Towels to Your Hearts Desire

-
Months ago I began knitting a towel, but I lost focus about halfway through. In fact I knitted a pair of mittens for a friend's newborn, made soap, and basically forgot about this project. Good news is that I found it again and finally finished it. I missed Valentine's Day, but it will be ready to go for next year. 
This was a trying project for me as I made up the pattern as I went and I hadn't ever done that before. Turns out not to be as hard as I expected, but one tip I figured out- don't watch tv or talk on the phone while you're doing the first couple rows of a pattern you created. J I ended up pulling out several rows and reknitting and after all the trouble, I got a towel covered in hearts.  It's actually very easy once I got going and paid a little attention to stitch counts and stopped dropping stiches.
I used size 7 needles ( gauge doesn't really matter, make it whatever size and however tight/loose you want) and Rose Pink Sugar and Cream yarn. Using cotton is vital when making washcloths or towels-acrylics don't absorb water.  Acrylic yarns could be used if making a cloth used solely for scrubbing (washing dishes, etc.) however, I like my towels to dry my hands. I also like cotton because it seems softer many times.

Rose Pink Sugar and Cream Yarn with #7 Needles


CO 49 stitches.
1-3: Knit
4: K3, P43, K3
*5: K9, P1, K9, P1, K9, P1, K9, P1, K9
6: K3, P5, K3, P7, K3, P7, K3, P7, K3, P5, K3
7: K7, P5, K5, P5, K5, P5, K5, P5, K7
8: K3, P3, K7, P3, K7, P3, K7, P3, K7, P3, K3
9: K6, P7, K3, P7, K3, P7, K3, P7, K6
10: K3, P4, K2, P1, K2, P5, K2, P1, K2, P5, K2, P1, K2, P5, K2, P1, K2, P4, K3
11: Knit
12: K3, P43, K3
13: K12, P1, K11, P1, K11, P1, K 12
14: K3, P8, K3, P9, K3, P9, K3, P8, K3
15: K10, P5, K7, P5, K 7, P5, K10
16: K3, P6, K7, P5, K7, P5, K7, P6, K3
17: K9, P7, K5, P7, K5, P7, K9
18: K3, P7, K2, P1, K2, P7, K2, P1, K2, P7, K2, P1, K2, P7, K3
19: Knit
20: K3, P43, K3*
Repeat rows 5-20 eight times or until you get your desired towel length.
21-23: Knit
 


Final dimensions are 16" x 11". I will hopefully have a washcloth to go with this towel sometime this year or at least before next Valentine's Day, though it may have to wait as I am working on a few more baby gifts that need to be done by summer. I'll keep posting on any other fun projects I take on and perhaps add in a brief "how to" for creating designs to go on your knitting projects. For now, Happy really late (or really early) Valentine's Day! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thrifty Crafter: Natural Egg Dyes

-
Image
Spring has sprung and Easter is around the corner! Such a fun time, filled with bright colors, candy, family, and more. It can also be a scary food time -- candy filled with corn syrup and other artificial ingredients, eggs dyed with petroleum products, and thousands of empty calories to name a few issues. I can't stop you from overindulging on your ham dinner, but I can help out reducing some of the artificial ingredients you're putting at your table this year. Colored Easter eggs have long been a staple at Easter time, whether you hide them for a Easter Egg hunt or put them out as decoration. Coloring Easter eggs is also just plain fun! That is until you start looking at what is in that dye you are using. Yellow 5, Red 40, blue 2.... Does that sound like something your body can digest well? If you dig a bit deeper you find that these colors are actually petroleum based and are known carcinogens. Yet we use these on food we are feeding our families. This year you can ...
Read more

Sour Milk Chocolate Cake

-
Image
Got sour milk? There's not much worse than pouring yourself a bowl of cereal only to find the the milk has started to turn. Well maybe there is... finding out the milk is starting to turn after eating a bit of the cereal and realizing you still have over half a gallon of milk left. What a waste!! As you've probably figured out if you've been following the blog or can surmise from the name, we don't like waste here. Good news is that you don't have to throw out sour milk. If it's got chunks- it's too late and cut your losses, but until that point there are loads of great ways to use up sour milk. Here is one of our favorites. The best part? No one will know you used sour milk unless you tell them! Sour Milk Chocolate Cake What you'll Need 2 Cups Sugar 0.5 Cup Shortening 2 Eggs 2 tsp Baking Powder 2 Cups Sour Milk 3 Cups Flour Vanilla Preheat oven to 350 Cream shortening and sugar Add remaining ingredients (sift if need...
Read more

Simple Slow Cooker Broccoli Rice Casserole

-
Image
Colder weather has arrived as have an abundance of school and work activities. The extra to-dos that come with fall make cooking a healthy and still budget meal much more challenging. Enter the crock pot or slow cooker. Slow cook meals can be both a time and wallet saver, not to mention the benefit of having home cooked meals most nights. Slow cookers allow you to set and forget and can work around everyone in the family's schedules. Scroll to the bottom for a printable recipe. What you'll need 1.5 Cup Rice 6 Cup Broccoli (Chopped) 1 Medium Onion 1 Can Cream Soup (Mushroom, Chicken, Celery, Your choice) 1.5 Cup Milk 3 Tbsp Margarine 3 Cups + soup can Water 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese (your choice of flavor - cheddar, colby jack, mozzarella) 6 Qt Slow Cooker Start by combining the ingredients except the shredded cheese in a 6 qt slow cooker. Cook on high for 3-4 hours.  Add cheese and continue cooking until melted.  Printable to lett...
Read more