One Finished

I could not help myself, I had to knit up one dishcloth last night.  I used the bamboo and cotton combination yarn.  I must say, that I certainly will not be stopping at only this one.

I think the colours in this yarn are so fresh looking!

They look and feel soft and luxurious.

In my last post, I mentioned how I was having trouble sourcing the 100% wool and cotton yarn, well my niece pointed be in the direction of Bendigo Woollen Mills online store. I visited their site today, and the selection was fantastic.  They also sell huge 200g balls of wool for nearly the same price I paid for a 50g ball.  Great saving when you are making gifts.  I am not sure on the postage costs, as my order ended up having free shipping which was another bonus.  Check them out if you love to knit or crochet, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Here is the link to the pattern for the dishcloth I made, which was given to me by my niece

http://www.groupepp.com/dishbout/kpatterns/grfavorite.html

No knitting tonight, I should be in the craft studio packing up orders ready for posting tomorrow.

From the autumn/winter knitting fanatic

Judy

Wool and Cotton

I had to make a trip to Griffith today to visit the dentist, so I took the opportunity to stock up on some wool and cotton.

I needed 100% wool to make the soap sweaters, and I could not find any in town and most of my own stash was an acrylic blend.

Won't these make lovely soap sweaters?  Lincraft brand, however all 100% wool.

My next knitting venture is to make some dishcloths.  My niece, Donna, had made some for my mother as a gift, and after using one, I was hooked.  So she kindly sent me the pattern, and I will be trying them in the next few days.

These are the cottons I purchased.  The ones in the front are 100% cotton, but two in the back, on the left hand side are a blend of bamboo and cotton.  I think they will be suitable.  I love the feel and texture of them, nice and silky.  Worth a try.

It is always an expensive venture when we travel out of town, as our small town only has one fabric shop and no craft shop.  So when the opportunity arises I always stock up.  Griffith is approx 65 kilometres away, but our nearest Spotlight is 120 kilometres away, so as you can imagine sometimes it is a case of using what is available.  This is why I have begun to stock general craft supplies on my website, it is always available (for me)!

Stay tuned to see the finished dishcloths

Judy

Knitting afternoon

I spend yesterday afternoon with my Mum, sitting in front of a wood fire, chatting.  I took along my knitting bag, and found the time to make two knitted sweater soap covers.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and wanted to try it.  It incorporates the idea of having a wash cloth and soap all in one.  You must use 100% wool, so that the wool will shrink and felt around the soap.  Wool, is naturally anti-bacterial, so the soaps should not get "yucky" in the bathroom.

The brown one on the left has a much squarer soap inserted than the lumpy Dove soap in the pink cover.  The squarer the better, I think.  I am going to try the pink one to see how it works in the bathroom. 

Naked, without their card-stock sleeve.

I also knitted some coathanger covers, after a very BIG hint from my mother that she would love some more. 

The thing I like about these covers is that there is no need to pad the coat hanger.  I use "cheap" feathers wool from the discount store.  Cast on 70 stitches, and knit 18 rows in stocking stitch (1 row, knit, 1 row purl).. Cast off.  Leave a long tail of wool, to enable you to sew it on the wooden coathanger.

That is all there is to it... you do not even have to have neat and tidy stitches when sewing it on the hanger as the fluffiness of the wool, hides any imperfections.

One ball of wool, makes two covers... or very close.

Bundle a couple of covered hangers together for a lovely gift.

Hope you have enjoyed your weekend

Judy