Tuesday, June 24, 2008

please mr. postman, look and see

I suppose I can share my latest FO's, now that the USPS has speedily delivered the Pay It Forward packages I've sent out. The third has yet to be mailed off -- I think tomorrow it'll hit the mailtruck.

The first was a Reverse-Bloom Flower Washcloth for Amber. She's been knitting kitchen scrubbies and dishcloths as of late. Digging through my stash, I spied some Cotton Chenille and thought of the flower washcloth immediately. You can find the pattern in Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick.

It's a quick knit; I think I did it in two evenings. Most could do it in one sitting, but I never have that big of a chunk of knitting time. I've knit a few of these before, and regardless of how mindful I am while knitting, my petals always curl up at the bottom. The Cotton Chenille is user-friendly. And I can report that after a couple of years of use, my other two flower washcloths are still in good shape. Amber now has her own skein of Cotton Chenille to knit a second cloth if she so chooses.

You might remember this noodle-like mass:

This yarn has a story to tell: it was purchased in February of 2007, knit into the Fitted Textured Sweater in Modern Classics within a few months, then sat and sat unseamed for months. It was my first sweater, and I didn't realize until I began seaming that it would never fit nicely. In fact, if it were in a store, I would have never bought it. Completely wrong for my body type...

The Juliet Scarf in Knitting Little Luxuries has been in my queue since I discovered it upon publication. I had all the required yarn; to be exact, as a result of frogging the sweater, I have enough for ten of these scarves.

It has been sent to Leslie. If she takes some pictures, I'm sure her photos will be much more stylistic.

This wasn't such a fast project. I suffer from knitting ADD and I could only sit through a couple of pattern repeats at a time. I think there were 19 pattern repeats... it had been on the needles for a month or so! Juliet is my first lacy scarf. It wasn't painful or anything, but it was definitely a labor of love. It's knit in Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure, a fabulous, lofty, soft yarn.

And for about two days, I was a monogamous knitter. I've finished the third Pay It Forward gift, but I'll post about that later. Meanwhile, happy knitting!

11 comments:

IrishGirlieKnits said...

These turned out great!! And what a fabulous idea too.

Anonymous said...

both gifts are lovely...and I'm sure will be greatly appreciated...

peaknits said...

What great knits - I have several of those washcoths and they do wear so well! And that scarf - definitely going in the queue! What thoughtful gifts! And you are finished with the PIF gifts? Yikes, I so need to follow your FO example:)

Wannabe said...

I ADORE that scarf!

Philigry said...

those gifts are so gorgeous! you are so sweet. I can not wait to see the third item...he, he!

Hilary said...

VERY cute washcloth. I want to make, like, fifty of them. I don't see any curling petals!

I know what you mean about a lacy scarf being a labor of love. Repetition can be soothing and relaxing, but also somewhat boring...

The labor paid off, though, because your Juliet is lovely.

Philigry said...

oh, i just got my gift! I love, love, love the beautiful cowl! it is perfect!
Thank you so much for everythiing! I love the yummy lemon hand lotion too. Thanks so much for doing this. Now I really need to get on it and get some gifts out there!

kaetrn said...

both are beautiful gifts! the washcloth is really precious and the scarf is so lovely!

a friend to knit with said...

oh. i am so lucky.
i adore my scarf miss melana. and i SO appreciate all of the time and effort that went into it. i also love knowing how many hours that yarn spent in your hands. THANK YOU!
and a purple flower washcloth! well that would make anybody happy!!!
xo

Denise said...

Your gifts look lovely. I'm one of the 3 that will receive a PIF gift from Leslie and I will do a PIF post on my blog soon, but I was waiting til the Fall and then I plan on sending the gifts pretty soon after that.

Annie said...

I love your washcloth gift but upon closer view I realized the name on the soap is the same as my son's. Do you know where I can find that??
Fun blog to read!