Sunday, September 19, 2010

Crochet Geometric Washcloths

A few years ago I designed some geometric washcloths for a book - and I had such a lot of fun making them! My purpose was to show crocheters how to crochet 3 shapes, a square, a triangle, and a circle, all starting from the middle and working outward. I used cotton yarn, in different colors and different patterns, making 2 variations for each washcloth. I just found out that these patterns are available for free, on-line, here.
You can use these wash or dish cloths for more than washing dishes, though. I have one underneath a basket on my dining room table, because I don't want the table to get scratched. I also keep one on my counter to put various things on, and use one on my table to put under the salad bowl. They're good for coasters, and you can use them whenever you want to protect the finish of a table or countertop. They put a little pizazz into the kitchen. And dining room. You can make them with any colors to match your kitchen, and for holidays. (I have a red, white and blue circle.) They're quick and easy to make, and make great presents, too.
Hope you try them! And if you do, I'd love to see some pictures.

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Crochet Dude(r) - Sunday, September 19, 2010

If you want to find out about The Crochet Dude (r) and his new book, I'll be blogging and posting about him and it on Sunday, September 19, 2010, on my other blog: the crochet doctor (tm). Well, I may post late Saturday night, Eastern Daylight Time, so check the blog then. Until then, read the other blogs that have posted on the blog tour. Find out about them on the Dude's blog. And get to know all sides of the Dude!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Caron Dazzleaire

This past weekend I had a pleasant "yarn" surprise. I had been happy to hear a few weeks ago that Caron Yarn had brought back their Dazzleaire yarn. I remember using it back when, (years ago) and really liking it's softness. In fact, one of the first sweaters I crocheted for myself that I actually wore, I crocheted in Dazzleaire. The denim blue color. I wore it so much, I actually wore a hole in the side of it. So when I found out that they brought the yarn back, and in a bulky weight, I had to get me some to swatch with. I was happy to see that the crochet hook they recommended on the ball band was not the same mm size as the knitting needles they recommended. Which meant to me that the company knows something about the crochet stitch – that it's thicker than a knit stitch, and the crochet hook that is used to get the recommended gauge on the ball band should be about 2 sizes larger than the knitting needle size that's recommended. And it was. One point for Caron.
So, on Saturday, I took the skein I had of "Linen", which is an off-white color, and started crocheting with it. With the recommended hook size – an L/11 (8mm) hook. I forgot that I was wearing black. (I was at the gym, on the recumbent bike, where I like to work and swatch while I get my aerobic exercise.) I thought that I would be covered in off-white fuzz when I was through, like what often happens with other soft yarns like this. But – much to my surprise, there was no fuzz. I didn't have to brush anything, no stray threads or fuzz, off of my lap. Yay! Score another point for Caron.
While I was crocheting, I had to do some frogging (ripping out a "design decision"). When I do this with other fuzzy yarns, I have to be very careful, because the "fuzz" tends to wrap together, and it's difficult to undo. With Dazzleaire, however, I found it fairly easy to undo, as long as I didn't try to speed things up and just rip away. I took it slow and steady, and my "design decision" came out easily. Score another point for Caron.
Since Saturday, I've used some other colors of Dazzleaire in swatches, and so far, none of them have left any fuzzy bits. That means it's a super yarn for sweaters and scarves - it won't shed on your clothes.
I am really excited about this yarn. It works up very quickly – so what a great yarn it is for last minute baby or full-size afghans. And hats, scarves, sweaters. You name it!   :-D

Check out this swatch I did - look at the stitch definition, which is good, even though the yarn is fuzzy. 



And here's a close-up of the same swatch.