Monday 6 February 2017

Dishcloths and Sew Alongs

There seemed to be a lot of interest in the Garden Dishcloths to Knit book that I mentioned recently. So far I have only knitted one of the dishcloths in the book but plan to knit some more when my brain isn't being pickled by this protracted heat wave. If I survive the 38C days coming up on Sunday and Monday I will start on another one. It is a bit hard to concentrate when you have sweat pouring off you during such hot days :-) So now I have finished my dishcloths for January and February in the Down to Earth forum's Dishcloth Challenge as I am knitting one a month.




This one is a basic pattern and good for beginners. It is often called Grandmother's Favourite Dishcloth and if you click on that link there are some variations there if you are interested. Lori was asking if I knew of any similar patterns to the knitted garden themed dishcloths that she could crochet and unfortunately there don't seem to be many but I did find a tulip patterned one on this page on Pinterest and if you scroll down the page there are some more patterns there that readers might like if you crochet. For those who are after some easy ones check out Crochet Dishcloths ~ 4 quick and easy patterns. Of course there are heaps more on Pinterest if you just do a search for easy crochet dishcloths. 




As well as the Dishcloth Challenge there is also a Sew Along on the forum using New Look Pattern 6871. 

This pattern is easy enough for beginners as well as more experienced sewers who can experiment with different versions of the pattern. The lovely lady who is running the Sew Along has used fabric from the Op Shops to make pyjamas on which she has pieced together a yoke from scraps of vintage linens. She has also made a pop-over style pinafore from men's shirts as well as really stylish dress which used up fabric in her stash.

So if you would like to join in you are most welcome. We are in Week 1 of the Sew Along but the photos and instructions will be there later on if you are too busy now. Just head over to the Down to Earth Simple Living Forums and register. Rhonda or our other Admin staff check regularly for new members who are registering.




As an aside I finally got around to downloading some of the photos I took on my new camera while at the beach last year. I still can't work out how to use the WiFi option so one of my clever friends said to buy a media card reader which I did. One day I will go back to where I bought the camera and get someone to show me how to use the WiFi. I did follow the instructions so am not sure what the problem was but who knows with technology. Sometimes it can just be such a mystery.




These photos make me long to be at the beach again so I can cool down although it is probably just as hot there at the moment but the sea breeze would be nice. I think my Northern Hemisphere readers would like to be there as well. Yes? :-)



 








9 comments:

  1. nice dish cloth, love the colour! yes, i might have a go at a crochet dish cloth this month, to give myself a challenge, learn something new
    thanx for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Selina I made a dishcloth from string in Tunisian crochet. It looked great but I ended up pulling it out for some reason. I think I was going to make it larger in case it happened to shrink but never got around to it.

      Delete
  2. Oh Chel, we are predicted to get over 40 degrees over the weekend. It will be a nail-biting time for the chickens. I trimmed the long-haired guinea pigs' coat back yesterday, as the pour dear wasn't moving around the cage much. Since the hair-cut, they are a lot more alert and agile.

    I love the fabric you have selected. Do you know what kind of material it is?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris our chooks are free ranging so seem to spend a lot of time under the macadamia tree in the heat. So far so good with them. A friend at Pittsworth lost five chooks though. Our long haired guinea pig is really struggling and I thought we had lost her the other day. She did survive but the coming heat will be hard for her. This heat just seems to be never ending.

      Delete
    2. Chris I forgot to add that the fabric is seersucker. I bought a 10 metre roll of it from Vinnies years ago for $4.50. Must have been donated by a shop that closed down.

      Delete
  3. My grandmother makes all of her grandkinds these kinds of dishcloths every year for Christmas. I am so blessed! I have quite a collection of them. Yours look very nice, and I agree, so very difficult to do anything in the terrible heat. I hope things cool down for you soon and that all your chickens survive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I do too. Sunday will be the hottest day so I will have to keep an eye on the chickens and guinea pigs. It should cool down next week apparently. Whew!

      Delete
  4. I love the colour of your dishcloth, I have made one using that pattern too. I'm still struggling with the Feather and Fan pattern my mum sent me but I think it's actually because I'm not concentrating properly. Like you, I'm not looking forward to the heat of this coming weekend. I find heat like this so frustrating because I want to be outside and the heat chases me in! Meg:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meg, I just used a couple of balls of cotton from the $2 shop. It is too think to use one strand so I use two and it works okay. I always allow for a bit of shrinkage and make the dishcloth a bit larger than usual just in case.

      Delete

Thanks so much for leaving your comments as I love to hear from my readers. As soon as I check them they will be published. If for some reason you have trouble leaving a comment feel free to email me directly by filling out the 'Contact Me' form on the sidebar at the right.

Printfriendly

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...