Secure Your Electronic Devices.....

especially when you're using an outdoor portable toilet.  Two weekends ago, I sold my crafted wares at the Sweden Harvest Festival.  It was in a cemetery that surrounds the Farmer's museum in the town of Sweden, which is in the western part of Monroe County.  The festival itself was set up on the museum lawn, but the 5k race went, at least partially through the narrow gravel paths that wound through the cemetery.  Quaint setting, but rather spooky, since it was an older cemetery, with crypts built right into the hillside.

But, I felt like I'd arrived.  It was my first real festival.  I've done garage sales at churches and at our town's historical society, but nothing like a festival.  Since I knew the September weather can be changeable, I bought my first canopy!  And, it had sides you could attach as well, which I left home because the forecast was promising.  Loading in and setting up went very smoothly. Looking back at my tent from across the lawn, I felt like I'd arrived.

I couldn't shake this feeling of uneasiness.  Like something really bad was about to happen.   I can be very superstitious.  I spent 15 years as a nurse, and it always seemed when there was a full moon on a Friday, or if somebody said the word "quiet" all hell broke loose.  Even though I haven't worked in many years, the feeling lingers.  First off, the festival was in a cemetery, and I was assigned space 13.  I'm not scared of the number 13.  The notion of bad things happening to or onto things associated with that number are just folklore.

Then, it was time for a bathroom break.  I was rather impressed with the portable toilet they had.  It was actually rather spacious, and appeared to still be clean, and it didn't rock when I moved around inside.  I hate using them, because I always think that if I sneeze, or move too fast, either the door will fly open, or the whole thing will fall on it's side, and I'll fall out.

I had on a hooded, zip front sweatshirt, and had tucked my car keys and cell phone inside the left pocket.  I must have jostled it when I zipped my pants, because the next think I knew, my keys and phone were falling towards the seat.  Luckily, I was fast enough to catch my keys. But the cell phone bounced off the seat, and into the blue tinted muck.  I immediately shoved the sleeve of my sweatshirt up my arm, and plunged my arm in after it.  Thankfully, the crowd at the festival was quite light, so it didn't take long for me to find the phone. I threw out the case, and wiped it thoroughly with toilet paper and napkins.  I dialed my home number to see if the phone would work, and eureka!  I was able to place the call.  I rubbed some hand sanitizer on the phone and my hands afterwards, then disinfected the phone, my watch, and scrubbed my right arm once I got home.  Lesson learned-when using a portable toilet, always place your valuables in your pants pocket.  Thank goodness the rest of my shows are indoors.  I'll be updating my schedule in a day or two.

When is a Crate Pad, Not a Crate Pad?

 When it becomes a throw!  Freddy only slept in his crate on his first night with us, and he spends a lot of time on the love seat.  Instead of making the crate pad, I decided to use the fabric for something he can lay on, or lay up against or snuggle under if it gets cold.  And yes, I really spoil my dogs. 

 I wanted to back the black fabric with the piece of white fabric I have, for a little contrast.  But the piece I have was too small.  So, I backed the black piece with a piece of solid black fleece.  It turned out nicely, and I was very proud of myself...until I picked it up and saw all the dog hair!  I should have realized that  light brown dog hair would show up against a black background.  Freddy is the first dog who'd shed.  Heidi was a chocolate lab, and she didn't shed too much.  Chloe is a bichon mix, who doesn't really shed.  Katie was a terrier mix with dark hair, who didn't really shed either.  Oh well, live and learn.  The throw gets washed frequently, and it's held up well thus far.  I made a pillow out of the white fabric.  I have a couple of  pieces left, so I could make a couple more pillows, or something else.

Freddy's Crate Pad

Well, Freddy only used the crate the first night he stayed here.  Ever since then, he's been sleeping in the orthopedic dog bed, or in one of the other dog beds we have upstairs.  Which is fine.  But, I'm still going to share the first steps in making the crate pad.

I went to Joann's and bought a twin sized pressure relieving mattress overlay-aka an "eggcrate" mattress.  The pointy foam looks like an egg carton.  My mother had one on her bed and loved it, and the orthopedic dog bed we have has one, only it's supported by a thick layer of foam beneath it.

Next, I measured the inside of the dog crate...minus the sleeping bag the previous owner used for a padded bottom.  The bottom is tapered somewhat, so it's a little smaller than the regular dimensions of the crate.  Then I cut the foam, and then measured the fabric to fit.      

 

I'm using a fleece remnant I found at Joann's.  I had it in my fabric stash.  I love to pile through the remnant racks whenever I go in there for whatever unusual fabric I find.  I don't know how much there was on the piece, but I think it was at least 3/4 of a yard.  That's where I've stopped.  All I have to do is sew up two sides and either put a zipper in, or put velcro/other type of fasteners on the remaining side.  I've been doing several shows so I've been crocheting and knitting up a storm.

Things Don't Always Go as Planned

Unfortunately, the exhibition at the Dryer House Gallery closed unexpectedly, because the Dryer House closed.  You can see the details in this article from the Democrat and Chronicle.  But, despite the disappointment, it was a good experience.  It was great to think of crochet and knit as art forms, not just as a craft, and how I could take my skills and take them further into the art world.  I plan to keep working on crochet and knit as art, and do a few artsy type crochet projects that I can use in other exhibitions.

But now, my craftiness has taken a temporary turn away from the knit and crochet.  It's all because of this guy:

His name is Freddy, and he's a 7 year old hunk of labby love.  We adopted him from his former owner who has some health problems and needed to find him a good home.  Our Vet's office recommended us to her and things went well during the two meetings we had.  He limps a little, and has a touch of arthritis, so we were happy that he took to the orthopedic dog bed we'd bought for our last lab.  He has a crate, and since he spent his first night there, I thought I'd make him an orthopedic crate pad to go inside.  I saw a couple in the pet store, and wasn't too thrilled with what they had at the price they wanted.  So, being a crafty person, I figured I could do it better myself.  Details, in the next post....


 

What I've Been Up To

I have vowed to turn this blog into something special. I haven't been able to update at all these past few months because things got a bit crazy.  One of our dogs became very ill and passed.  I joined a new church and have become active in the prayer shawl ministry.  Plus, I've picked up some craft shows over the summer and have become involved with a local artisan group:  Rochester Artisans.   It's a great group that has gotten me to think a lot about where crochet and knitting fit into the world of art and artistic expression.  I plan to post tutorials-hopefully by the end of next week.  But, it'll have photos instead of video.  I'm still having trouble getting the video right.  I don't know if it's me,  the program to edit the video with, how I'm getting it off the camera, or if the file format from the camera into the folders isn't right.  But, I have to take time to play with it. 
 

  I currently am participating in an exhibition at The Dryer House Gallery in Victor, NY that was coordinated by the Rochester Artisans group leader.  The theme is "Blue"-everything in the exhibition is the color blue.  I have a shawl:
 
When I  saw the yarn at the store it just screamed waterfall.  It looked and felt so cool on a day it was very hot.
There's also a set of motifs that I framed.  I got the idea from Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  They had a room in a recent issue that had a framed doily. I thought three motifs would look nice as well as one doily.
 
Next, there were three snowflakes done in blue thread called "Winter Blues" because if you live in Western NY, you know how long the winters can seem.
There's also a ribbon yarn scarf I knit up and turned out to be a big hit.

 
 Anyway, there's more to come, so thanks for your patience!  I'm currently getting my Fall show schedule together, so that will be updated this week as well. 

Thing-A-Day

 During the month of February, I participated in a blog called Thing-a-day.  It's a collective blog where participants pledge to create something, every day during the month of February and post it to the group.  I figured it would get me motivated to crochet and knit items to add to my craft show inventory and open the  online store I've been planning.  Yeah, right. Just like my efforts at Nanowrimo, I got sidetracked.

 The first several days went as planned.  I've seen a lot of sewn clothing for 18 inch dolls, but no crocheted or knit accessories.  So, I made a hat and a couple of scarves with some yarn I had left over from other projects. This yarn was left from a kids hat and scarf set I made recently. 

 This little purse started as a hat for this snowman.

He was supposed to be a cute amigurimi, but I think it looks more creepy than cute.  I couldn't get the top to flare out right like a top hat, so I put handles on it and it's now a beach bag for Barbie.  Of course, I had to make an obligatory dish cloth.

 And I spent two days making scarves from ribbon yarn-Lion Brand Incredible I found at a charity craft store.  I did a shorter, ascot like scarf, and a longer, more traditional fashion length scarf. 

 

Next, came the baby bib and face cloth.

 

   I took one day off because I just couldn't think of anything to do, and I needed a break.  Then, I looked through a pile of papers and saw that I needed to get my income taxes done before March 1 do meet the deadline for local property tax paperwork.  It took a while to get my receipts together and get everything organized.  So, I got this pillow finished during the time I wasn't organizing and sorting.  I wanted to have it finished in time for the Vanna's Choice contest, but I didn't get it done in time.   

Early in January, I found red, white and green Red Heart Super Saver in my yarn stash, so I planned to make a Christmas afghan to take to the Fall shows.  I did one square in January, and took around 3 days or so to do this square.  It's a cable pattern I found on Vogue Knitting website.  With only 2 squares done,  I have a long ways to go before I get this afghan done.  Hopefully it'll be done by this Christmas, although to do that, I may need to add some crochet squares.  I'm not the fastest knitter in the world.

 
 I also felt the need this month to replenish my baby blanket stash, since I sold them all during my shows last Fall.  This one took a week to make with Bernat Softee Baby.  I used to really like this yarn, but this batch wasn't that great.  It looked rather fuzzy once it was done, almost like it had been laundered.  Maybe it's just me, though.



 
The last week of February turned out to be busier than usual.  My brother was bitten by one of his dogs several years ago and had ended up in a local hospital for a week on intravenous antibiotics.  The hospital not only gave him antibiotics, but sent him home with a drug resistant bacteria.  Well, it flared up this past month with a couple of abscesses under his armpit.  Add a nasty reaction to a drug complete with tongue swelling and the inability to eat much, I had less time to craft than usual. Which lead to the two day burp pad.  I grabbed a ball of blue Peaches and Cream cotton and went to town.

The last couple of days I wasn't feeling that great. The weather changed rapidly and we had a snow storm, which meant worse migraines.  But, I  managed to cut up a plastic bag  to start a ball of "plarn", that I want to use for something.  Maybe a tote bag, or a liner for a grocery bag. The bag was already ripped, so it didn't take long to cut it apart.  I have a lot of bags in my garage, so I'll be making a lot more of this.


 
The last day of February, figured I wouldn't have time to do too much, so I got together all the bandannas my dogs have gotten from the Groomer over the past three years they've been living here along with the ones I made for their Christmas photos.  I plan to sew them together to make a throw.   I ironed them all-they'd been washed previously, and now they're sitting on top of a stack of storage drawers to be sorted by size and paired off.   I guess that's not bad for a month's work.  Considering there were other people who didn't create something every day, I did pretty well in comparison.  Maybe next year I'll have better luck.

Craft Shows and Migraine Disease

The last few years, I've done one, possibly two craft fairs/church bazaars every Fall.  My late mother got me into it.  She wanted to sell some of the things she had made, and she never thought she had enough for a full table.  So, I'd split the table rent, and go sit with her for the day.  We'd bring a cooler with water and snacks, and my brother would bring us lunch if we didn't get what the venue was serving.  Of course, she usually had more than enough to cover a full table, but I managed to squeeze a few things of mine.  If I got a migraine, or if I started to feel more off balanced or nauseated,  I could go home.  I did that a couple of times.

Things changed once my mother died.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep doing shows, but I figured I could still do one or two without doing much harm to myself.  The first one without her was hard, but I knew she'd want me to be there.  But, things changed. I didn't have an out anymore.  I had to stay unless things got to the brink of non-functionality-like throw-up-in-a-garbage -bag bad or getting-the-warning-that-I'll-need-to-lie-down-and-watch-the-room-spin bad.  My brother would come and man my table if I really needed him to, but more than likely at that point he'd be driving me home.  So, I had to be prepared to counteract the potential triggers I'd face before and during each show.

 The environment of most shows is not friendly to migraineurs or people with vestibular disorders.  The environment is rich in migraine and vertigo triggers.  Shows are held in classrooms, gymnasiums or church halls or meeting rooms with tiled floors-large rooms without much to visually focus on if the room starts spinning.  Loud noise from the combination of the crowd, vendors, loud background music, squeaky PA systems used to announce raffle winners; florescent lights that flicker, as well as strong odors from cooking food and other vendor displays like scented candles come to mind.  

 Then there are the other, personal migraine triggers that follow me everywhere.  Sometimes I'd get excited and anxious the night before and not sleep well.  Lack of sleep or sleep disruptions are a big trigger for me.  I also try to maintain a regular daily schedule.  I have to eat at certain intervals since my migraines can be triggered by skipping meals or delayed meals.  Because of the CFIDS, I also have to rest at certain intervals in order to keep the fatigue, dizzies and migraines at bay.  At a show, I can't do that, obviously.  Then there's the motion of people walking back and forth in front of the table, which can be a vertigo trigger. 

I focused first on the personal triggers.  I made sure I rested for a couple of days prior to the show.  This doesn't mean I stay in bed all day.  I try to be sure my errands-like banking and going to the grocery store are kept to a minimum.  I get to bed early, and make sure I have everything loaded in the car the evening before I set up.  I also still take a cooler with me.  I make sure I have plenty of bottled water, milk, and this year I tried mozzarella sticks.  The protein lasts longer for me, and gives me a little perk up when I start dragging.  This way I can eat smaller portions during the day to maintain my energy.  This year I took an emergency kit with me.  I had my sunglasses to fight glare and light flickering, ear plugs for the noise, tissues-because I get a lot of nasal congestion, nasal spray, analgesic, as well as an Epi-pen-I have a ton of food  and other allergies and I don't leave home without it.  I brought a couple of different projects that didn't require any thought so I'd have something I could focus on.  I also learned acupressure points from my Chiropractor that work for migraine.

There's really not much I could do about the environmental triggers, besides the glasses, and earplugs. Once I got my table set up, I'd look for an area/fixed, not visually cluttered or busy spot that I could look at if I started to feel more spinny.  My brother came to relieve me, and I used the show helpers a couple of times to come watch my table if I needed a break.  My strategy helped.  Although I did get a couple of migraines, they didn't get to be real headbangers...at least until after I got home.  I still was totally exhausted for a few days afterward, but I survived.  Last year I did five shows in all, which was a record, and I'm amazed I survived them!  I tried not to do shows consecutive weeks, but if I did, I tried to do no more than two shows in a row.
I don't know if I'll be able to do five shows this year, but at least I have a plan.     

Lessons Learned

Every time I work on a project, I learn something.  It doesn't matter if the project is something I've done frequently, like a scarf, or a new pattern I've never done before.  I always get something out if it.  Unfortunately, sometimes I've learned the hard way.  I finally finished a granny square afghan I call the "Mirror Image Afghan" because the colors are reversed on certain rows.  I had a lot of ends to work in, so I did them rather hurriedly, since I wanted to take it to a couple of craft shows.  I cut some of the ends short, but I didn't think anything of it...until I washed it.  It's a good thing I looked it over, because, yep, you guessed it, I had one square become unraveled, and some of the other ends worked their way out. 


The first row of the square was affected, so I can't just fix it the way it is.  When I have some time over the winter, I'll be taking it apart and replace the square. Two lessons learned.  First, work your ends in as you go, it's a lot easier than waiting until after you have the thing put together.  Secondly, don't leave the ends so short that your item will fall apart when laundered.  Grrr.

A New Look!

I decided to change the look of this blog to make it look a little more crafty.  The colors remind me of Fall, which starts a couple of days from now.  This time of year, my crafting thoughts turn to warmer items, like hats and scarves.  I whipped these up last week from Premier Yarns Serenity Chunky Weight.  It's a nice, thick acrylic yarn that should keep the wearer nice and warm this winter. 

 
Craft show season is rapidly approaching- my first one is less than a month away.  You can see a schedule at the right.  Stop out and say hello if you're able.  If you make a purchase and mention that you saw the schedule on my blog, I'll give you a 10% discount on your purchase. 

 

Of course I've kept busy over the Spring and Summer.  I finished the baby blanket that I mentioned in my last post.  The Softee Baby by Bernat worked up quite nicely, and didn't fray or split.  I did a similar one in a basic shell stitch using Caron Simply Soft.  I like small, lacy things to make when it's hot out. 

 A yarn I fell in love with this year is Patons Bamboo Baby.  It's 100% Bamboo, and it feels so soft and squishy.  It's a medium weight, and feels a lot warmer than it looks.  It also drapes very well.  I made a shawl for a raffle in an online group I'm in, and I felt like keeping it for myself!  I used a stitch pattern from the July, 2010 issue of Crochet! magazine. 

Here's a close up of the stitch pattern. Absolutely lovely. 

Bad Winter

It's been a long, long winter. No, the weather wasn't all that bad, but the frequent weather changes have been triggering more migraines, and bad spins. Plus, I've been busy taking classes, and doing homework! Our area is very lucky to have some great local yarn stores. I have had to leave early from one class session because I was getting a real whopper of a migraine, but so far I haven't had to miss any. Although now that I've said something, I may have cursed myself.
Anyway, I signed up for a new sock class, a finishing class, a continental knitting class, and a baby blanket class. It's been nice to get out, meet people, and spend some time just knitting.
I actually finished my first sock! It's the Simple Sock from Cat Bordhi's book Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. Using the two needles worked better for me than using one long needle, aka the "Magic Loop" method. The cuff on the Magic Loop method was warped, whereas the cuff on this one is much better. I also didn't stick a hole in my finger from the sharp point on the needle like I did last time I tried sock knitting. I really enjoyed it and will be casting on the second one any day now. Really, I will. No Second Sock Syndrome for me. It won't be like my promise to blog more than once a quarter. I'll actually do this.

This is one of the blocks from the baby blanket class. It's a block-a-month class at a different yarn store than the one I took the other classes. This one meets for a couple more months yet. We've also done a garter stitch block, as well as a basket weave stitch block, and a twisted stockinette block. I'll post more photos soon. I'm using Berroco Comfort yarn, and it's nice and soft.


After all the knitting I've been doing, I felt the strong pull of crochet. I'm almost done with this baby blanket using Bernat Softee Baby in the Baby Baby color. It's the same stitch pattern I used for the Shell Baby Blanket on my Ravelry page. I've been doing some fast crochet projects, and experimenting with Tunisian Crochet, which I'll blog more about this week.(I really will)

I Should Be Careful What I Say

..because I end up making a lot more work for myself. At the beginning of December, my brother went to a craft show at a local church and saw a fleece blanket that had dogs wearing Santa hats. One of the dogs looked like one of our dogs, Chloe

.
He called me and wanted me to look at it, because he liked it, but he wasn't sure. So, I went and looked at it. It was cute, but I thought I could do better. So, I called him back and said. "You know, I can go to Joann's and probably get the same fabric, line it, for less" There was silence for a moment, and then he said "Would you?" in this quiet "I feel funny about asking but I will" voice. Of course, I couldn't say no. So, I went to Joann's and was getting pretty nervous when I couldn't find the material in the fleece section. I went to the middle of the fabric department and found the material in with the Christmas fabric and some red fleece to match to use for a backing. I wasn't sure how much I would need, so I bought a couple of yards. Considering my limited sewing skills-I still have a problem sewing straight seams, I don't think it turned out too badly.

There was a decent amount of both fabrics left, so I mentioned "There may be enough for a couple of pillows." My brother said "Great" So, I went back to Joann's on the Saturday before Christmas and picked up a couple of pillow forms. I had a couple in the closet, but I wanted to make one pillow a little larger than what I had. I finished them Christmas Eve. I need more practice making pillows. I had a hard time sewing up the final side, trying to make the seam invisible.

So, I spent the days after Christmas looking for more of the same fabric so I could match what I had left. I searched all the Joann stores in the area, but they were wiped out. I did fine the same fabric, not fleece, but woven, with the same dogs. Only they don't have Santa hats on. Of course I told my brother and then said I got enough for a couple of pillows. What did my brother say? He said "Great, then we can have them out all year long." I was ready for this one, though. I got another pillow form at the same time I got the fabric. I need to get some brown fabric or another color to use for a backing. It'll be a nice project to work on now that it's so cold. Plus, there's the knitting and crochet projects I have on the front and back burner.

A Quick Announcement

All comments are now on moderation since a Spammer left the comment on the last posting which has since been deleted. This is a spam-free blog...although Spam is rather tasty warmed up with some melted cheese over it. I haven't eaten this in years, but it'd probably give me a migraine now anyway.

Well, So Much For the More Frequent Blogging,

LOL! We've been having unusually nice weather so I've been taking advantage of it. I've been spending more time outside with the dogs. Unfortunately there's been a lot of rapid changes in the weather so I've been dealing with the migraine beast as well.

But, I've actually been finishing projects, and making progress on others!
I'm putting together a baby blanket I'm now calling the Mirror Image Baby Blanket. I made granny squares reversing the colors and was going to put them together like this.

But, once I had it laid out on the bed, it struck me as being a little busy. So, I asked my brother his opinion-he actually has good taste. He suggested that I put the colors so that the lighter edge rows contrast with the darker edged squares. I liked it!

The only problem, and it really isn't a problem, is that the last row will be a darker edge row and the first row is a light edged row. I could probably do another 10 squares of the blue centers and white outside. But, I am going to edge the whole blanket in white so it might not make a difference. I'll see. If I make the squares and don't use them in the afghan, I can always make a scarf or something else out of them. I have a lot of yarn left. I used Red Heart Eco-ways yarn for this blanket. It worked up quite nicely and has a nice sheen to it.

This baby blanket worked up fairly quickly with a shell pattern I found in the 365 Crochet Stitches a Year Perpetual calendar. It's a great design tool I'm really enjoying.

This is a close up of the pattern. I used some Caron Simply Soft I had in my stash. I had a craft show a couple of weeks ago at a local church and I wanted to get another baby blanket done.
I'm happy it sold. This year I was very pleased with how I did at the show. I have a few other things I finished, but I'm having problems uploading photos right now. I'll blog more about those in an upcoming post.

Happy Blogoversary!!

Happy Blogoversary!! I can't believe another year has passed in my crafting life. It seems like only yesterday that the Dizzy Crafter was born. Crochet and knitting have been invaluable in to coping with the daily challenges and rapid life changes living with the invisible illnesses of chronic migraine, vertigo, dizziness and CFIDS bring. Being able to create something in either craft helps me concentrate and to focus which can be very difficult with the brain fog. It's also a great sense of still being able to create something that looks lovely and is functional when many days/times, doing basic functions can be difficult. Crochet and knitting provide a link to the outside world, the ability to expand my knowledge and my worldview, and a sense of community.

In the days to come, I plan to blog more often, and hopefully post some patterns, both for free and for sale both here and on Ravelry, and open an Etsy store. I want to give a whole new meaning to the term "get dizzy."

Cruel Summer

Long time, no post. It was a bad summer, with more migraines and worse vertigo due to our crappy weather and many days of overdoing it. Our little dog who was very ill, died. Her kidneys shut down, and despite our Vet's best efforts, she didn't make it. There was a lot of running around and small projects. I just didn't have the energy to do anything complicated, like my sweater or the lacy baby blanket I was working on. But, I have a lot to talk about, and plan to post more this coming week.

Going Crazy!

It's been a crazy month. Our weather has been ever changing, so the migraine and dizzy beasts have been attacking. Plus, I've been trying to catch up on outside work in between rain drops...and nursing a sick dog. Because of all this, I've been concentrating on small projects or projects with pieces I can finish quickly. Like a dish cloth kitchen/bar set, granny squares for a baby blanket and a CAL on Ravelry, and a scarf. Then there's the sweater from the "My First Sweater" class I took at a local yarn store.

This is one quarter of the Four Quarters pullover from the Simple Style book by Ann Budd. Great book, lots of patterns I want to make. I just have to get my butt in gear and get back to it. I have the first quarter done, and most of the second quarter. I guess that means I'm at the 2-minute warning and close to half time. Boy, thinking about football already, geesh!

I started a scarf in garter stitch, thinking it would be a quick project. I also wanted to see what knitting through the back loop only would look like. In my class, I was told that my stitches were twisted. I looked rather stupid and didn't quite know what the instructor meant. I think it's because she uses a different knitting technique than mine. I don't think my stitches are twisted. I may be twisted a little, but not my stitches. Anyway, I didn't realize how much more slowly I knitted using the back loop. I did a section in regular garter stitch, but didn't like the look. I found a crochet pattern that might look good with the yarn. It's Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand in the color Brick. Thankfully it's stood up to repeated frogging without much damage.


These are two of the three July squares for the Ravelry CAL. I wasn't crazy about the other square-I couldn't get it to come out correctly and I didn't want to spend any more time on it.

I was inspired by a design on some of my favorite towels, as well as this pattern from the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year perpetual calendar. This is the Squares Pattern, and it's pretty easy to do. Right now I have one dish cloth and 4 coasters from one ball of Sugar 'n Cream, and I'm hoping to squeeze at least another cloth from it. I plan to do just one repeat of the square pattern so the set isn't too visually busy. If I can find a ball from the same dye lot, I want to do a towel to match. It should make a great gift.

I haven't done regular granny squares in so long I've almost forgotten how! I had some Red Heart Eco-ways in my stash, and thought the green and soft white would be a nice blanket. I picked up some blue and pink, thinking I'd do all grannies, but am considering doing a row of squares at each end, and some simple stitching in the middle with the green and white yarn. Problem is, I'm not sure I'll have enough of the same dye lot of both yarns to do that. I could always add the pink and blue squares, and stripes to the blanket, too. We'll see.