De-Stash / FO Challenge - FO #3

It's no secret that I love cotton yarn.  I'm particularly fond of Sugar 'n Cream and all the pretty colors it comes in.  Not to mention that it's so inexpensive that it's easy and cheap to pick up a ball of it here and there and not feel guilty about it.  It's colorful, it's cotton, and it makes me happy.  Then....there's the stash!  I have quite a bit of it in my stash.  So, I'm working on finding wonderful ways to use it.

I've used up two balls of it over the past couple of weeks!

I made this set of wash/dish cloths with some leftovers.

The colorway is "Earth Ombre".  I love these colors together.

This post is also a great way to show ya'll my adorable new soap dish.  I love the cute little bird on the side.  I saw these at World Market before my trip.  After my trip, I had a great excuse for getting one...the two, little bars of hotel soap that I brought home.

Here are two more dish cloths that I just finished up this week.

This colorway is called, "Barnboard Twist".

I love the colorway and the name!

This de-stash / FO challenge is helping me so much!  Knowing that I posted and promised to do this helps me get things done.  It feels so good to use up some yarn from my stash and finish up some great things.  I'm so happy to have finished and posted three things in three days!

Just in case you missed the first post...this challenge is open to anyone.  If you'd like to join in on the fun, just let me know.  I'd even love to share your accomplishments on my blog (with links to your blog, of course).  We can all encourage and inspire one another.  Happy de-stashing!  :-)

UPDATE 8/10/2014 - I'm joining in on Linda's Crafty Corner, Stash-Buster Link party.
If you'd like to join in on the fun, hop on over to her blog.

Summer Splendor

My Summer Splendor doily is done!

I crocheted it with a size "H" hook and about 1.25 skeins / 800+ yards of Handicrafter Cotton.

I enlarged it a bit by repeating rounds 18-22 several more times and using some treble crochets

and improvisation on the final rows.  It helped.  However, if I were to make it again,

I'd start enlarging it earlier on in the project to make the larger size I wanted.  

The warm temps this week are perfect for blocking.  I blocked it outside so it would dry quickly.  

Our round patio table helped me to keep it even as I stretched it out to the size I wanted.  However,
I had no way of fastening it down to the table and it dried to a smaller size.  I had wanted it to be big enough to reach the edges of our kitchen table.  Oh well.  I love it anyway.

It looks great over our solid red table cloth.

I've been wanting to make a chunky, cotton, lacy doily for our table for a while now.

I can't believe it's moved from my imagination to my table!

Fun and Funky

I've had a couple huge skeins (710 yards each) of natural color Handicrafter Cotton

in my stash for a few months.  I've been thinking of several project ideas for it

...weaving and/or a chunky doily/tablecloth.

I started a couple doily patterns but ruled them out because they didn't look good with

thicker yarn.  Then, I found the "Summer Splendor" pattern that seemed like a good match.

And, so far, so good.  I'm liking how it looks with worsted yarn and an "H" hook.

The pattern is well written and there are sections that make it easy to enlarge, if needed, to

make it fit my table.  I like how it's looking and a little blocking will make it even better.

I'm so excited to finish it and use it over fabric table cloths.  I think it'll be pretty.

The thickness will work nice as a hot pad for our plates to protect the table underneath.

I love the natural/off-white color cotton, the frill of the lace, and that the

thick yarn makes it a little different.  It's doily with a twist or attitude.
It's fun and kind of funky!  :-)

Wash 'n Dry

I knitted up some small projects over the past few weeks...

I made a couple of hand/dish cloths to send to my blog give-away prize winner, Roxie.

She wanted me to choose a multi color yarn.  So, I picked one of my favorites, Countryside Ombre.

I love the lavender/purple and green hues.  So pretty!  I hope she likes them too.

I also knitted another Basket Rib Hand Towel.  I've knitted a few of these and love them.

This one is knitted with a ball of Sugar N Cream yarn that I bought just because the colors were pretty.  Actually, that's my main reason for every ball of Sugar N Cream that I buy.

The color name on this one is "Emerald Isle".   I have to admit that I don't like it as well knitted up as I did when it was a ball of yarn.  I'll enjoy using it though.

I just love cotton and making things with it.

I'm currently in the middle of making a giant doily/table cloth with some natural color

Handicrafter Cotton.  I hope to have it finished soon.  I'll post pictures when I do. 

Blog Party Prize

Vicki's "Grow Your Own Blog Party" is so much fun!

I've found many wonderful blogs to follow.  I have a lot of new followers on mine.

I'm making new friends around the world.  And, for me, the party has just begun.  I still have so many more blogs to visit from the list of almost 400 participants.  It's not too late to join in on the fun.  Just stop by Vicki's blog, "2 Bags Full" for a visit, more information and links to participating blogs.

As part of the fun, many of the blogs are having give-aways.  This blog included!

To enter, just leave a comment on at least one January post.  You can receive an entry for each post you comment on.  You can receive an additional entry for being or becoming a follower of my blog.

The winner will be announced on Friday, February 1st, 2013.

I've been trying to figure out a prize that would appeal to anyone.  But, since we're all so different, I decided to provide the winner with some choices.  That way, the winner will receive something they'll truly want and enjoy.  And, the prize will be made especially for the winner.

Here are some ideas I've come up with...the winner will chose one...

A set of hand knit wash/dish cloths in your choice of color.

A ruffled bottle sleeve to catch drips on your wine bottle.  These work great!

 A pretty, needle felted, rose ring.

A sweet little nest ring with tiny blue eggs.

A cozy cowl.  In a color of your choice.  You can see more photos HERE, HERE and HERE.

As you can see, I've made quite a few of these.  They're cozy, warm and pretty.

 

Or a fun and chunky, cotton, crochet doily.  HERE's the original post with another picture.

HERE's another pattern possibility.  The picture of the green one isn't the best but I love this pattern and have made a lot of them.  They work great as place mats and they have a really neat edge on them.

I had planned to have several give-aways this month.  Some for the party and some for my birthday.

This month has been incredibly busy for me though and I haven't even had much time to blog.  

So, I'm planning to have another give-away next month.  The party has just begun!

Thanks for stopping by.  And, as always, thanks for all of your wonderful comments.  I love getting each and every one of them.  I so appreciate you taking time to leave them.  I try to respond to each and every one of them.  However, because there have been so many, it's been a bit confusing knowing which I've responded to and which I haven't.  Plus, many of them come through with a "no-reply" on them and no email to respond to.  For those comments and anonymous ones, I may not be able to contact you if your name is drawn for the give-away.  So, please be sure to leave a way to contact you or check back on Friday to see if your name has been drawn.  Good luck!

Colorful Fun

Just before our summer vacation, I popped into my local Michael's store in hopes of finding and buying a few new colors of Sugar N Cream yarn.  I found a soft, pretty blue, called "Robins Egg", and a happy, buttery yellow.  I packed them with some colors I already had and took them on vacation.  I thought it would be fun to make some chunky doilies for my daughter's new apartment.  I used some patterns I had in a little Leisure Arts booklet with a little improvising and came up with two beauties.  Here's the blue one.  I love how it turned out.  So pretty!  It reminds me of a snowflake...

Here's the buttery yellow one.  I used this pattern last Christmas to make a red one for a gift.  

I think I like it even more in yellow...

Before vacation, I had already started making things for my daughter and her apartment.  We had bought dishes and dishtowels for her one day and were so excited about it all that she decided to crochet some place mats to go with it.  She bought a great big skein of Handicrafter Cotton in a beautiful pinky/watermelon color.  She's made two, so far.  They're adorable!  I wanted to join in on the fun!  So, I made a dishcloth for her.

I used an H hook and made a simple, single crochet square.

I edged it with reverse single crochet.  It made a cute, twisted edge.

That was so much fun that I whipped up another one with a variegated blue skein that I had.

I'll either save this for a gift or use it myself.  

I made this orange one on vacation...

I made up a different edging for it.  I think it's pretty cute!  It's not this bright in person.

It's a softer, prettier, orange.

Sugar N Cream makes great dish cloths and it seemed like two put together would make a nice, thick hot pad.  So, I made one of those too!  I used two different colors, Mango and Tangerine,

to make it reversible and more fun.

I bound the two sides together with little white, triangle scallops.

Now, she has a few more useful and colorful things for her new apartment.   

They're all in softer, prettier colors than what they appear in pictures.  They go great with her white dish towels that have watermelon, pink and orange stripes in them.  And, it all looks great with the cute, watermelon place mats that she's making.  It also ties in with some of the colors in the quilt we're making...especially, the yellow, the blue, and the pinkish hues.  It's all so bright and cheery!  :-)

While I was having so much fun with Sugar N Cream, I decided to make a little case for my "peepers".  I call them that because I feel like I'm not old enough to need "readers" and "peepers" is more fun to say.  Although, I'm finding myself needing to use them more and more.  Sheesh!

I made a chain, single crocheted one row, and crocheted in the round so I wouldn't

have a seam to sew on the bottom or the sides.  I made a little button hole and stitched a

button on the inside so I could close it up and keep the "peepers" from falling out.

I topped it off with a row of reverse single crochet for a cute, twisty edge.

My "Peeper Pouch" is soft and thick enough to protect my glasses.  

The pouch makes it easier to find them too!  I love this turquoise color!

I still have a few skeins of Sugar N Cream, Handicrafter Cotton, and some other cotton worsted yarns in my stash.  But, these projects sure helped in de-stashing.  They also eliminated a lot of bright, cheery colors from my stash.  I'm kind of feeling some withdrawals.  I might "need" to buy some more!  Wink!

Yarn Therapy

I promised to post pictures of the yarn I bought last week on my "yarn therapy" session.  Here it is...

It's Cascade, Ultra Pima.  I love cotton!  It's soft and the sheen made it even harder to resist.  It adds a richness to it. It doesn't have a color name...just 3719.  It's a soft, silvery, beige.  I think it will go with a lot of things.  It will probably become some kind of lacy wrap or shawl.  I bought two skeins.

I always have a hard time resisting Sugar 'n Cream.  The yarn shop, Labors of Love, has some colors I don't see in the big box stores....like this yummy chocolate brown.  They also have copies of free patterns around the store, sitting next to examples.  I picked up a pattern for a cute, knitted dishcloth.  That's what this will become.

Back to the sewing machine!  We just finished sewing all the squares together for my daughter's quilt. Next, we'll need to decide on a border and sew it on.  Then, create a back panel.  After that, we'll be ready to tie it all together!  

Sugar Addiction

To Sugar N Cream yarn, that is. I think the Lily yarn company is wonderful and genius. Really! They create a yarn that is made from cotton, a wonderful, non-itchy, earth friendly, natural fiber. They dye it in gorgeous, irresistible colors or leave it beautifully natural. Then, they sell it in little balls for .99 cents to a couple dollars. Who could resist? Beautiful and so cheap that I can buy it guilt free! And, I do...over and over and over! I've bought a lot of balls just because they were pretty and cheap. I have over a dozen in my stash. However, I prefer to buy it with a project in mind and most of the time I do. I've gone through dozens of balls of Sugar N Cream yarn to make dish cloths, wash cloths, shower puffs, placemats, doilies, coasters, bags and more.

I love Sugar N Cream so much that I'm always trying to find new projects to use it for. A few weeks ago I was playing around with some crocheted motifs. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I found a pattern called, "Double Bump Dishcloth" and quickly got started on it. What fun!


This turquoise yarn was in my stash. I love the color!


The texture of this pattern is really nice and the pattern was fun to do. However, I decided it's a bit too stretchy for my taste as a wash or dish cloth. So, I used the other half of the ball to make a plain dish cloth, like the many I made a few years ago for gifts. The pattern is also used for a scarf. I think it would work great for that and I might make one someday.


Right after I got started on the "Double Bump Dishcloth", I stopped in at a local Michael's store and saw a new color of Sugar N Cream that I couldn't resist. The color is "Earth Ombre". It's so pretty!


I couldn't wait to use it! So, after I finished the two turquoise dish cloths, I quickly found another pattern I liked and got started. This pattern is called, "Basket Rib Hand Towel". The texture is similar to the dish cloth I had just finished.


I'm using size 5 needles and I love how it's turning out. The texture is nice to look at and it's soft and thick for a hand towel. It's knitted with a four row repeat that is easy to memorize and fun to knit. I originally bought one ball but went back for another so I'll have enough to make a towel.


I've been working on this when I'm not working on my Maia Shawl. It's a nice break for my hands to switch back and forth between knit and crochet.

Colorful Cotton Calling

I have a growing collection of cotton yarn in beautiful colors. It calls to me whenever I go into my studio. I even think about it when I'm not in there. I've been waiting for months for just the right inspiration and project to use it for. I keep going back to the African Flower Hexagon pattern and admiring the gorgeous projects people have made with it.

Last week, I decided to just go for it and try the African Flowers. Two of the colors I have are this pretty pink and green. I thought they would look great together...


I was wrong! In person, the green glows and looks really bad in this flower.


I made another one without the green and it looked much better. I also made one with orange and another with red.


However, I'm not sold on this project. The motifs are much larger (5") and open than I thought and I'm just not thrilled with them. I tried a couple different sizes of hooks but "G" worked the best. Smaller hook sizes made it hard to work with this thickness of yarn. I think I'll send all my cotton yarns back to the stash until I find something better for them. It was fun trying though. :-)