Spiral scrubbies & dish cloths

Crocheting and knitting are very relaxing, and if I pick small projects, I don't get bored before the end. So that's what I've been doing in addition to a stitched project that I can't show yet.

These cute little spiral scrubbies have always intrigued me. You can use them for your face or your dishes. The small one is knitted and the other two are crocheted. I much prefer the crocheted because you get those nice ridges by crocheting in the back loop only. I haven't figured out how to make them as neat in the end as all the tutorial photos, but how neat do they need to be really? But if anyone knows a trick they can share, I'd appreciate it. They are all done with worsted weight cotton yarn.

Click here for the crocheted tutorial.

Click here for the knitted version.



I haven't been keeping up with the Monthly Dishcloth Group, but I checked in and found a couple of designs to try.

The first is 'April Showers'. Supposed to look like raindrops I guess. Fun to knit.



The second cracks me up. The pattern is called Log Cabin, as if you couldn't guess. It's kind of hard to see the pattern in the photo. I could use a good lesson in photography I think.

Too much snow!

The DC area is still recovering from the record December snowfall we had last Saturday. We're now in that miserable cycle of melting by day, re-freezing by night. Personally, I only like stitched snow, not the real thing. But in honor of reality, I finished up this little ornament, Snow Merry, by Homespun Elegance from the 2009 JCS ornament issue. I used a hand-dyed 32 count evenweave and added a simple buttonhole stitch for the border.



I had one final holiday card to mail and realized I better use this one before the year ended. The design is the 2008 freebie from Rosewood Manor slapped on top of a piece of wrapping paper for a background. And the crop-a-dile helped me touch it up with a few eyelets. Kind of funky, not my favorite, but it's always fun to experiment.



Happy Holidays to everyone. Enjoy and stay safe.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Poe

Only a little more time left to celebrate the year of Edgar Alan Poe's 200th birthday. I remember so many Saturday afternoons as a kid when, with all my friends in the neighborhood, we walked to the movie theater, and our parents could be free of us for several hours. Those were the days when it wasn't so risky to allow the kids to go off and do this kind of thing without parental supervision. We saw the giant cartoon show followed by a double feature. So often one of those feature films was a Vincent Price horror movie based on a Poe short story, like "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Fall of the House of Usher".

So, in need of another 'boy' design, always a challenge, I chose this Plum Street Samplers pattern based on "The Raven" for my last altoid box of the season. Again, over-one stitching on tea colored Monaco. And I tucked a thumb drive inside.

Plum Street card and goodies in the mail

Gina and I decided to do a personal card swap since we were the only two to express interest in it on the Stitchin' Fingers Cross Stitch Group. Gina has received mine so here it is for show and tell. It's a freebie from Plum Street Samplers that I changed a bit. I also added the little crocheted bird. He was my own invention. I tried to write down my steps so I can make more of him, but if past experience is any indication, I suspect my scribblings will look like so much nonsense when next I go to use them.



The mailman brought be some goodies in the last few days. Mylene sent me a surprise pinkeep. She does such exquisite stitching and finishing. I am so honored to have one of her pieces.



My gift package from my partner, Janeth, for Sue's 123-Stitch ornament exchange arrived also. What a fun set of gifts! Janeth chose a beautiful Lizzie Kate design. It looks so gorgeous on that blue fabric. She also enclosed a variety of pretty floss, plus snowflake embellishments and stickers.



And to top it off, she added the most adorable little chicken pin cushion. This photo doesn't really show its super-cuteness, but it is a real treasure.

Doll Alphabet Altoid Tin

The half-doll silhouette alphabet found here by Meridel Abrams has always been one of my favorites. But until now I had never found a way to use those letters. Turns out they were the perfect size for over-one stitching on 28 count Monaco for decorating an Altoid tin top. This one was made as a gift for my friend Jenny (initials JW). The 'J' doll is just especially charming to me!. And kudos to the postal service. Took less than a week to get from DC to Sweden.

American Pie

One of my friends just passed her citizenship test and has now become a full-fledged citizen of the U.S.A. No self-respecting stitcher could pass up this opportunity to commemorate the occasion. I picked out a Bent Creek design called "Made in the U.S.A.". Changed the lettering a bit and added a few little crocheted touches.

The little heart crochet pattern can be found here.

The little bow crochet pattern can be found here.

The fabric is 32 count Jobelan in Bay Rum.