Cotton Ready To Go!

 Yesterday I had the privilege of making a long-ish drive through several counties.  One of the things I saw gave me joy: fields of cotton plants ready to be harvested.  Many fields had already been harvested.

This fluff in the field always catches my attention. I just love to see these cotton bolls ready to harvest. In fact, I would love to harvest some myself then turn them into cotton yarn.  So far I have not found a cotton grower to speak with to get permission to harvest a few plants.  I am not so silly as to think that I would be a great spinner-of-cotton-yarn.  After all, I am not a great spinner of wool yarn which is purported to be much easier than spinning cotton.

In the meantime, I love this photo!

Fun Knitted Toy

 A few months ago when I went to my medical practitioner, I discovered that she was expecting a baby. I was so happy.  So happy for her, and so happy for me, because there was a knitted project I had been wanting to make but had not need of it and too many other started projects to start another one.  Now that I would have need of this toy, I pulled out yarn and got started!

Dear One had some interesting comments which I won't share, but basically, he asked me what this is. Well, it is a mini cuddle toy for an infant. I made it in cotton yarn so it can be washed every day if needed.

Basically what you do is knit up a square of fabric and set it aside.  Next you knit a head, ears, a strip that becomes paws, and then a collar.  The head needs eyes and a nose/mouth which need to be embroidered on if you care about the baby.  The actual pattern I used showed that there were beads sewn into the ears!  I could not believe this.  Well, I passed on decorating the ears.

Once you have put the head, ears, and paws together, you find the center point in the square/washcloth, then stitch on the head/paws unit.  Once that is done, you stitch on the collar and you are done.  Well, you need to stitch everything together again and again so the head will not fall off.

So now here is the question:  what animal do you think this is meant to be?

Recycling Project: Floor Mat

We have found some scraps of carpeting from one of the new houses in the development.  Well, actually, I was on another dump-picking run early one morning and brought home a roll of it.  The two small rectangles went into the man cave (so-called!) to protect our own carpet from sweaty feet.  The long strip of carpeting went into the garage.  It is a very nice addition there!

As it happens, I spend a great deal of time at the table in the workroom and my feet are often really hot from the outside work.  I thought I might use some of the bed sheet strips I had made several months ago since the crocheted rug they had been prepared for was not moving along very fast.

To make this floor mat,  I took four strips of about 1 1/2" wide bed sheets and folded them over.  With a biggish crochet hook (maybe a K?) and two strands of worsted weight cotton yarn I worked single crochets around the folded strips.  When I got to the end of a row (as wide as I thought it should be), I worked two more single crochets then folded the strips back the other direction, inserted the crochet hook into the previous row's single crochet under both strands and worked single crochets all the way back. 

When I had had enough of this crocheting, and also because basically I was out of fabric strips and did not want to stop to tear more, I just decided it was a floor runner, not a floor mat or rug!

It works just fine.  Once I do stop forward progress on other projects, I will tear more strips and add to the width of the mat.  It does work just fine now, but would be better another section or two larger.

Knitting: Wash Cloths, Different Stitch Pattern

After my day at the emergency room I had to have a follow-up appointment with my physician.  In the lobby at the clinic was a hospital volunteer.  She was knitting.  Of course, I cannot walk by a knitter without inquiring as to the project, sometimes spending a great deal of time chatting!  It is so lovely to visit with knitters.  You can learn so much from them.

On this occasion I asked what she was making. She was making wash cloths.  I did not recognize the stitch. She said it was mindless knitting!  It was a double seed stitch, she told me.  Knit 2, Purl 2 then repeat on the next row.  A two row pattern repeat.

This seemed like such a great idea that I started knitting when I got home.  I am so grateful to that lady for her suggestion. I love the texture of these cloths.  Sadly, she was not there when I went back for another appointment.  I wanted to thank her for her help.

Double seed stitch cloths except for the top cloth which is a slip stitch design.

These are knit with worsted weight cotton yarn...mostly Peaches and Creme.  I am nearly out of full balls so pretty soon I will make slip-stitch patterns to use up the partial balls.  Once the yarn is all used up I CAN BUY MORE with a clear conscience.  That may be a while, though....

This is what I did:

Using the worsted weight yarn and US Size 8 knitting needles I cast on 36 stitches and started with Knit 2, Purl 2 to the end (you need to cast on a multiple of 4 stitches to make this stitch mindless and easy to do).  Turn and Knit 2, Purl 2 back.  On the third row, Purl 2, Knit 2 across.  Turn and repeat.  On the fifth row, go back to Knit 2, Purl 2 for two rows,

Repeat these rows until you have a square cloth.    Bind off in knit on the right side row.  Be sure not to cast off too tightly.

Knitting Today: Heart Dishcloth/Washcloth

Around Valentine's Day there are many very cool knitting patterns using the heart pattern.  Usually I see these and get very excited to make some of them as gifts.  Unfortunately, there is almost always no time to knit up the projects in time for Valentine's Day (or Easter or St. Patrick's Day or Halloween or Christmas...).  This time, however, I did get a gift made.  This time a two-day snowstorm which left a foot and a half of snow made driving to the intended recipient impossible.  The day having gone by, I will probably put the gift in the gift-waiting-to-give drawer where I keep knitted gift-items-to-be.

This wash cloth/dish cloth was knit with Sugar 'n' Cream cotton worsted weight yarn.  Peaches 'n' Cream yarn could also be used, or any other cotton worsted weight yarn.

My heart cloth did not look fat and happy like the one shown on the pattern, but then, I thought I was out of time so I stopped knitting increases early....shortcuts often are not worth the saved time!

The pattern is found here.

It only took an evening to get it knit up.

Knitting Today: Round Dishcloth

Recently I have been using up the cotton worsted weight yarn that I have.  Today I spent the day coughing, napping, and finally,(after making and eating some chicken soup) knitting a little.

The cloth project I made today was called the Peppermint Cloth.   The pattern calls for size 6 needles and casting on 20 stitches.  In theory it knits up about 8 1/2 inches across.  Mine knit up at 11 inches across.

The pattern was a good starting place but I needed to make a couple of changes to make it work for me.

Where the pattern called for slipping one purlwise then putting the yarn to the front, I changed it to putting yarn to the front and THEN slipping one purlwise.  It worked much more smoothly for me.

The other place where I made changes was when the pattern changed colors and then called for knitting two rows.  The change I made was:  after finishing the last short row, I knit all the way from the outer edge to the inner edge of the circle with the previous yarn, then pick up the new yarn and knit one row all the way across to the outer edge of the circle.  At this point start back knitting the short rows.

Peppermint Cloth....i.e. round cloth

Knitting Today: Three Baby Wash Cloths

Several new babies have been born recently and my aim to knit them each a washcloth has fallen by the wayside.  Today was a rather dreary, rainy, drizzle-y day which had no outside commitments so I sat in our nice chocolate brown recliner with my size 4 (or 6) knitting needles and some cotton yarn and went to town on these cloths.

The first one finished was the round cloth. I rather like the looks of this one.

 It came out rather large so the next time I make it for a baby, I think I will renovate the pattern somewhat...a little smaller border and smaller inner circle.  We shall see.

The next two washcloths were for preemie twin boys.  They started out to be double moss stitch cloths, but ended up straight moss stitch...it is easier for me to keep track with a very simple stitch!  I think they came out rather well.  The striped one is really attractive though the photography does not make that happen....

None of these have been blocked, and it shows

Cotton Coverlet Knit on the Bond Incredible Sweater Machine

Company is coming.  The quilt on the guest bedroom bed has been through sheet-rocking to ill effect.  A new bed-covering seems to be the thing.  What to do, what to do....

Lovely people gave me two buckets of cotton yarn, much of it variegated.  What ho!  A cotton coverlet knit on my Bond Incredible Sweater Machine which has an extension and parts from the Bond Ultimate Sweater machine!  Now that is a great idea!

SO...I sat down and started.  Because of the size of the bed, the coverlet is being knit in five strips.  Weeks ago I started, casting on 75 stitches for the width of the strips.  After knitting two of them, I thought I would like to make the middle one a bit wider so I cast on 110 stitches for that one.

Central coverlet strips laid out on bed so you cannot see the error at the top!

The rub came when the number of ROWS came into play.  The first one came out just the right length...but alas, I had not written down anyway I could find how many rows it was, so I counted the rows in 10 inches and multiplies by 108, the proposed number of inches LONG I wanted the coverlet and came up with a number...I think 560 rows, so away I went knitting the second strip.

When I held the two strips together the second strip was WAY TOO LONG!  How had my math failed me so badly?!  Well, however it happened, it really did, so I was back to the drawing board with figuring.  Rather than tear out the long strip rows, I cast on the 110 stitches for the middle strip and went to town knitting up the strip as quickly, but consciously as possible as I HATE IT when the carriage comes off the stitch bed or when the stitches come off the stitch bed and have to be replaced...so time-consuming.

The left strip is WAY too long and the center strip too short

Now I have three strips of three DIFFERENT lengths...a pretty kettle of fish.  What to do, what to do (again!)...

What I did:  First I basted one side section together with the middle section with ravel cord.  That was not that enjoyable so I decided to mattress stitch the second side section to the middle.  It took a long time but by the time I finished I had come up with a plan, so I mattress-stitched the first side section to the middle, pulling out the ravel cord as I went.

With the three strips together I could address the different lengths issue.  What I decided to do was to pick up the stitches on the shortest (middle) strip  with a circular needle, in this case a US size 8 needle about 29 inches long, and begin knitting it up to meet the correct length strip using the yarn that I unraveled-as-I-went from the too long section.

Knitting up the center strip to match the correct length right strip

It is working but taking a while.  The rest of the plan is that when I finish that...getting all three strips the same length, I will then return the sewn-together strips to the Bond machine and "seam-as-I-go", which will be somewhat of a bear project as the coverlet is so big, heavy, and awkward, but then when I get to the right number of rows, I will stop knitting.

What was going to be strip four before new plan

So far I have not come up with a plan for the finishing AROUND the coverlet, but I still have the hours of hand-knitting the central section, and the hours knitting the other two strips to figure it out.  I will post that plan when it comes!

Just as I am writing this I remember the Barbara Walker Learn To Knit Afghan project I started a couple of years ago.  Maybe I should have finished that one instead!  Well, if I get this project completed in the next few days, perhaps I can get rolling on Barbara Walker again...

Early Rising

Another early morning rising...2:14 AM this time.  Since I could not get back to sleep I crawled out and up to the workroom where I finished the middle strip of a cotton coverlet I am knitting on the Bond Incredible Sweater machine.  Two of the four side strips are already completed.

It turns out that all three strips are of a different length!  Gr-r-r-r!  What to do?  Well, since the middle one is the shortest, I decided to unravel the longest side and pick up stitches along both edges of the shortest side until two of the three strips are of the same length then knit the remaining two sides in a seam-as-you-go.  I think I can do it.  I am edgy to get this done as it is part of the preparation for family reunion in less than a month's time!

Very kind people gave me two buckets of cotton yarn, which is why this is happening.  As for the rest of the yarn, I think I have enough cotton yarn to make all the dish and face cloths I plan for the rest of my life!