Cream and sugar

Mellissa of The Adventures of Wondermommy asked me to test her new Ice Cream Cone pattern about a month ago.  Since I didn’t have a photo to work from, I was surprised to find that the cone is shaped like a waffle cone! 

The overall pattern is really simple to piece together and you only need to know how to increase in the round and crochet shells.  Both the cone and the ice cream start with the smallest number of single crochet stitches and increase to their widest part.  Then the pieces are sewn together and the shell border is added.  The whole thing works up relatively fast, especially since you can hide the ends with the stuffing! 

My Ice Cream Cone measures 3.5″ x 7″.  I used some stash worsted weight wool that was a bit thinner than Red Heart Super Saver and a size E crochet hook.  I’d like to try this pattern again in a lighter weight yarn.  Also, I’m interested to see what the cone would look like with the wrong side showing. 

Visit the pattern page to see Mellissa’s sherbert version, which is so cute!

Thank you for asking me to test the pattern, Mellissa!  (And thanks for the pattern books and crochet hook!)

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Cotton twiggy

I crocheted this Kitchen Scrubbie with the very last strands of my Sugar ‘n Cream stash.  I ran out of Hot Blue after making the body so, I had to dig around in my small scraps basket for a very short strand of Summer Splash cotton yarn.  Fortunately, the variegated matched the blue body and the green color makes it looks like a flower stem.

The pattern calls for a size J hook but I went with a size I hook since my size J hook is MIA at the moment. (Angela, I loose them too!) The scrubbie itself consists of two layers chain loops and a slip stitch handle.  The double layer construction may confuse beginning crocheters, but the idea is easy enough.  

Here you can see the ‘inside’ of the scrubbie.

This kitchen scrubbie could double as a bath poof since the stitches aren’t too tight.  It would probably dry just fine.  If a reinforced handle were added it would also make a nice duster. 

 

This was a nice distraction from my top secret Swap Swap Gals purses.  I’ll get to that in a later post!

*That’s cool* a random fact

Scientists in Japan claim they have developed the first true blue roses by extracting the gene for blue pigment (delphinidin) from pansies.

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Just over one

This Washboard Dishcloth used just over one skein of Lily’s Sugar and Cream in Soft Teal.  The color is washed out a little because it’s very dark and overcast in the San Juan Islands today and I waited until just before sunset to get the camera out for photographs. 

With a few more foundation stitches and added rows this pattern could double for a placemat.  The picture below makes the dishcloth look placemat size, but in reality it measures 11 x 13 inches – not quite big enough for a full size plate and utensils.   

 

Linuxwitch‘s square-shaped version on Ravelry uses only 18 rows for the body of the dishcloth.  (Thanks for the link Adrienne!)  If I made this again I would follow the 18-row formula because the back-loops-only half double crochet gets a little boring.  Plus, cutting back on the rows would put this pattern back in the single-skein category. 

The border is my favorite part of the pattern.  I like how the shells curve around the corners. 

Also, I finished the Through Any Window Blanket Tutorial.  I took plenty of pictures with lots of detailed shots.  For beginning crocheters, the first two rounds are written without abbreviations and there’s left-handed directions too. 

Hopefully, in the next few days, I can blog about my Swap Swap Gals package for Katrina!

*That’s cool* a random fact

The largest soft-shell clam, the geoduck, can weigh up to three pounds.

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Tawashi rosebud

    

I’ve been making these scrubbies on and off for a while now.  The pattern is a no brainer, so it’s a great project for the hands when your mind is occupied.  I put all my Lily’ s Sugar and Cream scraps in a little basket with a hook, ready to crochet when I’m on the phone.

These scrubbies are also perfect cotton stash-busters.  There’s very little yarn needed, and the pattern is exceptionally easy to modify.  Subtracting a few rows or reducing the foundation chains does little to alter the finished product. 

I picked up too many stitches to gather together in my first few scrubbies.  It’s best to thread through less than half the stitches on the side, otherwise you’re left with an open hole that is difficult to pull closed.  This is what happened with the bottom right scrubbie.   

The photo mosaic shows my four favorites out of a batch of eight.  If you’re interested in the other four, I made a slide show of the complete set over at slide.com. 

Another free pattern with a similar design is the baby swirls hat, which is basically a giant scrubbie with only one side cinched together.  It’s a great hat for beginning crocheters and makes a cute hat for newborns.   

*That’s cool* a random fact

Cottoncan absorb up to 27 times it’s weight in water and the absorbent fibers get stronger when wet.

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