A Little Esox Dishcloth

As Earth Day approaches and while I'm still on a mission to replace all of my dishcloths and washcloths with handmade ones, I've come up with a couple of new patterns. Today's pattern has a little bit of texture and a little bit of color pooling too.

For this dishcloth, all you need is a 4.0 mm/G hook and about 2.5 oz of cotton yarn. (The yarn I used is a pretty, variegated yarn I picked in the mill ends bin at Joann's.)

Abbreviations Used:

Ch: chain

Hdc: half double crochet

Sc: single crochet

Ss: slip stitch

St: stitch/stitches

Instructions:

Row 1: Ch 36, sc in 2nd chain from hook and each across. Ch 1, turn. (35 st)

Row 2: Hdc in first st, ss is next. *Hdc in next, ss in next* repeat from * to * across until one st remains. Hdc in last st, ch 1 and turn. (35 st)

Repeat row 2 until piece measures 9" in length. 

Sc evenly around with 3 sc in each corner st. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Final measurement is approx. 9" x 9"

Lazy Days Dishcloth

     I've decided to replace all of my worn out dishcloths and washcloths with handmade ones. I find that knit and crochet cloths are more durable, clean up messes very well and last FOREVER. I love how soft and cushy they feel too. So when cotton yarn is on sale, I buy a few cakes or skeins and try to come up with a new pattern. Today's dishcloth uses a very versatile stitch pattern and it's a super easy two row repeat.

     For this dishcloth, I used a 4.0 mm (G) hook and 2 oz of Sugar' n Cream cotton yarn in the colorway Batik.

Notes:

• Make the chain 1 at the beginning of the even rows a little longer to accommodate the first dc.
• Final dimensions are 9" x 9"

Instructions:

Row 1: Ch 36. Sc in 2nd chain from hook, dc in next. *sc in next, dc in next* repeat from * to * until one chain remains. Sc in last chain. Ch 1 and turn. (35 stitches)
Row 2: Dc in first stitch, sc in next.*Dc in next, sc in next* repeat from * to * until one stitch remains. Dc in last stitch, Ch 1 and turn. (35 stitches)

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until piece measures roughly 9 inches.

For the border, you can sc evenly all the way around or just leave it without. I don't mind the way it looks without the border.

My Black Heart... Pillow

With Valentine's Day coming up and seeing hearts all over Pinterest, I figured I would make something fun. So, I looked through my yarn stash and saw this super bulky Lionbrand yarn, grabbed a pair of big needles and sat down to create. What I came up with is a heart pillow, black on one side, white on the other. I put it to the side for a few days because I knew I wasn't done with it but wasn't quite sure what to do to make it feel complete.

Now, I'll be the first to say that free hand needlepoint/embroidery is not my strong suit but I thought I'd give it a go. After a few tries (well maybe a few more than a few), I managed to stitch "love" onto the black side. On the flip side is "you" because it only made perfect sense to do that.

This heart pillow works up quite quickly and you can really have fun with it. You can stitch words on it or attach appliques onto it. You can even leave it as is!

For this pattern, you will need:

2 (5 oz/81 yds) Skeins of LionBrand Hometown USA
Size 13/9 mm Straight Needles
Polyfil (or similar stuffing material)
Yarn Needle
Scissors
(Optional, worsted weight yarn for embroidery)

Abbreviations Used:
BO : Bind Off
CO : Cast On
K : Knit
KFB : Knit into the front and back
K2TOG : Knit 2 together
P : Purl
P2TOG : Purl 2 together
SSK : Slip slip knit
SSP : Slip slip purl
ST(S) : Stitch(es)

Stitch Notes:
SSP- Slip two stitches as if to knit. Slide those stitches back onto left needle. Insert right needle into stitches from the back and then purl both at once.

CO 11 sts.
Row 1: K all sts
Row 2: Kfb, P9, Kfb (13)
Row 3: K all sts
Row 4: Kfb, P11, Kfb (15)
Row 5: K all sts
Row 6: Kfb, P13, Kfb (17)
Row 7: K all sts
Row 8: Kfb, P15, Kfb (19)
Row 9: K all sts
Row 10: Kfb, P17, Kfb. Cut yarn and push work to back of needle. (21)

On same needle, CO 11 sts. Repeat rows 1-10. Do not cut yarn.
Row 11: K all sts (42)
Row 12: Kfb, P40, Kfb (44)
Row 13: K all sts
Row 14: Kfb, P42, Kfb (46)
Rows 15&17: K all sts
Rows 16&18: K1, P44, K1
Row 19: K1, Ssk, K40, K2Tog, K1 (44)
Row 20, K1, P42, K1
Row 21: K1, Ssk, K38, K2tog, K1 (42)
Row 22: K1, P40, K1
Row 23: K1, Ssk, K36, K2tog, K1 (40)
Row 24: K1, P38, K1
Row 25: K1, Ssk, K34, K2tog, K1 (38)
Row 26: K1, P36, K1
Row 27: K1, Ssk, K32, K2tog, K1 (36)
Row 28: K1, P34, K1
Row 29: K1, Ssk, K30, K2tog, K1 (34)
Row 30: K1, P2tog, P28, Ssp, K1 (32)
Row 31: K1, Ssk, K26, K2tog, K1 (30)
Row 32: K1, P2tog, P24, Ssp, K1 (28)
Row 33: K1, Ssk, K22, K2tog, K1 (26)
Row 34: K1, P2tog, P20, Ssp, K1 (24)
Row 35: K1, Ssk, K18, K2tog, K1 (22)
Row 36: K1, P2tog, P16, Ssp, K1 (20)
Row 37: K1, SSk, K14, K2tog, K1 (18)
Row 38: K1, P2tog, P12, Ssp, K1 (16)
Row 39: K1, Ssk, K10, K2tog, K1 (14)
Row 40: K1, P2tog, P8, Ssp, K1 (12)
Row 41: K1, Ssk, K6, K2tog, K1 (10)
Row 42: K1, P2tog, P4, Ssp, K1 (8)
Row 43: K1, Ssk, K2, K2tog, K1 (6)
Row 44: K1, P2tog, Ssp, K1 (4)
Row 45: Ssk, K2tog (2)

BO and weave in ends.

Repeat this one more time for that second heart.  Now, you just have to decide how much or how little you want to decorate your pillow. I found it easier to embroider the pillow before sewing it together and stuffing it.

Little V's Dishcloth

I love handmade dishcloths. I love how creative you can be with the stitch patterns. I also love trying out stitch patterns I have never tried before. I whipped up this dishcloth one evening after several attempts (and loads of frogging) to figure out what I wanted to make with some variegated cotton yarn. Then I saw this stitch pattern in one of my books. It's a fairly simple pattern and I definitely plan on using it in other future patterns.

Finished Size: 9 in x 9.5 in

Gauge is 16 st and 18 rows is 4 inch square

(gauge is not really necessary for this pattern)

Materials:
WW cotton yarn (I used I Love This Cotton)
Size 6 straight needles
yarn needle
scissors

Abbreviations Used:
BO - bind off
CO - cast on
K - knit
K1b - knit stitch one row below (see photos below)
P - purl
SL1P - slip one stitch purlwise
ST - stitch/stitches

CO 41 st in your preferred CO method.
Row 1: SL1P, k38, p1
Row 2-3: Repeat row 1
Row 4: SL1P, k2, *K1b, k*, repeat from * to * across to last 4 st, K1b, k2, p1.
Row 5: SL1P, k38, p1
Row 6: SL1P, k2, *k, k1b*, repeat from * to * across to last 4 st, k3, p1.
Row 7: SL1P, k38, p1

Repeat rows 4-7 until work measures approximately 8.5 inches in length.
SL1P, k38, p1.
Repeat this last row two more times. BO and weave in ends.

Notes to remember:
*Odd numbered rows are the right side.
*The first stitch of each row will always be slipped as if to purl.
*The last stitch of each row will always be purled.

*To make this dishcloth bigger or smaller, simply adjust your number of cast on stitches to a multiple of 2 + 1.

Knit Stitch One Row Below (K1B)

Wrong Side View of K1B

Easy Peasy Kitchen Scrubby

I've been ridiculously absent from my blog for a long time. Far too long but having a two littles under the age of three makes down time extremely hard to come by in this house. However, one of my New Year's resolutions is to be a better blogger and this post will be the first of many for 2017.

Over the holidays, I was playing around with some scrubby-ish yarn I picked up in the "Mill End" bin at Joann's a while back. It didn't take long to knit up the easiest kitchen scrubby ever and all you need is a little bit of yarn.

(This scrubby is made with Sugar & Cream.)

For this pattern, I used some cotton yarn paired with the scrubby yarn and size 7 straight needles. I used Lily's Sugar & Cream and I Love This Cotton along with the Premier Washi yarn.

Finished Size: 4.5 in x 5.5 in

Gauge for this pattern really isn't important.

Materials:

WW Cotton Yarn

"Scrubby Yarn"

Size 7 straight needles

yarn needle

scissors

Note: This scrubby is knitted using both the cotton and the scrubby yarn at the same time.

Abbreviations Used:

BO - bind off

CO - cast on

K - knit

P - purl

SL1P - slip one stitch purlwise

ST(S) - stitch/stitches

CO 20 sts (any CO method will work).

Row 1: SL1P, k18, p1.

Repeat row 1 until piece measures approximately 4.5 inches from CO edge.

Bind off and weave in ends.

(This scrubby is knit with I Love This Cotton.)

That's it! 

Striping Up A Stormy Day

A few days ago, I blogged about Alexa's Stormy Day Slouch. It's sized for teens and adults. Today, I give you the toddler/child striped version of Alexa's hat.  Enjoy!!

(I wish my toddler "model" would have held still long enough for a photo.)

Finished Size: Toddler(Child) measures 18"(19") wide and 18"(19") long.

Gauge: 5 rows x 8 st of sc in BLO makes 2" square (with an I hook)

Materials
Two colors of ww yarn ( I used ILTY and RHSS)
I hook (or size needed to obtain gauge)
J hook (or size needed to obtain gauge)
yarn needle

Abbreviations Used
BLO: back loop only
CC: coordinating color
CH: chain
DC: double crochet
DC3TOG: double crochet 3 together
DC4TOG: double crochet 4 together
HDC: half double crochet
MC: main color
REP: repeat
SC: single crochet
SLST: slip stitch
ST: stitch/stitches

Notes:

• For this pattern, the dc4tog will be worked over two ch spaces. Work the first half of the dc4tog in the first ch space and the second half in the following ch space.
• The joining slip stitch from the previous row is to be worked as a chain space. 
• Color changes are done with the joining slip stitch.
• Toddler instructions are listed first, with Child instructions in parentheses.

Instructions
Using I hook and MC
Row 1: Ch 7, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 5 ch. (6 sc)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Working in BLO, sc in each st across. (6 sc)
Row3-40(3-45):  Rep row 2.

Fold piece in half and slst BLO of row 40(45) to beginning ch loops of row 1.

Swith to J hook

Round 1: Working along the side of the brim just made, Ch 1. 2 sc in first row end, sc in next 4 row ends. *2 sc in next row end, sc in next 4 row ends*. Rep from * to * around, join with slst to first sc. [48,(54) st]
Round 2: Ch 1, (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in first st, skip next st. *(Hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next st, skip next st*. Rep from * to * around. With CC, join with slst to first hdc. [24,(27) hdc groups]
Round 3: Ch 1, dc3tog in first ch space, ch 1, dc3tog in next ch space. Ch 1, dc3tog in next ch space*. Rep from * to * around. With MC, join with slst to first dc3tog. [24,(27) dc3tog]
Round 4: Ch 1, (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in last ch space from the previous round. *(Hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next ch space*. Rep from * to * around. With CC, join with slst to first hdc. [24(27) hdc groups]
Rounds 5-12(5-14): Rep rounds 3 & 4
Round 13(15): Ch 1, dc4tog over first two ch spaces. *Ch 1, dc4tog over next two ch spaces, ch 1*. Rep from * to * around(child size, dc3tog over last 3 ch spaces). With MC, join with slst to first dc4tog. [12 dc4tog (12 dc4tog, 1 dc3tog)]
Round 14(16): Ch 1, (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in last space from previous round. *(Hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next ch space*. Rep from * to * around. With CC, join with slst to first hdc. [12 (13) hdc groups]
Round 15(17): Ch 1,  dc4tog over first two ch spaces. *Ch 1, dc4tog over next two ch spaces, ch 1*. Rep from * to * around (child size, dc3tog over last 3 ch spaces), join with slst to first dc4tog. [6dc4tog (5 dc4tog, 1 dc3tog)].

Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail (about 10" long). With yarn needle, thread yarn through the top of the stitches from round 15. Cinch together and secure ends.

Alexa's Stormy Day Slouch

Today's post offers up yet another free pattern. I like making hats.  They work up quickly and there are just so many designs available! I designed this slouch hat with a very special girl in mind, Alexa. Alexa is a freshman at our high school and a month ago was diagnosed with cancer.

Pediatric cancer is a subject very close to my heart. In October of 2011, my oldest son was diagnosed with cancer (spinal PNET). He fought long and hard with more bravery than anyone else I have ever met. In September of 2013, he passed away at the age of 16. Just a few months later, a junior at our high school was diagnosed with cancer (DIPG). She lost her battle in May of 2014. Now Alexa has cancer.

Needless to say, I hate cancer and although I can't find a cure, I can make hats. I asked what kind of hats Alexa likes and designed something just for her. So, I give you Alexa's Stormy Day Slouch.

Finished Size: Teen/Adult measures 21" wide and 10" long.

Gauge: 5 rows x 8 st of sc in BLO makes 2" square (with an I hook)

Materials
ww yarn ( I used ILTY and RHSS)
I hook (or size needed to obtain gauge)
J hook (or size needed to obtain gauge)
yarn needle

Abbreviations Used
BLO: back loop only
CH: chain
DC: double crochet
DC3TOG: double crochet 3 together
DC4TOG: double crochet 4 together
HDC: half double crochet
REP: repeat
SC: single crochet
SLST: slip stitch
ST: stitch/stitches

Notes:

• For this pattern, the dc4tog will be worked over two ch spaces. Work the first half of the dc4tog in the first ch space and the second half in the following ch space.
• The joining slip stitch from the previous row is to be worked as a chain space. 

Instructions
Using I hook
Row 1: Ch 7, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 5 ch. (6 sc)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Working in BLO, sc in each st across. (6 sc)
Row3-50: Rep row 2.

Fold piece in half and slst BLO of row 50 to beginning ch loops of row 1.
Swith to J hook
Round 1: Working along one side of the ribbed brim just made, ch 1. 2 sc in first row end. Sc in next 3 row ends, *2 sc  in next, sc in next 4 row ends.* Rep from * to * around. Slst to 1st sc to join.(60 st)
Round 2: Ch 1, turn, (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in first st, *skip next st, (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next.* Rep from * to * around. Skip last st and join to first hdc with slst. (30 hdc groups)
Round 3: Turn, slst in first hdc, ch 1. Dc3tog in first ch space. *Ch1, dc3tog.* Rep from * to * around. Join to first dc3tog with slst. (30 dc3tog)
Round 4: Ch 1, turn, *(hdc, ch 1, hdc) in space between dc3togs from previous round.* Rep from * to * around. Join with slst to first hdc. ( 30 hdc groups)
Rounds 5-12: Rep rounds 3 & 4
Round 13: Turn, slst in first hdc, ch 1. Working in next two ch spaces, dc4tog, *Ch 1, dc4tog* Rep from * to * around Join with slst to first dc4tog. (15 dc4tog)
Round 14: Ch 1, turn, *(hdc, ch 1, hdc) in space between dc4togs from round 13.* Rep from * to * around, join with slst to first hdc. (15 hdc groups)
Round 15: Turn, slst in first hdc, ch 1. Working in next two ch spaces, dc4tog, *Ch 1, dc4tog* Rep from * to * 5 times. Dc in last ch space, join with slst to first dc4tog. Fasten off, leaving a 10 inch tail.

With a yarn needle, thread long tail through the top of stitch from round 15, then pull to cinch the hat closed. Secure the yarn and weave in all ends.

I've added the link for this pattern to Ravelry. So, you can add it to your queue/favorite it now and keep it saved for later!

Up next on my blog will be the toddler & child striped versions of Alexa's Stormy Day Slouch!

What To Do With Mystery Yarn

     I love yarn. I love the way it feels. I love the way it looks.  I love how some have a beautiful sheen and how some has the best "squish factor". Sometimes, I find the best little treasures in plastic packaging with little more than the actual weight of the yarn in the package. This is mystery yarn. From what I have read online, (yes I have researched this stuff), it is called mill ends. I find most of mine at Joann's in a REALLY big bin and I dig in like the craziest dumpster diver looking for whatever catches my eye.

     Several months back, I found this gorgeous bundle of orange/yellow yarn. I had no idea what I would do with it but I knew I had to have it. It has a subtle shine and is super soft. It came home with me and sat in my stash because I just didn't know what it was supposed to be.  Yes, I sometimes think yarn is meant for a specific project.

(There were six skeins in the bundle. I used two.)

     Before I could figure this out though, I had to figure out its yarn weight.  So, I went googling and came across this post on Craftsy. Bingo! I wrapped my yarn and figured out that I was going to be working with a dk weight when I finally figured out what to do with it.

     The other day, I was perusing one of my stitch dictionaries, (those puppies are right up there with yarn, hooks and needles in my book by the way), the Crochet Stitch Dictionary by Sarah Hazell. I saw the perfect one and knew this stitch would give a scarf nice drape and the colorway of the yarn wouldn't be too busy for the scallops.

This is the progress after fifteen minutes or so of crocheting.  It works up very quickly :).

 Here's the finished scarf.  I think I'm going to have to make another and sew the two ends together.  It will make a gorgeous infinity scarf, too.

What materials and tools do you need for this scarf? Honestly, the possibilities are endless. I used about 2.75 oz of dk weight yarn and an I hook but you can make it out of worsted, bulky or chunky yarn. My scarf is 5 inches wide and about 5 feet long.  You can find the FREE pattern here in my Ravelry shop!

Sweet Seeds Cowl

I love projects that work up quickly and working with super bulky yarn is perfect for this pattern.  The Sweet Seeds Cowl is a knit pattern done with super bulky yarn (I used Lion Brand Hometown) and a size fifteen circular needle. In just a couple of hours, you can whip up one of these one size nearly anyone cowls! You can find the pattern in my Ravelry shop and best of all... it's FREE!