basic crocheted dishcloths

I'm usually good at starting and finishing a project without starting a lot of other projects at the same time - but not always. As my son's sweater is still a WIP, and I haven't yet finished the 3 vests I'm making to donate (although what's left to finish them is minimal) - I started a couple dishcloths for my husband for his birthday/Father's Day (which I'll share later, when they're done!) and yesterday, I started crocheting some basic dishcloths.

My mom's coming to visit tomorrow, and she's heading out to visit friends - two couples - next week. These are long time family friends, and I've known them literally my entire life. It's for them that I'm making a set of dishcloths each.

The green dishcloth is a basic single crochet dishcloth. The brown & white one is also single crochet, but every 3rd row alternates between a double crochet and a chain, to make a bit of a lace effect. These are a very quick make and can each be made in about an hour or so.

charity progress

I've not been blogging this month because I've so many projects on the go - between a sweater for my own kiddo, 3 vests I'm working on for a charity donation... and life, of course, that gets in the way of knitting. 

Now that it's warm out, it's so much easier to spend time outside. We fortunately live right next to a park, so we don't have far to go when we take kiddo for a walk. He's at an age now where he can walk almost on his own, so we can go without the stroller. Even though we frequented that park that summer, because he wasn't really walking he mainly stuck to the swings - but now that he can climb, he's got so much more of that park to discover!

Remember, a few months ago I posted about collecting dishcloths to donate to my local food bank? Well, there's a magnificent amount of progress:

What you see here is 21 completed bundles of 3 dishcloths, all sorts of different patterns. I was able to bundle similar colours together, it just worked out that way, despite each bundle being made up from donations from different people. That way, those who choose a bundle can pick one that's of colour interest to them.

The plan was to make the donation today, but since there are some envelopes with donations still in transit, the donation will be made next Saturday. I'm really hoping to get up to 25 completed bundles (for the sake of somewhat rounded numbers) but honestly, I'm elated to have this many already, and for the short time I've been collecting.

Final progress to be posted soon!

you scrub me right 'round baby, right 'round!

One of the easiest (and quickest!) projects to make are spiral scrubbies - and they're also a delightful way to use up small bits and scraps of yarn! If you don't know how to crochet, or need practice improving your hooking skills, this project is the most ideal. It's all just a few rows of single crochet, then sewn together to make a funky swirly shape!

Pre-sewn:

Post-sewing:

I crocheted a loop at the top of each scrubbie long enough to hang off the tap to dry. These were each such a quick project, I was able to complete all four within one day!

These were requested by a coworker of my husband's - I made him dishcloths on request before, but he specifically wanted scrubbies. He did request two, and that was how many I planned to make initially - but I had all these scraps variegated cotton yarn (and a shoebox full of partial cotton skeins!) that I decided to use up all the variegated yarn mixed with solid yarn, and came up with four. An excellent stash buster!

swapping gifts!

I participated in a swap in the dishcloths r us group on ravelry last month. The exchange was for a postcard and a dishcloth, and if you wanted to, add treats too. I sent my partner one of my circle cloths (the one with the pink variegated yarn) along with some stitch markers and other little knitting tools. Today, I received her envelope: these two crocheted dishcloths and some Valentine's candies. 

Needless to say, the candies are already consumed, and I'll be putting these dishcloths to good use very soon!

I love this sort of swap - I'm part of a few each year on ravelry, but one like this where everything fits in an envelope is easy, affordable on postage, and a fun treat. :) I will likely participate in a few more from this group soon!

charitable dishcloths

Dishcloths are a great gift for pretty much anyone with a kitchen - and every home, no matter how small, has one. 

Regardless of your cooking or baking skills, we all spend varying amounts of time preparing food in our homes, and our kitchens inevitably need cleaning. Needless to say, dishcloths come in handy for this reason.

In my many years of knitting & crocheting, I've found myself with extra yarn, and extra time with no one in particular to knit for. This is when knitting for charity comes to play; there are a surprising number of charities that collect knitted & crocheted items for those in need. The biggest demand, in my experience, has been for items made of wool, like sweaters, mittens, and hats - which go to people living in cold climates with limited resources.

It got me thinking, if there was a need for dishcloths. A dishcloth isn't going to protect you from the elements, but there are people in need who rely on food banks when they can't afford groceries. 

This past week, I did a bit of research of food banks around where I live. The ones in my own city (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) provide 7-10 days worth of food. Some neighboring cities & towns that either DH or I frequent because of family or work, those food banks provide 3 days' or up to a weeks' worth of food as well. These food banks not only provide food, but other household items as well, like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. That being said, it doesn't hurt to ask if I could provide knitted dishcloths. A few emails have been sent.

I got a very good positive response already from a few food banks that I've contacted, so I proposed the idea in the charity knitting group on ravelry last week. Positive response, which motivated me to start a dishcloth charity group. It'll be a work in progress for a while, with a few KAL's and CAL's on the go already, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get some help in creating a few bundles of dishcloths to donate. I've tentatively made a deadline for the end of May, 4 months away, so we'll see how many bundles I can have made by then!

first post of the New Year!

For as long as I've been knitting and crocheting, I've found myself making pretty much everything. I've knitted and crocheted everything from socks and shawls, to baby clothes and baby blankets, to aran sweaters and toys.

I've been involved with online knitting communities for a few years, especially since the dawn of ravelry. Etsy and the knitty chatroom at first, and eventually when ravelry started I spent more time there. Ravelry enabled all sorts of projects beyond knitting – specifically, spinning. I've a small collection of drop spindles, lots of roving that I dye and buy pre-dyed, and even recently bought a spinning wheel. I have even knit a scarf or two made from the yarn that I've spun, and that was such a wonderful accomplishment; I was very proud of these garments that I felt I made truly from scratch by creating my own yarn first.

There are a lot of sub-groups in the ravelry community. It's not just knitters vs crocheters vs spinners. There are sock knitters, shawl lovers, those who knit and crochet only for charity, people who only make baby items, people who love crocheting amigurumi toys... the list goes on and on.

I love the idea of “specializing” in one thing in particular, and amazed at the collections of finished objects some have. How wonderful would it be to have a whole sock drawer filled with handknit socks, or a collection of cabled sweaters, or a whole nursery filled with crocheted blankets and toys.

What I became obsessed with was something very unlikely. There are threads in ravelry that question the very meaning of making them, and even groups formed advocating against making them all together.

They are... DISHCLOTHS!

Let's face it – dishcloth yarn isn't fancy. It's not cultivated from alpacas with a genetic line of prize-winning fiber. It's not so rare like qivuit, which prices nearly as expensive as any decent drug habit. It's common enough that any major big box store that sells yarn has lots of dishcloth cotton, nearly as much inventory as they have baby yarn or acrylic.

So, how on earth did I become so involved with making dishcloths above anything else? Well, this sprouted rather recently, probably in the last 5 years or so.

Like many other knitters, I find myself knitting for everyone. I spend hours, sometimes, searching patterns on ravelry. I love collecting yarn. I love going through my LYS if for no other reason than to feel everything and admire all the new colours and textures. But it's hard to find the knit-worthy people in my life – and even they're not going to use everything I knit simply because I made it.

I've come to an important realization: what is knitted or crocheted also needs to be functional.

One year I started my Christmas knitting late. I really wanted to knit for as many people as possible, but had very limited time. The most affordable thing to make, both financially and timewise, was dishcloths. Everyone I know has a kitchen, and (fortunately for me!) everyone I know loves to cook or bake. Used kitchens are messy kitchens!

I found some mini gift bags at my local dollar store and bought a bunch. I could fit 3 dishcloths in a bag, and went ahead and made the easiest patterns. I used up some of the partial skeins of cotton for log cabin dishcloths, plus some Granny's Favourite dishcloths with the full skeins that I bought. I could complete a dishcloth easily in one evening of tv watching. Every person or couple got a bag of 3 dishcloths under the tree along with their store-bought gifts.

Well, wouldn't you know that everyone loved the dishcloths! At first when they opened the bag I don't think it made much sense as to why they were gifted them. Come Easter a few months later, everyone commented on how functional and durable the dishcloths I made were. My inlaws even kept one dishcloth in the bathroom for shower and sink and counter cleaning, and the other two stayed in the kitchen. Come Thanksgiving of that same year, a few people not-so-subtily hinted that they needed new handknit dishcloths for Christmas because a few of the ones gifted last year were used so much that they had worn down.

So, that's what I did! I began collecting more dishcloth cotton and made more. I could fit 3 more in a mini gift bag, maybe 4 for my inlaws. I filled a small box of dishcloths and sent them to family overseas, using the ball band from used skeins to wrap 6 or so together for each person. I made a few dishcloths with Christmas designs on them as stocking stuffers for a couple people too.

I became immersed in the dishcloth world. They were functional for every day use, and easy to make. My inlaws, who are big paper towel consumers, were slowly buying less wasteful paper products and using dishcloths more. This is why I'm advocating for them – no more paper towels, replace them all with dishcloths!

Why else are dishcloths are awesome? They can be as conservative, funky, plain, elaborate, lacey, cabley, colourful or exuberant as you want them to be. Cotton is an environmentally friendly, renewable resource – and inexpensive. They're functional, and as knitting projects very portable. They can be used any time of the year, aren't hidden under a pair of shoes, customized to any style or décor, and cannot be outgrown.

This is why I've become a dishcloth enthusiast. I love making them, and everyone seems to love receiving them. Not only that, but I also love collecting them for my own kitchen. Mind you, I'm not obsessively neat, but I love pulling out a newly knit dishcloth (or one suited for whatever current holiday) to clean up after cooking or a big meal.

I hope to further explore all the wonderful patterns for dishcloths in this blog and see how many more I can make!