Yarn Fish

A couple of things happened this weekend that made me realize fishing has become an obsession with me.

Palacios Pier

After an evening of pier fishing on Friday, I slept soundly and dreamed of...you guessed it...fishing. I casted, reeled and caught fish all night in my sleep. When fishing invades your subconscious, that's a sure sign you're hooked.

And not that I needed any more convincing, but Saturday on our way home from an afternoon of fishing, I saw a grouping of clouds that looked exactly like a trout to me.

Trout Cloud

If you can't see the trout in the sky, don't feel bad, it just means you haven't been afflicted with the fishing sickness yet. I blame John for infecting me. He's had it for years.

I already "suffer" with a little obsession called knitting and now I have this one too. Evidently both were working on me Sunday afternoon because I had the need to knit something fishy. I searched Ravelry and came up with this cute little project.

Yarn Fish

Pattern: Fishy Twashi
Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream
Colors: Robins Egg Blue & White
Needles: US 7 (smaller size than the pattern called for)
Size: Approx. 4" x 6"
Changes: Embroidered the eye instead of knitting or crocheting.

This little fish is designed as dish scrubber. It's the size of a regular kitchen sponge. Twashi, I learned, is a Japanese word meaning scrubber or brush. Though intended originally for kitchen use, it can also be used in the bath. Acrylic yarn is recommended for scrubbing dishes, but cotton is the best choice for a washcloth.

There are lots of cute tawashi patterns on Ravelry and even a group called Tawashi Town for fans of these Japanese inspired scrubbies. I had never heard of a tawashi before yesterday. It's funny where an obsession (or two) can take you.

Friday's Flowers

Today's flowers include these pretty blossoms found near John's favorite trout stream in Utah...

Hound's Tongue, Gypsyflower
(Cynoglossum officinale)

...and a blossom of the knitted variety.


Blossom Washcloth and Soap Sack
Pattern: Fiber Trends Bathtime Blossoms
Yarn: Dalegarn Stork, 100% Cotton
Color: 6
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) Straight

Instructions for two other flower-inspired washcloths and matching soap sacks are also included on Fiber Trends pattern leaflet #224x. The round shape of these cloths is achieved by knitting back and forth in short row wedges. The short rows are very easy to execute--just knit up to a specified point before the end of the row, then turn work. A total of eight connecting wedges make a complete circle. To finish, only one seam needs to be sewn with a whip stitch. The soap sacks are also knitted flat and seamed.

Hound's Tongue

Folklore: Wearing a hound's tongue leaf in your shoe will ward off dog attacks.

Chenille Washcloths

Knitted Luxury for the Bath



Classic Washcloth
The Knitter's Book of Yarn
Yarn: Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille
Needles: US 4

According to the designer, the key is to use a smaller needle than the yarn requires, and then machine wash and dry the cloth to tighten the fabric even more. It was a little hard on the hands to use size 4 needles with this yarn, but not too bad. My gauge was off and I should have gone down one needle size smaller, but I knew I could never manage that, so I just adjusted the pattern instead. Really, it's such a simple design, you don't even need a pattern at all.




Reverse-Bloom Flower Washcloth
Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille
Needles: US 6 Circular (16") and DPNs

For those of you who have not tried this pattern yet, the flower shape is achieved by knitting the garter stitch petals separately and then joining them together in the round. To finish, you work in stockinette stitch, with gradual decreases, to the center.

ETA: Thanks, Jean for locating the free pattern for the flower washcloth.

Snippets and Snaps

The Preemie Project is sponsoring a Craft-a-thon next month. Here are my entries for the Crafting for Preemies Contest.



Preemie Eyelet Cap and Preemie Spiral Hat

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Cotton Chenille Washcloth

Putting some of that new yarn to use already. Easy pattern, simple stitch, great yarn: a good combination for enjoyable, mindless knitting.

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A few photos of the mule deer at Homestead Resort in Utah.


The Big Boys



Real Close
About 5 feet away. He stepped around the corner of the building where I was hidden from view. Startled him and me!



Daily Visitors



Sweet Little One

Knitted for Christmas

The Christmas knitting can now be revealed.


My Hat of Choice and Maine Morning Mitts
Yarn: Monos del Uruguay
Color: Persimmon
Needles: US 8 (hat), US 7 (mitts)
Great patterns! I'd love a set for myself.



Cotton Washcloths
Yarn: Lion Cotton
Colors: Maize and Khaki
Needles: US 7
Began decreases after 60 stitches.
Paired with Bay Rum Soap from Herbaria.



Boyfriend Hat
Yarn: Lion Wool
Color: Cocoa
Needles: US 7
Cast on 90 stitches and added one inch to length.
Love the decreases!

Old Shale Washcloth and Soap Sack

It's my mom's turn to receive one of these lacy washcloths. I've been giving these sets as birthday gifts to the ladies in my family. Each one I've made has been a different pattern and style. Happy Birthday, Mom!



Pattern: Fiber Trends Bathing Beauties
Yarn: Baby Georgia, 100% Mercerized Cotton
Color: #6779 Wedgewood
Needles: US 4, 16 inch circular and double points

This cloth is knitted in the round beginning in the center using Emily Ocker's Cast On. There's a good tutorial for that technique here.

Stitches are bound off using Picot Cast Off. I love the effect, but it does take a long time to complete.

A Small Bit of Lace

Ribbon Lace Washcloth and Soap Sack
I've now knitted all three washcloths from this pattern. I think this one is my favorite.



Pattern: Fiber Trends Bathing Beauties
Yarn: Baby Georgia 100% Mercerized Cotton
Needles: US 4

Lavender Filled Sachets
These little sacks are quick knits. Instead of using them for soap, I filled a cloth bag with lavender and tucked it inside.


Right to Left: Lacy Soap Sock, Fish Net Soap Sock, Honey Comb Soap Sock

Patterns: Heavenly Cotton Soap Socks
Yarn: Stork 100% cotton (lavender), Baby Georgia 100% Mercerized Cotton (green and pink)
Needles: US 4 dpns

UFO Report
I'm still working on the baby sweater and scarf from the post last week. The sweater is finished except the seaming. The scarf has grown to fourteen inches.

Knit When You Can

Once again I'm back to knitting in airports and on airplanes. I'm tagging along with John this week. We flew to Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday, rented a car and have worked our way up to Charlottesville, Virginia. This trip has been work related and there has been little time for sightseeing, knitting or photography. There has been lots of time to talk as we drive and I've been enjoying that. Tomorrow (Friday) we fly home from Baltimore, Maryland. Then Sunday we fly to Salt Lake City, Utah. It's a whirlwind tour!



My travel knitting is usually a pair of socks, though in this picture (taken on our last trip) I'm working on a hand mitt. It was finished in time to be included as part of a "pamper yourself" birthday gift for our daughter.



VERSAILLES HAND MITT

Pattern Book: Heirloom Knitter Heavenly Cotton Soap Socks and More
Yarn: Rowan 4 ply cotton
Needles: US 2 16" circular and US 2 dpns

Land of Cotton

It's harvest time in my town. The cotton fields are ripe.



The holding areas are filling up with compressed fresh picked cotton, waiting to be ginned.





The cotton gins are running around the clock. They will work non-stop until all the cotton is ginned and baled. During a bumper year that might be until Christmas. There's a gin just a few blocks from my house and at night when everything is quiet, you can hear the engines humming.

It's a common sight to see bits of white fluff littering the road, because inevitably some escapes the truck as it is transported from field to gin. I think cotton looks best in it's natural form...



...but then, I also enjoy it in this form:



Pattern: Blackbery Ridge Hand Mitt from The Heirloom Knitter
Yarn: Stork 100% cotton, fingering weight
Needles: US 2 dpns
Finished Size: 6" x 8"

I really love knitting cotton washcloths. They make nice gifts when paired with a bar of handmade soap. The ruffle is my favorite part.

Knitted Soap Socks

I'm heading out the door in just a little bit for a very brief trip to Salt Lake City. Before I go I want to show you two more soap socks I knitted recently.

I really love making these and giving them as gifts. This pattern, Fish Net Soap Sock, is from a small collection designed by Barbara Scoville and published by The Heirloom Knitter in a small pamphlet style book called Heavenly Cotton Soap Socks...and More. It includes four patterns for soap socks and two patterns for french hand mitts. I found it at Black Sheep Wool Co. which is coincidentally in Salt Lake City. Hopefully I'll have time to stop by on this trip and maybe buy another book or two. I always find something interesting in this shop and it's very close to our hotel.

Bathing Beauties

Pattern: Fiber Trends Bathing Beauties, Ribbon Lace Washcloth and Soap Sack by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Rowan 4 ply 100% cotton
Needles: US 4 straights for cloth and dpns for sack

These cloths and sacks are fun to knit, take only a small amount of yarn and make a very nice gifts. On this particular set, I used a provisional cast on for the first time. Trying a new technique on a small project is a good way to learn. The pattern sheet from Fiber Trends includes instructions for three cloths with matching soap sacks. Each set requires approximately 115 yards of fingering weight cotton. The washcloths measure about 7"x10" and the soap sacks measure about 3"x5". I'll be making more of these.

Lace Washcloth

This small lace project was quick to knit and challenged me to learn a few new techniques. Very satisfying.

Pattern: Old Shale Washcloth from Fiber Trends Bathing Beauties
Yarn: Rowan 4 ply cotton (100% cotton)
Needles: US 4 dpns and 16" circular. Plus size F crochet hook for the cast on.
Time to Finish: One afternoon and evening
New-to-me Techniques:

Emily Ocker's Cast On
I didn't find the instructions included with the pattern to be very helpful for this cast on, but this tutorial was. This type of cast on allows you to start a piece of circular knitting in the middle. It's pretty neat the way it works and after a little fiddling around I figured it out.

Picot Cast Off
This time the pattern instructions were all I needed to learn this technique. One thing I didn't plan on was how long it would take me to cast off 144 stitches. This cast off is very time consuming. I didn't time it, but I'm sure it was over an hour before all stitches were off the needles. It's worth the effort though.