Finishing the Hand Towel, Another Afghan Down

I am enjoying the feeling of making art. More and more people approach me with only vague descriptions of what they would like: a dark helmet hat appropriate for a man; a pink/purple/white afghan that isn't acrylic; a pastel scarf. This is followed by the question "Can you make that?" I always say "Yes, I can." (a) I need the money. (b) I love a challenge. (c) I don't worry about the skills, because I have enough experience and references to teach myself what I don't already know. (d) I can't resist!

Here are the latest: the green St. Paddy's Day hand towel that I started in the hand towel tutorial, and the above-mentioned afghan. Top photo is the towel, with a duplicate knit four-leaf clover. The three-stitch seed stitch border was continued to the bottom, and the towel was finished with three rows of seed stitch before binding off. The duplicate knit clover was an easy unplanned addition, but I can publish a chart if desired. Bottom is the full view of the afghan, one strip of each color, all knitted, with a crochet strip between the strips and around the circumference. The rose strip is double moss stitch. The violet is stockinette with groupings of garter stitch. The white has columns of stockinette alternating with reverse stockinette, separated by short groups of garter stitch. Between the rectangular strips I crocheted. After creating a row of double crochet on either side, I joined the tops of those rows with slip stitch. That made a rounded elevation the length of the seam, a nice textural element in addition to the stitchwork. The second and third photos show these seams. The fourth photograph shows the edge trim, which is single crochet rows of white, then pink, then violet. Overall the piece measures about 41 x 51 inches. It is Southwest Trading Company Beyond Bold (pink and violet) and Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (cream).

On to the next!

Peace.

Basic Knitted Hand Towels

January started with barely a pause for contemplation. My 2010 agenda is preset, and I'm on it. If last year was the year to move households, this is the year to make the business soar. I began with a handful of custom projects already ordered, and that list has grown a bit in the past week. It thrills me to have people show up for repeat business, and trust me with their special requests. A lot of faith is involved when you put your money and order in someone's hands and ask them to create something that is a one-of-a-kind.
One thing that bothers me is the list of obligations left from last year. I promised a few people patterns, and it's time to come through. These are not hard-and-fast patterns, but templates to work from to create some simple household items. I also received a request for a hat pattern, but I can't publish that one without charging for it, as it is unique and I am currently selling from it. So, here we go.

Hand Towels

I like hand towels to be approximately 16 x 20 inches, but many prefer a smaller, approximately 12 x 16 inch size. That's a convenient size for most guest use. It's large enough to dry hands effectively, but small enough for that little bar next to the sink, or to roll and place in a fancy towel basket on the counter. Some particulars that I like when making hand towels: a good washable material, like a cotton/linen blend; a design that makes a flat piece with no rolling edges; and an absence of fancy appliques that rub off or wear when one uses the towel. With those requirements in mind, I started a demonstration towel which should make approximately 12 x 16 inch towel.

Seed Stitch Border Hand Towel

Materials: pair of size 5 needles; 1 skein of Knitpicks Cotlin (70% Tanquis cotton/30% linen; 123 yd/50 g)

Cast on 60 stitches.

Row 1-3: Seed stitch. K1, P1 for first row. Rows 2 and 3, purl the knits and knit the purls. This makes a non-rolling border.

Row 4: P1, K1, P1, knit across to the last three stitches, K1, P1, K1.

Row 5: K1, P1, K1, purl across to the last three stitches, P1, K1, P1.

Continue this pattern, maintaining seed stitch border for three inches on either side, and doing stockinette stitch in between. When you reach the desired length (or within 1/2 inch of it), change to seed stitch for three rows, then bind off in pattern.

This creates a very simple stockinette stitch towel with a seed stitch border. I like it for towels that I wish to decorate, as I can duplicate stitch a design or picture or words over the stockinette body of the towel. If you decide to use duplicate stitch for a pattern, keep in mind the way the towel will fold in half to hang over a towel bar, and place your decoration centered in the lower half of the towel.

To use texture itself as decoration for your towel, try a simple box pattern.

Box Pattern Hand Towel

Materials are the same. Cast on 60 stitches.

Row 1: K6, P6 to end of row.
Row 2 and all even numbered rows: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.

Row 3-8: Repeat rows 1 and 2.

Row 9: P6, K6 to end of row.

Row 10 and all even numbered rows: Purl the purl stitches and knit the knit stitches.

Row 11-16: Repeat rows 9 and 10.

Continue in this sequence until towel is desired length, bind off in pattern. Sometimes I will vary this by making boxes of different sizes. The boxes above are 6 stitches x 8 rows. I might do a section with smaller boxes - 3 stitches x 4 rows, or larger boxes - 12 stitches x 16 rows, or even a mixture of different size boxes together. This makes an interesting pattern for the eye to follow.

It may seem obvious, but the simplest of hand towels can be beautiful, too.

Garter Stitch Hand Towel

Materials are the same.

Cast on 60 stitches.

Knit every row. When you reach desired length, bind off.

You get the idea. When I finish the green hand towel with the seed stitch border, I will publish a photo.

I've had questions about making wash cloths, so I will publish that next.

Since I last blogged, I've created a custom afghan. It was made from three kinds of cotton (double strand of Jo Sharp, single strand of Knitpicks cotton/viscose and bulky cotton), crocheted in a ring pattern. The smile in the photo is a "whoopee I'm finished" smile. I'm naked behind the afghan. Just kidding.

Peace.

Ruffled Scarf and Other Market News

I am writing at 3:30 a.m. because I fell asleep before 9 p.m. My brain thinks it is morning, so I'm taking advantage of relative alertness to make this update.
Sundays frequently end early, as I'm up by 6 to start the hectic market day. I begin by loading equipment and products into the car, if I haven't completed that task the night before. Then I have a quick breakfast and get cleaned up and dressed to present a nice vendor image. After I drive downtown, I check in, get a cup of coffee, and unload my equipment. It takes about two and one-half hours to put my booth together and get all my products displayed.
Yesterday was a milestone, my first run of three consecutive market weeks. Now that I know I can do it, I have prepared for the rest of the season and the coming spring by upgrading my equipment a bit. No, I didn't hit SmartFurniture.com for a fancy display setup (think $3000). I spent a few bucks at Bed, Bath and Beyond on snap-together cubes made of metal grids, a reduced flat bedsheet and two rolling hanging clothes racks. For less than $130, I now have a nice cube system that sits on top of my table and holds items like hats and wash cloths, plenty of hanging space for scarves, baby sweaters, baby blankets and adult clothing. I was thrilled to have a more professional looking, organized store yesterday.
With a proper display system, I attract more lookers and shoppers. People were stopping in awe just to say "Did you make all of these yourself?" and I could proudly say that I designed and knitted or crocheted everything in the shop. It was much easier to show what I had and help buyers select things for themselves and for gifts. I even had a proper packaging station set up, and room to write down my credit card purchases and special orders.
One of the most fun events of yesterday's market was recruiting neighboring vendors to help me sing "Happy Birthday" to my mom. It was her 90th. I knew I would be exhausted and that call would have to do for the day. We sung with enthusiasm. No one would have special-ordered that performance. I asked my mom how it felt to be 90, and she said "I feel old." She's entitled.

Special orders have increased lately. Last week I had three from the market, and I completed the pair of extra skinny fingerless mitts, the green ruffled scarf you see below, and an entrelac organic cotton wash cloth this week. The holiday hand towels you see were knitted for another special order, and I finished Valentine's Day and blocked them both for mailing tomorrow. The little Christmas trees and heart are duplicate knit. Simple patterns like that can be free-handed, but if I have any requests I will publish the diagrams.

Speaking of patterns, here's the ruffled scarf:

The scarf is worked back and forth on circular needles. The final length is about 74 inches. Gauge is unimportant.
Materials: approximately 220 yards of worsted weight yarn (I used Superwash Worsted from elann.com, but their Wool/Bamboo would have worked nicely, too.), a long circular size 6 needle, a long circular size 7 needle, and a yarn needle for weaving ends

With smaller needle, cast on 180 stitches loosely. You don't want a tight, uncomfortable edge around the neck.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: Knit into front and back of each stitch. (360 stitches)
Row 3: Changing to larger needle, knit.
Row 4: Knit into front and back of each stitch. (720 stitches)
Rows 5-7: Knit. You can make the ruffle wider by adding more rows here.
Final row: Cast off loosely.
Weave in ends.


A note about the hand towels. They are knitted from knitpicks.com Cotlin, 50% linen, 50% cotton. It handles beautifully, softening as you knit. Most of my series are knit on size 5 straight needles with a fairly simple block pattern. The Valentine's towel is the exception, as the lacy pattern suited the theme. Keeping in mind where the center fold would be, I knit a section of stockinette into each towel to serve as a background for duplicate knitting motifs. You want this in the lower half of the towel so that it shows when you fold it over a towel bar. I have two more to complete this custom holiday series (I began with Halloween and Thanksgiving, and St. Patrick's Day and 4th of July will complete it.) I'll publish stitch counts and basic construction as I work on the final two.

My early morning awake time is fading fast. I think I can manage two more hours of sleep.
Peace.

Counting Down to Closing

One week 'til closing, and the sale of my house is all consuming. I held my breath for inspection and came away with a short list of repairs and investigations to be performed in this brief final period. I had to miss knitting group to meet a handyman-a definite indication of the urgency of these activities.

The chaos of moving holds some treachery for me. After a few near-misses, I tripped over a box and fell, doing a slow, continually sliding, grabbing, descent against the side of my recliner, and ending with a number of bumps and bruises and what feels like a broken toe. This morning I am feeling the full effect, limping and learning which limb to favor for which activity. Adults are not made for falling. We think too much on the way down, rather than letting the natural instincts take over. Moreover, I was grabbing at a recliner that was slowly changing position as I went down. My chances would have been better with the floor.

Ah well, if this is the worst result of my real estate adventures, I think I've come off well. I finished the night reading aloud to my daughter from a favorite Agatha Christie. She had a migraine and was bored to tears with lying still in the dark. Why Didn't They Ask Evans always has her imagining herself to be Frankie, the sassy, adventurous daughter of an earl. My daughter's expressions and gestures had me laughing, contributing to my hoarseness from reading 11 chapters.

I'm in hand towel heaven with my current custom project. I've become very comfortable with Cotlin, Knitpicks.com's cotton 50%/linen 50% DK blend. It softens very readily with handling, and knits quite nicely for me on size 5 needles. I've been knitting hand towels that are holiday designs. Christmas is ready for blocking, and I'll cast on Valentine's Day shortly and figure out how many hearts to throw across it.

I took on an experimental crochet project last weekend without the desired result. Dayna hoped for an interestingly patterned scarf from Spud & Chloe's Aztec Scarf pattern. She wanted a soft, flowing, indoor version, and we attempted it with Cotlin, but it didn't fill in the pattern enough. I may try again with another yarn, but she's already on to the next project. She had admired the bands of V-stitch on my crocheted baby blankets, and now that is the basis for a long crocheted scarf. V-stitch goes quickly and loooks lacy and beautiful. An easy teach is found here: http://www.woolcrafting.com/v-stitch-crochet-pattern.html. I showed my "client" both the half-double and double V-stitch, and she preferred double, so my work is more open than the example photo shown at the link.

I've relisted all my hats and scarves, as the season is here. No sales at the store yet, and I've not been able to free up time and energy for the market. Maybe next week. I've no doubt that the heavy work of moving will make me much more fit for market days. Swinging those metal grids in and out of the car, setting up tables, hauling bags of product-none of those seems difficult now that I've dismantled and sorted the old house.

I finished all my cardiac testing last week. A summer of cooking less (no food odors in the house you're showing, please) and eating out more left me with an elevated cholesterol and LDL. I'm on medication now, but hopefully regaining my better habits will render that unnecessary. None of the other test results have been discussed yet.

Okay, first neighbor complaint. The folks directly behind me have a boat. Hubby insists on weatherizing it himself. He treated us to a good spell of deafening noise yesterday and I went out and hollered over the fence to see if anyone was dying. We had a congenial meeting and he explained his mission, and that he will save $200 by doing it himself. Hah! It is 8:45 a.m. and he has just started again, revving his boat motor and drowning out my thoughts. Hmmph. That ends my blogging for today.

Peace.