Crochet post! Dishcloth Challenge #103 through 110 & more

  Last week was so busy!  With one son at a workcamp fixing houses, and one at home to enjoy... it was a full one!  We are also slowly working through changing up the house a little to accommodate my two young men as they grow into adulthood.  More and more, their lives will be separate from ours and we want them to have more private unsupervised space..... (and consequently, my husband and I will have more private unsupervised space :-)

   I am trying to keep up with my commitment to make lovies for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes too!  I added 8 more to my total this week, bringing me up to 116 this year :-)  I committed to average 5 lovies per week (or 225 by Collection week in November)   I am halfway there!

All these dishcloth patterns from Maggie Weldon's challenge can be found at www.bestfreecrochet.com

So for this week, I can share:

#103  Peach Pinwheel Dishcloth on the bottom left of the photo below - NOT my best effort!  I did it - but lost track somewhere along the way and missed something so it curls :-(   I feel fairly confident that it was not the instructions - it was me.. but I don't like working with thread enough to want to spend the time figuring out what I did wrong and fixing it.  I might try this patten in regular yarn sometime though... I looks like it would make a cute baby blanket!

#104 - This Little Piggy Dishcloth  - cute, Cute, CUTE!  This one worked up pretty quickly and is adorable.  There's not much more I can say about it...  I do like the way that the eye is crocheted - which makes it safe for babies!

#105 Ice Cream Cone Dishcloth above on the upper left - another fun one!  I was looking forward to trying this pattern and it did not disappoint!  Easy to follow instructions and a terrific end-product... LOVE IT!

#106 - Shells in  a Row Dishcloth pictured above in the upper right row - very pretty - easy to work up.  Really nice in a  variegated yarn.  I made it up for the 4th of July!  This pattern will go in my 'do again' collection.


The next four are shown in the photo below.

#107 - FunFetti Dishcloth - pictured on the lower left of the photo below.  I liked the name of this one - it even SOUNDS like a good time.  This is another one using shells and a variegated yarn.  It works up quickly and is pretty

108 - Sunny Day Red Hat Dishcloth on the lower right - Absolutely adorable and works up a lot easier than it looks.  Really brightens up the kitchen and will put a smile on the face of any red hatter!

109 -Vintage Check Dishcloth pictured on the upper left - this one turned out really cute.  Carrying the threads takes some getting used to but the effect is really nice!

110 - Winter Solstice Crochet Dishcloth - I LOVE this one.  It is so pretty and really looks like winter to me.... would be great in a blue kitchen.... combination of colors and stitches makes it an interesting addition to a gift package.

Have a great week and happy yarn things!

Dishcloth Challenge #47 through #52 and More!

This week I finished up a crocheted diaper cake and am still working on a couple of afghans!  I will do a blog soon about the cake so you can see how that is done and will show off the other items when I finish.... and I really will finish them some day!

I also managed to finish up a few lovies to donate to our local Operation Christmas Child operation.  For more information on this project, go towww.samaritanspurse.org

We had quite a bit of novelty yarn donated that made the round in the center... most of the center rounds are fuzzy and soft, creating more of a 'lovie' touch for the shoebox gifts.  Lovies are totally 'non-necessary' items but offer something soft to 'love on' like a beloved blankie to a child who has nothing soft in his or her life.  What is small to us who are so blessed - is a HUGE gift to those who have nothing.

As for dishcloths, there were a few unusual patterns this week to have fun with!

First of all... lower left.. #47 - Pineapple and Shell Dishcloth - done in yellow variegated thread.  I like the way it turned out.. pretty and lacy.  It was not hard.. but a little tricky to figure out if you are not paying attention (which is OFTEN the way my life operates!)

Next - in the bottom row center - is #48 Windows Crochet Dishcloth.  I really like the effect of this one.  The solid color is actually raised over the variegated.... like a window (I know, duh..) But what is cool is that it was fairly simple to do and looks complicated.  I can think of several color combinations that would work really well with this pattern.

#49 - The Scrubby Crochet Dishcloth - is really unique :-)  The center is one of those inexpensive dish scrubbers.  It is crocheted first in the round and then the scrubber is stitched on to it.  I haven't tried to use it so I don't know if it is as nifty as it seems, but it's a nice idea.  Hmm.... I'd also be hesitant to throw this one in the dryer!

Maggie Weldon's Dishcloth Challenge

Top left - another beautiful one that doesn't show well in the photo!  #50 - Southwestern Flair Dishcloth - called for the colors I used.  I would never have thought of pairing hot orange and hot blue but they really look great :-)  What is hard to see is the chevron pattern in columns on the cloth.   That is what gives it the FLAIR, I think :-)

Top center - #51 - Rainbow Crochet Dishcloth - was a LOT of fun to make :-)  I really enjoyed using up those little scraps and watching the cloth take shape :-)  I think this would be a super washcloth for little ones!

And last, but not least #52 - Fun Flower Dishcloth.  This is a simple granny adaptation... quick to work up and very pretty.  I think you could make a really pretty afghan with a bunch of these squares.  I would skip the edging and probably plan on a size of 3X4 blocks for a baby afghan :-)

Go to www.bestfreecrochet.com for these patterns and many more!  Maggie Weldon is sponsoring a challenge of 365 dishcloths - one for every day of the year.... I wonder how far I will get :-)

Let me know if you make any of them!