The Everlasting Skein

The  birthday washcloth did not use up much yarn.  There was much remaining in what I now refer to as the everlasting skein.  Rather than get my knickers in a twist, I kept knitting.

This is the label from Twist Cotton.  For a mere $8.50 there is 180 yards of very soft worsted cotton with which to knit or crochet a pleasurable item.  And that is the problem. 

This top photo shows what remains of the skein.  This is not what was left after making the dolphin washcloth.  Oh, no.  It is what remains after making all of this:

 One dolphin washcloth and four fleur de lis coasters!  And look at how much cotton remains.  Geez Louise, I might have to keep knitting.

Life is good.

When It Rains. . . . .

. . .Lenora gets to knittin'.  Last Friday found me in Boston, ready to play tourist but sidelined by rain.  Pouring rain.  Didn't bother me in the least.  I always travel with a back up plan.  Naturally my back up plan involves yarn.

Lately, perhaps due to other summer activities, small projects that are quick to finish have been flying off needles and hook.  This is a dolphin theme washcloth for daughter #1 - she who crochets.  She can make anything she needs in the way of personal items and  does.  Often. 

But this is a dolphin!  And she who crochets loves dolphins.  And it is her birthday month.  (here at Maison de Francois Stewart birthdays are so important that just one day is not enough celebration - we drag it out)

The facts:

• Dolphin Dishcloth pattern can be had free here.  Yes, it is accessible via Ravelry.
• Yarn is Cotton Twist from here.  It is very soft and has less "drag" than some other "kitchen cotton" has.  It is a worsted weight and suitable for all manner of items.
• Needles used are smaller than one might expect.  Did this on a US 3 and it is still a nice 6" x 8" size.

There was something quite satisfying about knitting a dolphin whilst watching the rain fall.   I hope that daughter #1 likes it - even if it is knit and not crochet.

Yarn Corral

That's right.  A Yarn Corral.  I invented it all by myself.    This is not a bit of panty hose.  This is not a yarn bra.  This is using what came with the yarn to advantage and not spending a dime.

The yarn is from Katia and is a slippy slippy viscose, polyamid, polyester blend that has been in the stash for a long time.  When purchased, it came wound on the cardboard sleeve and had a rubber band around it (placed by the LYS) to hold the label and yarn in place. 

This is one of those yarns that becomes a tangle at even the slightest breeze.  But I corralled it.  Yes I did.

First, check out the arrow at the bottom of the photo.  That is the rubber band (free with purchase) and it is on the outside of the plastic bag.  The top arrow points to the yarn tail coming out of the bag at the precise point where I stopped the "zip".

Free Instructions:

1.  Rewind (with great patience) the yarn into an old fashioned ball. 
2.  Place cardboard tube (from inside yarn) into a zip top plastic bag.
3.  Put yarn label into bag for good measure.
4.  Using rubber band (on outside of bag) wrap and grip bag to cardboard so tube does not move and there is no give at the bottom.   Make it tight.
5.  Chase down escaping ball of slippy yarn and rewind as necessary.
6.  Place ball of yarn into cardboard tube and feed end up past zip top of bag.  Yarn might be tight at the beginning.   Never fear.  Barely moving slippy yarn is better than having the stuff roll around under the sofa and come out as a tangled mass of unidentifiable string type item.
7.  Zip closure of bag so that yarn ball can't escape but one little string can be used.
8.  Pray.  Breathe.  Pray.

As it happens, this slippy Katia yarn is being crocheted.  Every time I put the hook down, the yarn started slipping the wrong way and horrid things happened.

To solve the issue, I vowed to never stop until one round of crochet was completed.  That made it easy to use the moveable marker (indicating the start of a new round) to also grasp the yarn loop and prevent anything untoward from happening.

I fought the yarn and I won. 

Itty Bitty Bag

Sadly, after years of wear, tear and travel, my trusty suitcase has been laid to rest (aka taken down and left near the recycle bin just on the off chance that....).  As much as I loved every pocket, pouch and zipper, it had to be done.  The thing barely arrived home from the Ecuador/Peru excursion. 

After searching high and low priced retail establishments and searching online extensively, I finally decided to change my packing profile.  I have two new rolling bags.  One is similiar to my beloved old one.  The second is a smaller rolling case that is bigger than a tote but less than a "suitcase."  Alas, the interior of neither has as many pockets and hiding spots as my beloved.

Necessity is the mother of invention.  Or in this case, the mother of crochet.  This took almost ninety minutes to visualize and hook up.  It is just an itty bitty bag for holding itty bitty stuff.  Stuff like spare ear buds or lip balm or stitch markers or whatever I might need on a trip.

The only pattern is experience.  My favorite pattern of all time.

The bottom is single crochet and is worked like a basic crochet hat.  All that I did was work five-or maybe six-single crochets into a magic circle and tighten it up.  Then the typical 2 sc in each for the first round and 2 sc in one + 1 sc in each x sc on successive rounds until the diameter matches the desire of one's heart. 

I did carry the single crochet upward a bit so that nothing falls out of the bottom.  Prudence does has a place - even in the world of no pattern yarn work.

Double crochet rounds make the sides more flexible.  And because I tend to like a bit of fluff now and then, I worked chain stitch loops around the top followed by single crochets in the loops.  This produced nice holes for the drawstring and a little ruff at the top when closed.

This was a quick and practical project.  That it only took a small bit of the afternoon is even better.  I just might have to churn out more and have a whole collection at my disposal.

Geaux Time!

College football is on the horizon.  There are favorite teams here at Maison Francois Stewart.  We live in southern California and are proud to support THE southern California team.  The DH has two degrees from Baylor and his blood tends to run green and gold - especially with the recent success of both football and women's basketball.

And then there is heritage.  You can move the Cajuns from Louisiana, but they don't loose their roots.  This year, I am ready for football! 

All I have to say is  

Geaux Tigers!