Crocus Pocus! A dishcloth WIP

This is the second dishcloth in the book. It is called the "Crocus Buds". It has "YO" = Yarn Overs and it calls for slipping a Stitch. I have this yarn that was part of an exchange for a long time. Smania has a mesh around the cord, I don't know what it is made of, but it gives it a very nice look. This yarn is 65% Cotton and 35% Nylon. I think it will be nice for a dishcloth, or even to dry dishes. At this time I am just practicing the knitting and get some quick satisfaction by making small items as I prepare myself for bigger and better and perhaps more complex stitches. I will be crocheting or knitting another hat, this time for myself, I will like to see what happens when I use four colors of yarn. Thanks for stopping by!

Bee Stitch Dishcloth

This is the finished Bee Stitch dishcloth. It was an adventure to make this one as this stitch is not very easy to make. I felt kind of good after this lady that owns the LYS said that she hated that stitch. I would not go that far, but this stitch makes a beautiful web like net and it is very pretty. I will use this as a washcloth myself.

Eventually as you make the stitch over and over you realize how to recognized what stitch is next by looking at the stitches that you have already made. It was lots of fun after frogging it four times, perfection was acquired lol!

I am working on a Irish Hiking Hat, my Cable sweater, a crochet skullcap and I will be working on a Knit pattern that I am going to make and actually create. I will be using Baby alpaca and the one of the Sari Silk yarns I bought, don't know which one yet. I am also working on the I-Cord or 'i-cord' (or 'idiot cord') as named by Elizabeth Zimmermann the most creative opinionated knitter I know. She is very funny and very practical , the Martha Stewart of Knitting I could say.

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The I-cord, a tube knitted in the round with a pair of double-pointed needles. Elizabeth Zimmermann named it the Idiot Cord in honor of her accidental discovery of the simple technique. The I-cord is a perfect example of her attitude toward knitting: let it be fun, free of needless complications, and full of discovery. In this picture from The Opinionated Knitter, a wonderful collection of her newsletters, Elizabeth wears an I-cord attached to her glasses. Once you learn to make one, you'll be searching around for anything that might be improved with an I-cord. I will have pictures later on this week. Thanks for stopping by.

Knit 1, Knit 1 under, Bee Stitch

Before we Can ride a bicycle or learn to walk we need to crawl first. Personally I like to go and jump into the bicycle without having to deal with the steps. But I understand the fact that I will be missing the steps to really understand the craft of knitting. I find that making dishcloths is a great way of learning stitches, because cotton is very tough and forgiving. Dishcloths are a great way of learning a stitch, or even practicing, you can also call the square a sampler square and use it for a dishcloth lol! There is a pttern HERE. Is not the one I am using, but the idea is the same.


Going along this book I am making the first dishcloth, mind you I recycled the yarn from a previous dishcloth that someone crocheted for me. I am also reading "Knitting Without Tears" and have started Chapter two. It is an easy read, but I am taking it slow so that I can understand everything she is saying. She has a very cool idea to treat the garment as real fabric. In my opinion is what it is. I will start the second Chapter, titled "Gauge" today and see what I get. It is a great book so far and has put my more at ease with my knitting than what I expected it to.

So here you have the Knit stitch, just like a regular knit stitch and the picture that follows will show you the Knit Under stitch.

This stitch is made by sliding the needle under the loop of the stitch below, making and knitting, the allowing the stitch on the left needle (in my case as I am right handed) to completely fall. You the have the look of the picture below. This stitch is called the "Bee Stitch" as it has the look of a honey comb I guess. Needless to say I am excited about being able to make different stitches in Knitting. I am pretty good at crocheting, but knitting is more difficult for me.

By chance you can see the regular knit stitch here in yellow. The point of the needle and the point of the pencil are pointing toward the dropped stitches in here, they alternate. The stitch is in fuchsia pink color and it looks very different as you can see by the picture above. My adventures in knitting for the day, I will be crocheting during the weekend, but not today, thanks for stopping by.

Blue Dishcloths and Low Carb Pumkin Carrot Cake

Between Crochet , kniting and quilting I take time to make wonderful deserts. Today I finish two dishcloths, tell me what do you think about them. Do you like them? Do you like the ring , it will help you with the easy hanging after use?


This is a recipe I adapted from the internet and I will tell you it is delicious. High Calorie, but very nutritious. Remember you can make it low fat, but it will not be as filling. each slice can have anywhere from 250 to 500 Calories depending on how many slices you make and what ingridients you use. One thing is for sure, it will not throw your insuline off like a regular cake. I cut the cake in 8 slices, oh! and it freezes well. I say that because it has no preservatives and it will not last more than a week in the fridge without going bad. Thanks for stopping by.



Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Preparation Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: Approx. 25-30 min.
Makes: 20 servings


1.5 cups SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener,
3/4 cup (Canola Oil or Olive Oil)
1 cup Egg Substitute 1 (15oz.) or 4 eggs
1 can Pumpkin Puree (15-16 oz)
1 cup of shredded raw carrots
2 cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon (Pumkin SPice)
1/4 tsp.Salt


Frosting
1 (8oz.) pkg. Reduced Fat Cream Cheese (2 packages of cream cheese for double layer)
1/4 cup Butter, softened 1/2 tsp. Vanilla 1 drop Imitation Maple Flavor
3/4 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, (Optional 1/2 cup unsweetened sherred coconut.)

1.PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or spray a 13X9 inch pan or two (2) 9 inch round pans with baking spray. Set aside. The two 9 inch round is to make a double layer cake.



2.MAKE CAKE. Place SPLENDA® Granular, oil, egg substitute or eggs and pumpkin puree and carrots in a large mixing bowl.
Mix until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour cake batter into prepared pan(s).

3.BAKE in preheated 350°F oven 25-30 minutes or until when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake.

4.MAKE FROSTING. Place frosting ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until well blended. Ice
cake when cake is completely cool.

Optional garnishes: Sprinkle finely chopped walnuts, pecans or crushed ginger snaps over the top of the cake.

Variegated Dishcloth in greens

When you have a variegated yarn, you have no idea what is going to happen when you are making something an item.

In this particular dishcloth there is the illusion of three triangular images in the pattern. Maybe I am the only that can see that, as I am always looking for things like that in nature and in items I crochet.

It looks like three isosceles triangles , yes I am a geek, I will have to admit. I love Science and Math, I enjoy trigonometry, calculus and as simple as the Euclidian Geometry concepts.

I would really enjoy spending the rest of my life studying Science doing experiments, but that will probably take me away from Crochet at this time. My favorite part of Science was Genetics and Taxonomy, love those latin pronunciations. Botany was also a nice subject.

Well enough for today on science and Crochet . ROFL. Where did that come from? I guess everytime I see a Star Trek episode, wether s TOS, Next Generation, Voyager, Enterprise or Deep Space 9, I wish I could be studying in such a time.

Well next time I reincarnate it will be in such a time that I will enjoy travelling through space meeting new species and exchanging crochet items made out of Tholian Silk.

Thanks for stopping by, I have more projects that I am working on and will be posting more pictures later this week. Remember to smile and make people wonder!

June06 Dishcloths Exchange

To go to the Crochet Depot site you will need to click on the link below and it will take you to our group. There is where the exchange is taking place and I got my partner for June's discloth exchange Candy and here is what I got from her. She was so clever as to make one of the dishcloths around a scrubbing circle pad. I also got two magazines and some very nice scented candles.

The other dishcloth is a set of trousers held together by a nice red ribbon. This was also a very clever idea that I like. If you like to exchange things like these and Pot holders, you can join our group at msn. http://groups.msn.com/crochetdepot , you will need an MSN passport account.
You can also join our exchanges by clicking at the square on the right you will be directed to our Exchanges Guidelines. We also have a Granny Guy Square exchange , for charity.


Go , find out for yourself, don't let rumors run alone, find out by clicking & going to http://groups.msn.com/crochetdepot/grannyguygrannysquareexchange.msnw
for more information about our Granny Guy Square Exchange. Who was Granny Guy?
Click at the link below and it will take you to his blogspot

--->>>http://grannyguy.blogspot.com

Purple & Yellows, Some WIP become just yarn!

This is a very deep purple and sunshine yellow. They were suppose to be dishcloths, but I think thay are too pretty. LOL. Yet as I mentioned before, I would rather used them as washcloths.

Very elegant for the kitchen. This was my attempt at combining these two colors and I am very pleased with the outcome.

On the other front I had some WIP that I got distracted, or bored with them as they may have been two dificult or I did not see results fast, or I just got bored with either the pattern or the way they looked.

Victime number one the Bobble Stitch Sweater. I just put it aside and was not in the mood. Yesterday I decided it was time to become several balls of yarn once more. Maybe it will be part of a Granny Square Afghan, or maybe some placemats. Who knows! The fact is that it is no longer half a sweater.

Now my other WIP the Bajaron Meditation Afghan is also suffering from the same problem. Wel it was suffering from the same problem as I decided to redesign the afghan and use the fuschia to create a Granny Square Quilt afghan for which I am Known for. This time there will be 8 inch squares and let's see what trouble I can get myself into by making a crafty mosaic with the design. The new design you will like because it is very simple yet the complexity of the design is in the assembling of the squares. Once I have four squares done ,then I will be able to define the design the afghan will take. I am using the same gauge and hook. I believe it will really motivate me to design this afghan and maybe sell it for profit!, Maybe I will trully use it for meditation while praying to the Prophets.

Yes there is a definte ferengi tone in my voice. I have read the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, have you?

Thanks for stopping by and remember that I am more than my craftiness and more than my bajoran persona. I will take my leave of you today and until next time. Peldor Joi!

Discloths a la Pastels June 06

Pastels are what these dishcloths are about. I ordered the yarn to see what it will look like. It is even nice for a baby washcloth. The texture of the material is the right texture for a good quality cotton piece.

I hope you are enjoying my blog and my crocheting. There is more to come during the next week as I unveil all the discloths that I am making. I love the purples and the yellow and the other fancy colors I am getting. I am also working on a set of pot holders which I am thinking of giving to my sister.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dishcloths in Green May 06

This is my set of green dishcloths. There will be more, but this set is a posibility for the exchange that I am involved in at Crochet Depot Group.

When I make the dishcloths I always make them with the idea that if people do not want to use them for the kitchen, they can always use them for washcloths.

I have been working on purples and yellows, and purples and white. This is where I have come to enjoy using the stitches I am learning in the 63 Easy to Make Crochet Squares on the Crochet-Along at http://groups.msn.com/crochetdepot.

We have both Exchanges and Crochet-Alongs. Our Granny Guy Square Exchange is in memory of J. Scott Hooper Jr. where Two squares get sent to your partner and Two squares to our designated Charity Coordinator Drew http://thecrochetdudepatterns.blogspot.com/.
He coordinates for Hearmade Blessings Charity. which you can visit by clicking on the previous link.

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon.