MSU Washcloths - FREE pattern

I find it a little bit funny that this second set of patterns I've designed is for a school I didn't even attend. In fact, until married into a family of MSU fans, I never would've thought it possible. Anyway, this set of washcloths is the requested block letter set that spells out MSU on three different cloths. Now, I suppose if you are a fan of the other Big 10 Michigan school, you could knit the "U" and the "M" in blue and gold. Knit, enjoy and GO GREEN!

MSU DISHCLOTH SET
Finished Measurements:
5.5" x 5.5"
Materials:
1 ball Lily Sugar 'n Cream Solid for each cloth
US #3needles
Tapestry Needle

PATTERN FOR THE “M”:
co 29s
row 1: "and all odd numbered rows" knit
row 2: k29
row 4: k29
row 6: k13, p3, k13
row 8: k10, p9, k10
row 10: k8, p13, k8
row 12: k7, p15, k7
row 14: k5, p19, k5
row 16: k5, p1, k6, p5, k6, p1, k5
row 18: k5, p1, k6, p5, k6, p1, k5
row 20: k4, p2, k6, p2, k1, p2, k6, 92, k4
row 22: k4, p3, k5, p2, k1, p2, k5, p3, k4
row 24: k3, p4, k5, p1, k3, p1, k5, p4, k3
row 26: k3, p4, k15, p4, k3
row 28: k3, p4, k15, p4, k3
row 30: k3, p4, k15, p4, k3
row 32: k3, p4, k7, p1, k7, p4, k3
row 34: k3, p4, k7, p1, k7, p4, k3
row 36: k4, p3, k6, p3, k6, p3, k4
row 38: k4, p2, k7, p3, k7, p2, k4
row 40: k5, p1, k6, p5, k6, p1, k5
row 42: k5, p1, k5, p7, k5, p1, k5
row 44: k5, p19, k5
row 46: k7, p15, k7
row 48: k8, p13, k8
row 50: k10, p9, k10
row 52: k13, p3, k13
row 54: k29
row 56: k29
row 57: bind off
Weave in ends.

PATTERN FOR THE “S”:
co 29s
row 1: "and all odd numbered rows" knit
row 2: k29
row 4: k29
row 6: k13, p3, k13
row 8: k10, p9, k10
row 10: k8, p13, k8
row 12: k7, p15, k7
row 14: k5, p6, k7, p6, k5
row 16: k5, p5, k9, p5, k5
row 18: k5, p4, k11, p4, k5
row 20: k4, p4, k13, p4, k4
row 22: k4, p4, k5, p3, k5, p4, k4
row 24: k3, p5, k5, p4, k4, p5, k3
row 26: k3, p13, k5, p5, k3
row 28: k3, p7, k11, p5, k3
row 30: k3, p6, k11, p6, k3
row 32: k3, p5, k11, p7, k3
row 34: k3, p5, k5, p13, k3
row 36: k4, p4, k4, p4, k5, p4, k4
row 38: k4, p4, k5, p3, k5, p4, k4
row 40: k5, p3, k13, p3, k5
row 42: k5, p4, k11, p4, k5
row 44: k5, p5, k9, p5, k5
row 46: k7, p15, k7
row 48: k8, p13, k8
row 50: k10, p9, k10
row 52: k13, p3, k13
row 54: k29
row 56: k29
row 57: bind off
Weave in ends.

PATTERN FOR THE “U”:
co 29s
row 1: "and all odd numbered rows" knit
row 2: k29
row 4: k29
row 6: k13, p3, k13
row 8: k10, p9, k10
row 10: k8, p13, k8
row 12: k7, p15, k7
row 14: k5, p6, k7, p6, k5
row 16: k5, p5, k9, p5, k5
row 18: k5, p4, k11, p4, k5
row 20: k4, p4, k13, p4, k4
row 22: k4, p4, k5, p3, k5, p4, k4
row 24: k3, p5, k5, p3, k5, p5, k3
row 26: k3, p5, k5, p3, k5, p5, k3
row 28: k3, p5, k5, p3, k5, p5, k3
row 30: k3, p5, k5, p3, k5, p5, k3
row 32: k3, p5, k5, p3, k5, p5, k3
row 34: k3, p5, k5, p3, k5, p5, k3
row 36: k4, p4, k5, p3, k5, p4, k4
row 38: k4, p3, k7, p1, k7, p3, k4
row 40: k5, p2, k7, p1, k7, p2, k5
row 42: k5, p2, k7, p1, k7, p2, k5
row 44: k5, p19, k5
row 46: k7, p15, k7
row 48: k8, p13, k8
row 50: k10, p9, k10
row 52: k13, p3, k13
row 54: k29
row 56: k29
row 57: bind off
Weave in ends.

Knitted luggage or luggage for knitting?

 

Over the years I've seen a lot of cool train cases on Etsy. Some are sold as is and some are decorated either with paint or images. There are even some neat "how-to" videos on You Tube. I've had several of these around my studio for awhile now. Some haven't survived their alterations and some are in too nice a condition to alter. I keep thinking that I'll actually use them for their intended purpose some day.

 

 

Anyway, the other day I found a craft magazine at a local thrift store. It was McCalls Needlework and Craft from Fall/Winter 1965-1966. I thought it would be fun to see what kinds of crafts and knitting were done around the time of my birth, so I snapped it up for 25 cents. Turns out, besides me, a lot has changed in the last 47 years of crafting. Turns out, a lot of crafting 47 years ago, was pretty ugly. I didn't find anything I really wanted to reproduce. However, this magazine also had a lot of knitting images and it came to me... decoupage those images on one of my old train cases to use as a knitting bag!

So, that is what I did!  I cut out all the images that appealed to me. A lot of the knitting images were pretty horrible too. I found an old ad for Lion Brand and even an old ad for a knitting shop in a resort town we have visited. I believe it's still there, but I wonder if it's in the same location. I may have to show them the ad some day.

 

 

I used Modge Podge to apply the images, first using it as glue and when they dried, using it as a sealer. I'm pretty happy with the results and have filled it with some inexpensive cotton yarn I use for knitted dishcloths.

 

Sky Scarf, December, 2012 and the Year in Review.

The Sky Scarf is finished! Yay!

 Two rows a day for one year! I cast on 46 stitches (since I was 46 years old for most of the year). I did a knit two, purl two rib pattern and used Cascade 220 Fingering weight held double. I knit my rows based on what the sky looked like at noon each day. I used two skeins each of the light blue (robin egg blue), light grey (silver) and white and far less than one skein each of the dark blue (sapphire) and dark grey (jet). The idea for the Sky Scarf is from the website Leafcutter Designs.

December

November

October

September

August

July

June

May

April

March

February

January

Sky Scarf, November, 2012

Only one more month to go! Can you feel the excitement? Yes, it will soon be Christmas and then New Year's Eve and... the Sky Scarf will be done! I have had projects that have taken more than a year to complete, but never one like this where you had to do something on it every day for a whole year. It has taken commitment, but I'm glad I've done it. After it's finished, I'll have a special post to recap.

You may wonder what the sky was doing on November 8 that made me use the rainbow colored yarn. Well, it was my birthday! I decided to do something different on that one day. I guess I could have commemorated other special dates, but I decided to do just this one for me alone. I cast on 46 stitches at the beginning of the year for this scarf because most of this year I was 46, but now I'm 47 and no, I didn't increase one stitch for the rest of the year's worth of scarf. :)

If you've followed the progress of my Sky Scarf; please leave me a comment. Let me know if you have been working on your own or if you think this is a project you are ready to take on. I'd love to know.

The Sky Scarf, October, 2012

We've reached the end of October. Only two more months on the Sky Scarf. There was a lot more grey this month; even some of the darker grey. Not that there hasn't been any blue sky, just lots of clouds. The temperatures have dropped into the mid 40s, but we did have a couple of days in the 70s. We kept the sailboat (CRUSH) in the water for the month, but didn't do any sailing. I'm looking forward to being done with this project. It hasn't lasted as long as the sweater for my husband, but there isn't any way to work ahead. You just know it's going to take a year. Monthly updates on Ravelry seems be to showing less and less knitters keeping up with their scarves. I'm pleased I've stuck with it. As you can see from this photo, the scarf is really, really long now. I'm contemplating sewing it up into a cowl of sorts instead of keeping it as a flat scarf, but I'm not sure how I would do that. I'm not a big scarf person and this one is wool. Yes! I'm one of those people who hate wearing wool and yes, it's itches. :) On to November. I even have a special yarn planned to use for my birthday. Stay tuned.

Sky Scarf, September, 2012

Here is my progress on the Sky Scarf at the end of September.

It's been nine months and no baby, but I've definitely felt the labor.

Three months to go and it will be done. Looking forward to winding it up and

getting on to something new. I'm hoping to use some grey yarn these last months.

This scarf is pretty blue, not what you'd expect living in West Michigan.  

The Sky at about 2:00 p.m. on September 30. The leaves are just starting to change.

This is along the Kalamazoo River just outside of Saugatuck, Michigan.

The Sweater...

I didn't originally think that this sweater really deserved a blog posting of it's own, but I'm just so darned happy to be done with it, that's exactly what I decided to do.

My dear husband wanted just a plain crewneck sweater in an off white.  My mom had an old Columbia-Minerva Hand Knits for Men book probably from the late 50s or early 60s. Great place to find a crewneck sweater pattern. The one I picked has set in sleeves. There were also options for saddle sleeves and raglan sleeves. The yarn I used is Plymouth Encore worsted weight. It is 75% acrylic and 25 % wool. It was knit on size 8 and size 5 needles and is miles and miles of boring stockinette stitch. I think next time I would add a cable down the front or a stripe of another color or something to add some interest. I started this sweater on September 18, 2010 and just finished the seaming this morning and the weaving in of the loose ends this noon, September 19, 2012. It still needs to be washed to even out the stitching and maybe flatten the seams a bit. I like how it turned out and hopefully it will fit.

Sky Scarf, August, 2012

Here is my Sky Scarf update for August. The scarf is now 3/4 done as is 2012. Thought I would include in this month's photo the little "Hello Kitty" notebook that I am keeping track in. I mark the dates down the page, two columns, make note of the sky and check off the rows when done. This summer, I would get a little behind on the knitting portion, just noting the sky. September has begun and I'm actually looking forward to adding a little more grey and white into the scarf in the coming months. Now is a good time to start preparing if you want to do your own sky scarf. Take a look back in the Sky Scarf posts for more information about the yarn I'm using (Cascade 220 Fingering) and the "pattern" (Leafcutter Designs). The gal over at Leafcutter Designs also has a conceptual knitting pattern involving social networking. Check it out.

"Fancy a Spot of Tea?" - FREE Dishcloth patterns

One of my favorite dishcloth designers (KrisKnits) seems to have stopped designing dishcloths and blogging. I hope this is temporary because I've always loved reading her blog and knitting her patterns. I have quite a few of her sets of patterns and would love to have seen more.

Anyway, it was mentioned in a forum on Ravelry, "What would you like to see in a new set of dishcloth designs?" One of the subjects mentioned was a "tea" set. So, here we go, my third pattern to go on Ravelry is a four pattern set of "tea" related dishcloths. These are free and the link to the pattern can be found by clicking HERE. You will find both these charts and written out directions for all four cloths.

I hope you enjoy these and your comments are welcome. As with the dishcloths from Kris, these are knit on size 3 needles with Lily Sugar & Cream yarn. I usually cast on and off with size 4 since I am a tight knitter and this makes the edges not pull in. Finished size approx. 5 1/2 to 6 inches square. I'm sorry I don't have photos posted yet of the finished cloths. But thanks to the work of two awesome test knitters, I can verify that these patterns are both mistake free.

Sky Scarf, July, 2012

We have made it through the hottest July on record here in the United States. Here in Michigan, I think they said it was the second hottest. Either way, it was a scorcher.

I finished the Sky Scarf for the month of July. Since we take our two week vacation the last week of July and the first week of August, it through me off a little. We didn't go too far away from home so I just made note of the sky where we were and went with that. I didn't take the scarf on vacation. Only five months to go and the scarf is just over five feet long.

Sky Scarf, June, 2012

 

 Here is my Sky Scarf update for June, 2012. The scarf is 5 inches wide and 53 inches long. I cast on 46 stitches and am working a 2 x 2 rib. We haven't had any rain in the area for quite awhile now. The scarf for June reflects a lot of blue sky and occasionally a few clouds.

Sky Scarf, May, 2012

Today is the last day of May and it's grey. You can see the two balls of grey yarn stuck on the end of this needle after I did my two rows for today. It hasn't rained yet, but it might sometime within the next couple of days, so I'm not cutting the yarn yet. The sky today was an overall grey, no blue, no white, nothing but grey. I'm not depressed by this at all. The temperature is in the high 50s, I think. Very comfortable for me. Anyone who knows me, knows I like it cold and melt when the temps get above 70. I won't even say how I feel when it hits 90. I don't like to think about it. LOL.

It actually was pretty sunny this month, lots of blue yarn.

Anyway, I just ordered and received a skein of the light grey and the light blue. I was down to the two small balls of the light grey that you see in the photo and one very small ball of the light blue. I'm hoping that these two additional skeins will get me through the year. Just a reminder, I'm using Cascade 220 Fingering held double. I ordered it from here and it runs $5.00 a skein. I initially bought five skeins; two blues, two greys and a white. Personally, I could have gotten away with one blue and one grey, but I have used the darker shades a couple of times.

Tomorrow, we'll start the month of June and we'll see what the skies hold for us. Thanks for stopping by and comment if you enjoyed this post.

Sky Scarf, April, 2012

Here is the Sky Scarf at the end of April. Right now it's almost three feet long. If I do my math correctly, this scarf will be nearly nine feet long by the end of the year. That will be a LONG, cozy, scarf! I have discovered that I am running short of the light grey and the light blue yarn and that I haven't used any of the dark blue and very little of the dark grey. This has been a fun project, but it does get a little tedious. So far, I've only gotten behind by a few days, but since I've been keeping track of the sky colors in a little notebook I've been able to catch up quickly. I'm probably doing my scarf little bit different than other people. I look at the sky at noon and really do the color based on the color of the sky. For instance, I don't do anything different for rain other than the grey. Some people are adding beads of charms. The fun thing about this project is that the pattern is no more than a guideline; you add in your own creative touches if you want.

Sky Scarf, March, 2012

Well, I'm three months into the Sky Scarf for 2012. That is a quarter of the way done for those mathematically challenged folks, such as myself. To be honest, I'm getting a little tired of this project. It's not that I wouldn't recommend doing it. Just know going in, that it's a committment. A daily committment to knit two rows. It doesn't sound like a lot and it isn't, but it IS a DAILY COMMITTMENT. Of course, I could stop any time, but I won't. I'm one of those people who like to complete projects once I've started them. I love the "doing", but I hate to leave things uncompleted also. I have lots of projects I would love to do and once they are started, they get done.

We've had a lot of blue sky here in Michigan for this first quarter of 2012. In fact, I may have to buy more blue yarn! I also didn't think I would get to use the dark grey yarn at all, but we have had a few days with some dark clouds. Again, I'm knitting my two rows based on what the sky looks like at noon. I'm generally home for lunch, so that makes looking at the sky on my way home and knitting my two rows once I get home, pretty easy.

Sky Scarf, February, 2012

Today is Wednesday, February 29, 2012. It's obviously a Leap Year, so this scarf with have two more rows than usual. I'm really going to have to come up with some creative ways to photograph this as it gets longer. I'm also afraid that I'm going to run out of yarn. I purchased one hank of each color. However, I have only used the dark grey with the light grey for one day. The grey days just haven't been that dark. I haven't used the dark blue at all. I have been keeping track of the dates and the colors I've used for each day in a little notebook. If someone were to ask my advise on purchasing yarn for this project I would recommend buying only three colors; a medium blue, a white and a medium grey. Since you are using two strands at a time, you are also combining these colors on occassion. This is a fun project, but as with most scarves, it is a little boring. I do like the visual record of the weather. Sometimes we think it's all grey skies here in Michigan and this month has been greyer than last, but we've had lots of sun too. I look forward to starting on March tomorrow.

Sky Scarf, January 2012

This noon, I completed the January, 2012 portion of my Sky Scarf for Holland, Michigan. As you can see from the photo above, we are having a beautiful sunny day here and that we have had a lot of blue sky for the month. This is most unusual. I was expecting to knit a lot of grey this month. The other big change to the scarf was tearing out everything since the first post and reknitting it from garter stitch (knit every row) to a knit two, purl two rib pattern. I am much happier with this version. It is a little narrow and I think it shows off the difference in color from day to day. One month done, eleven to go. Tomorrow, we start February.

Sky Scarf Post #1/2

Well, we're only a week into 2012 and I thought I would post a photo of my progress on the Sky Scarf.

I thought being in Michigan and it being winter when I started that I would be knitting nothing but grey and white for the first four months. But as you can see, it's been quite the happy mix this first week with lots of blue sky.

I decided that I would knit my two rows based on what the sky was doing at noon each day. The above photo was the sky at about 12:30 p.m. At noon it was completely grey. It's mostly grey again now at about 1:30 p.m.

My intent is to post a photo the end of each month so that you can see the progress.

One thing I haven't been able to do is twist the yarn along the edge the way she did it in the pattern. My plan is to crochet all the way around when it's done.

Sky Scarf, Holland, MI

You know, sometimes I come across things online that I want to do, but I can't remember how I came across them in the first place. This is just such a thing.

It's called a Sky Scarf and is the brain child of Lea Redmond AKA Leafcutter on Ravelry. She calls this a "Conceptual Knitting" project.

Basically, you look at the sky every day and knit two rows on a scarf in colors that represent what the sky is doing.

Above are my color choices. I'm using Cascade 220 Fingering in white, robin egg blue, sapphire, silver and charcoal.

This scarf is knit on size 4 needles over the course of a year and will measure approximately five feet when finished.

I will be starting on January 1, 2012. Lea recommends keeping everything together in the open so that it is easy to remember to do your rows each day. I found (YES, FOUND!) this beautiful Longaberger basket last year, bought a new liner, and I think will be the perfect place to keep this scarf for a year.

Check back to see my progress. Since I live in Michigan, I'm sensing there will be a lot of white and gray to start with.

Interested in making your own? Click HERE.

Interested in the yarn I'm using? Click HERE.

Interested in joining the Ravelry group for this scarf? Click HERE.

The Unfinished Christmas.

This Christmas I had TONS of ideas for handmade gifts to make. I also had tons of projects started and materials bought to start projects. I made a list of unfinished projects. Scary. So, I decided it was time to finish up some of these ideas.

Some years I've made my own Christmas cards and I thought about doing it again, but with all the ideas for other projects in my head, I had made eight cards by Thanksgiving. My original idea was to handknit washcloths and send those out as Christmas cards. I think I made two. Hardly what I needed. I'll get back to the unfinished washcloth idea later.

So, I found this cute sailboat image on the "Life Is Good" website that they were posting as a coloring page and used it for our Christmas card. Bob and I sat on the floor in the living room one wintery Sunday afternoon with a fire in the fireplace, coloring all the cards while watching "The Walking Dead" marathon on AMC. Yeah, I know, hardly a Christmas-y show, but we had so much fun. Yay! Christmas cards DONE!

In addition to the Christmas washcloths, another project started more than a year was making "Morsbags". Morsbags is an English website. You make fabric bags and then give them out to people to use instead of plastic bags at the grocery store. They have a free pattern, not that you really need one. They also have labels you can buy or print to call attention to their site. Not a new concept, but I thought I would make them for the women in my family for last Christmas. I got fabric from a second hand store and some donated. Again, I got two done.

This brings us back to the Christmas washcloths. Three of the five are shown above. Since, I had finished the "Morsbags", I decided to finish the washcloths too and give those to the women in my family. These washcloth patterns are wonderful and really easy to knit. The designer is Kris Knits and I have seven of her washcloth pattern sets.

So, to make a long story short. This was the season to finish some unfinished Christmas projects. Now, I didn't finish them all and I did start some new ones, but I feel like I made progress and you can too.