I've been sidetracked from the Hey Teach sweater by these darling washcloths.
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| Sorry about the lousy light, it was raining and gloomy but I couldn't wait to take the pic. Now, as I write, it's sunny and bright out (of course). |
The pattern is Reverse-Bloom flower washcloth from Weekend Knitting. I decided to knit three before the end of the school year: one for Rose's preschool teacher, one for the secretary, and one for the program director. The recommended yarn is Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille, and I was actually able to find it (on clearance!) at City Knits. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've knit a pattern with the suggested yarn. I'll tell you one thing, this yarn is perfect for a washcloth. The fabric comes out exactly like terrycloth. It's so soft and mushy and it's also 100% cotton, nice.
The only problem is, each petal is knit first, separately, then joined and the center is knit in a spiral. All those ends to weave in!
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| Look at all that dangling yarn! |
A cast-on end for each petal, a cast-off end for four of the five (the working yarn of the last petal starts the joining round), then the last bit after the center is worked. Ten ends, ugh.
I figured out early on that I could work each cast-off end into the knitting by knitting it with the working yarn as I knit the first round of the center. So that took care of four.
On the very last petal of the very last flower, I realized I could also work the cast-on end into stitches as I knit them without it showing very much. Why, oh, why did I not realize this before?
But that's all in the past now. I'm knitting the center of the third washcloth, and it will be done tonight. I'm including a bit of handmade soap and a Panera gift card with each washcloth. Rose's preschool graduation ceremony is tonight, and Friday is her last day. Then we'll give each person her gift and I hope they enjoy them.
