crochet headband

My version of the stretchy headband pattern
1. ch 8, dc (US sc) in second ch from hook, dc in every ch to end (7 dc), turn
2. ch 1, dc in first dc, dc in second dc, ch 3 skp next dc, dc in next dc, ch 3 skp next dc, dc in next dc, dc in last dc, turn
3. ch 1, dc in ea next 2 dc, dc in 3 ch sp, ch 3, dc in next 3 ch sp, dc in ea last 2 dc, turn
4. ch 1, dc in ea next 2 dc, ch 3, dc in 3 ch sp, ch 3, dc in ea last 2 dc, turn
repeat round 3 & 4 until desired length is reached for firm fit
last round. ch 1, dc in ea next 2 dc, dc in 3 ch sp, dc in next dc, dc in next 3 ch sp, dc in ea last 2 dc
sl st to other end to form ring

Pentagon Dishcloths

I feel a need to keep my hands busy right now, I'm not sure but this might be the 'nesting' kicking in. It's hard when I'm not 100% physically, so I've resorted to making dishcloths while I wait for my body to catch up!

<<< I did up this pentagon dishcloth quickly, using a 4mm hook and my own pattern from the top of my head. This dishcloth got put to work immediately in the kitchen after it had it's obligatory photograph taken! This dishcloth has 4 rows of granny clusters then 3 rows of trebles (US dc).

>>> Recently I did these pair of pentagon dishcloths, using the same pattern as my 1st one except I skipped the picot edge. The second pair has 7 rows of granny clusters and 2 rows of trebles. For these I used a 3mm hook and some finer cotton my mum gave me. I like the colours, I think they are perfect for a cheery kitchen!

Three Small Things - apple sweater, dishcloth, square motif

>>> I first saw an apple sweater at Crochetspot and thought it was a fabulous idea. An apple is a great snack, but doesn't go very well in my handbag and always ends up getting bruised, but the sweater would protect it from that. More images of apple sweaters on google show different styles. I turned one of my baby beanies into an apple sweater by simply crochet a chain to go around the edge and sl st to join. This second one I made as an apple sweater from the start. It's my own pattern, it's like a baby beanie but with a chain threaded through the lip and sl st to join a ring. I used a 5mm hook and some more of the pink and blue mohair I had used for the hot water bottle cover. It now lives in our fruit bowl, waiting to be used!

<<< This aqua coloured flower dishcloth is a pattern I made up, turning over after every row to work in a ridge. The 5th round is some 5 treble flower petals. I ran out of cotton just at the end, so the last petal is 5 ch to form a handy hanging hook. For this one I used a 4mm hook and the last of the aqua cotton my mum gave me.

>>> I saw a lacey crochet square motif on a crochet blog, and I really liked it so I tried copying it. I didn't follow a pattern, I just tried to replicate the image. I used my 1.75mm hook and some fine lilac cotton mum gave me. When I was finished this tiny square I wet it and blocked it as it wasn't quite flat. I'm not sure where this square will live, perhaps it can be a dolly's blanket.

Three Small Things - dishcloth, heart, face washer

green edged blue face cloth

 

>>> Here is a face cloth that I edged last night, I simply did one round of double crochet (US sc). This cloth came in a gift pack from the hospital where Tom is staying and it was perfect for a quick edge treatment! I nearly did the edge in blue but decided that would be too boring so did it in a contrasting green instead! The single row looks less frilly I think, so will go well in our growing stash of baby boy goodies. I vowed years ago never to edge face washers with crochet but I succumb to the urge this year while teaching myself crochet. So far I've edged a pair of white with purple, and a pair of pink with pink!EDIT - this is the cloth my toddling son through down the toilet - winter 2012

tiny two round heart, free pattern at Suzie's Stuff

<<< I whipped up this variation of Suzetta's small heart earlier this month. This one has a second round so you can have two colours like I have here. For this one I used my 1.75mm hook. I think this is my favourite heart pattern, thankyou Suzie! I first had a go at this pattern back in January when I was teaching myself how to read crochet patterns, and I've come back to this pattern several times so far.

small ridged dish cloth in cotton

>>> Here is a small ridged green cotton dishcloth that I did up earlier this month using a 4mm hook and the last of the cotton in this colour. I now have two dish cloths this colour, the other green dishcloth I made up last month.  The ridged stitch is at crochetspot.

Three Small Things - soap saver, dishcloth, square motif

<<< I don't really understand why I woke one morning thinking I needed to make a soap saver for the laundry soap, but I did! I don't usually use these things, but the soap I have in the laundry at the moment was a gift and really needed one as it was making a mess. I didn't follow a pattern as it's a pretty basic shape, but I did look at crochetspot and google for some inspiration, and used my thick cotton and a 4mm hook. I got the idea of continuing the first round all the way round the bottom of the first row from the free pattern at crochetspot, there are also pictures and patterns of other soap savers there. I've tested it out, so far so good. The plan is, when you get the little shards of soap left over at the end you keep them in the bag so you don't waste them. Very thrifty, I like it!

>>> I have been working on a spiral dishcloth using the same aqua cotton as my first cotton dishcloth, but I'm not happy with it so it's currently in my pile of unfinished projects. I bought some 'amalfi' yarn from Lincraft for $4, which is 100% cotton. I think the choice of colours look 'dishclothy', if there is such a thing, so chose the aqua greenish one. This time I made a bigger version of the basketweave dishcloth, as David asked for a bigger one. This used most of the 50g ball, there isn't enough left to make another one this size. Consolation is that this cloth can be washed and reused for quite a while, so I can get my money and effort's worth out of it. This didn't take long to do, I used a new bamboo 3.5mm I thought to try for fun. I found working with the bamboo hook that it stuck a little, and is not as smooth as using a metal one. The final product measures 22cm x 18cm.

<<< I tried this square motif, I'm thinking of using it to make some baby play cubes. This coaster pattern is at crochetspot.

Three Small Things - coaster, dishcloth, flower

These are three small things I've made recently using patterns from Rachel's Crochetspot. Needless to say, this is one of my favourite crochet websites for free patterns and crochet related discussions.

<<< This drink coaster is proving to be handy, I'm using it by my pc to sit my bottles of water on. This was with a 4mm hook and my thickest cotton, it's great for soaking up the condensation on my drinks. The pattern for this coaster is at Crochetspot.

>>> I haven't made a crochet dishcloth before, so I started with this small one to test it out. It's about the size of a hand's palm, we've started trialling it in the kitchen, and so far so good. I made this basket-weave dishcloth with a 3.5mm hook and some thick aqua coloured cotton my mum gave me for my birthday. The pattern for the basket-weave stitch is at Crochetspot.

<<< I had a go at this small flower from Crochetspot for fun. This was with a small hook and fine cotton and is currently hanging from my pc with the my purple premmie booties.

A big thankyou to Rachel and her team at Crochetspot for these patterns!

Green Plarn Spiral Scrubbie

This spiral scrubbie is green in more ways than one! This pattern by Judith Prindle can be found at Crochet Patterns Only but because I can't read crochet patterns well, I watched a utube video by Donna from Naztazia. Donna was excruciatingly painful for me to listen to, but at least I worked out the pattern thanks to her. The materials needed are 4 plastic shopping bags (I used green coloured ones), a pair of scissors, a very large sewing needle and a mid-size crochet hook.

I don't know if this dish scrubber was worth the effort to be honest, because now I have sore wrists and a blister from working with the thick plastic all afternoon. Dish scrubbers usually only cost a dollar or two from the supermarket. One good thing though is, by making my own dish scrubber from recycled material, I'm doing my bit to disrupt the imbalance in our consumer society. Believe it or not, we actually don't Have to buy absolutely everything from the capitalists! Another good thing is the simple satisfaction of making something myself that is actually of practical use.

The first step is to make some plarn. I do it the way Rachel Choi taught me from Crochetspot. I only cut up one bag at a time so I don't have too much left over, and it also gave my hands a break from working with the stiff plarn.

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1. I then made a rhombus shape by adding a stitch at one side and dropping one at the other, this is with single crochet.New rows are added in the back loop to give the ridges.

2. Then you sew up the edges of the rhombus to make a tube. Sewing it in a rhombus shape will give it the ridges for scrubbing and the spiral effect at the end.

3. Then thread the plarn through the large sewing needle. Sew in and out along the top of the tube and pull tight. As its made out of plastic, the plarn had a lot of stretch in it so I had to pull little by little to bring it in. Do the same to the other lip of the tube using the other end of the plarn.

4. Pull one end of plarn through the centre so you can tie both pieces together to finish it off.

Special thanks to these ladies for free patterns and demonstrations
Rachel Choi @ Crochetspot
Judith Prindle @ Crochet Patterns Only
Donna Wolfe @ Naztazia