GET FELTED: Day 37
GET FELTED: pet-chloe-dallas
Originally uploaded by sockhoppers.
***GUEST PET: That's Dallas's beautiful girl Chloe who is feeling a bit under the weather. Feel better, Chloe! (Walter, Groucho, and Squirt send their very best . . . )***
My idea of knitting hell: washcloths.
Don't get me started. I bought up a ton of Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille (lovely yarn) with the idea that I'd knit a ton of garterlac washcloths, drape them artistically around these wonderful bars of fancy-schmancy soap I found one day, then present them in handknitted-then-felted bowls.
Yeah, right.
The first washcloth, the test washcloth as it were, is a total bust. Even I can't bring myself to use it. Big. Floppy. Stupid looking. I folded it in half, crocheted it shut, washed it in hot water, dried it in the machine. It still looked big, floppy, and stupid. And it popped threads all over the place. Not a happy experience. (I swear it took me longer to knit that monstrosity than it takes to knit a sock.)
The second washcloth is an improvement. Seed stitch. A little less big, floppy, and stupid. Actually kind of giftable. But it took so loooong to knit. I'd sit there and knit and knit and knit and there'd be no measurable progress. I felt like Penelope waiting for Odysseus to come home . . . except without the reunion sex. (And the Big Talk about those damn Sirens.)
Do you knit washcloths? Are they a life's commitment or can you whip 'em out? If I want to give washcloths next year, I'd better start now.
posted by Barbara Bretton at 12:10 PM
8 Comments:
I've done a few.....found a TON of patterns here:
http://knitting.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://dishclothboutique.20m.com/
I usually end up going back the mindless knit-on-the-bias pattern when I'm in the car, etc.
Kim
I'm with you on the washcloths. I've made just a few -- a linen one from Knitter's Stash and a (Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille) flower washcloth from Weekend Knitting. A couple of dishcloths, too, but they just aren't my favorite things to knit (even those ever-so-popular Mason-Dixon ballband dishcloths). The flower washcloths are way too fiddly; I do intend to make another linen one (to use up that skein) someday....
My sentiments exactly, Barbara. If I ever say anything about doing another washcloth, just shoot me.
I have made several Flower washcloths, some spa cloths, heart baby cloths, and a bath mitt that took forever. I make them but I hate to use them so it's pointless.
I made a bib not too long ago which I suspect is a bit like a washcloth. However, as I mentioned in my blog about it, I managed to make it vastly more difficult than it needed to be so it was an adventure rather than torture. However, you notice I have not made ANOTHER one...
I like my knitted washcloths smaller than most of the patterns I've found so I stick with garter, basketweave or seed stitch and just wing it. Good for mindless knitting while chatting with friends or at a meeting. My experience with chenille cloths is they don't machine-wash well, though they're heavenly as gently-used face cloths. I sold them as fast as they came off the needles at our handmade soap booth, and for an outrageous price, too.
So many great comments! I don't know where to start. I had the flower washcloth on my to-do list but didn't get that far. The first big stupid washcloth was basketweave and was way too big. You could've used it to wash a Lincoln Navigator. Hell, you could've used it as a tarp for a Navigator! Laura's right. If I ever have a temporary lapse of sanity and make another one, I'm going smaller. Bigger ain't always better.
My problem is that I love using the blasted things and know giftees would love receiving them but I didn't love knitting them. Dallas made me one from (I think) Euroflax a year or two ago and I absolutely adore it. (Yes, it's still in the rotation. A tad beat up but hanging on.)
I think it's kinda like the old saying "I hate writing but love having written."
Chloe will soon be full of antibiotics and feeling much better and she thanks you - and Walter, Squirt & Groucho - for the kind wishes.
I'm glad to hear the linen washcloth is still in service. My husband and I each have one and they are big favorites. I love the thin, drapeability of the linen. It just feels luxurious in the hand and on the face.
I also did one of those flower washcloths - an IK pattern from a couple of years ago, I think - using cotton chenille. While the project was fun - all those little petals - I'm not so sure about actually using a chenille washcloth. It seemed kind of thick and heavy but I never did wet and try it so maybe I missed out on something wonderful. I will say I did not enjoy knitting with chenille.
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