Friday 23 December 2011

All the Breaks you Need*

So, I hope everyone has finished their Christmas crafting, or is at least pretty close ;)

I finished knitting the dishcloths I decided at the last minute to make for my granddad. I have no idea if he'll like them, it could go either way *laughs*

To make them more personal, I made them specifically for him to use in his workshop, with 3 different patterns to use different textures - hopefully making them suitable for different types of workshop job.

I shan't bore you with lots of badly lit pictures of the cloths, but I am quite pleased with how they look all bundled up together:



The tag reads "A trio of handcrafted specialist workshop cloths", and each cloth has its own label describing the reason for choosing a particular pattern/texture. I think it is a lovely, personal gift, so I really hope it is received that way!

The one I was particularly pleased with, was the basketweave cloth. I've never done basketweave stitch before, and I think it looks really quite smart:


Knitting with cotton is still not something I am keen on. Although this type is a lot nicer than 4 ply mercerized cotton, it's still not fabulously comfortable. And I was quite distressed to discover that I found it really hard to keep an even tension. I've always been quite proud of the fact that my knitting comes out nice and even, but this took a lot of work to even come close.

Well, chances are this will be my last post until after Christmas, so Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and have a wonderful holiday of your choosing to those who don't *smiles*



*"All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination, Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth." Napoleon Hill

28 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas! The wash cloths look great :-)
    All of my gifts are hand-crafted, and I have no idea if they'll be liked!
    I hope you have a wonderful day Sunday :-)

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  2. Wow, what a lovely and thoughtful gift! I'm sure it will be appreciated hugely as it's so personal to the recipient. And I love the tags too!

    Merry Christmas!

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  3. I love the basket weave as a dishcloth. The texture is not only appealing to the eye but should also clean better too. I know what you mean about cotton...I am having issues knitting with it too.

    Merry Christmas! Thank you for sharing your fiber arts adventures each week.

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  4. Fabulous gift, I think anyone would find them highly useful! Cotton isn't fun, is it? I want to try some cotton blends for summer clothing so, so we'll see.... Merry Christmas :)

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  5. Very nice...yes I love the way basketweave looks...I've only done it in crochet...and crocheting with cotton kinda sucks too...Happy Holidays!

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  6. I love basket weave, I just finished a project using the basket weave pattern. Hope you have a merry Christmas.

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  7. Your grandfather will love them I'm sure.
    Merry Christmas!

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  8. It's an attractive little package you've put together, and very thoughtful! Your Grandfather sounds like he is creative too, I'm sure he will love them and find them very useful as well.
    Best wishes!

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  9. Merry Christmas!

    Love the basketweave cloth and how you packaged them all together :)

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  10. Basket weave was the first pattern my mom taught me how to knit once I got knitting and purling down. I remember that's when I realized that was binary and it's all just a combo of knits and purls really.

    Dishcloths are such a good idea for small gifts but I too hate the feel of cotton. It's too slick and I don't want to touch it my tension comes out all wrong. I also hate the feel of corduroy.

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  11. I bet your Granddad will love the cloths.

    Merry Christmas!

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  12. Natalie--What thoughtful presents for your Gpa!! I'll bet he is just tickled pink to receive them!! (Useful gifts always win...hands down!!)
    Merry Christmas to you and a happy 2012!!

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  13. Those are very nice cloths. The basketweave is one of my favorites...great texture in any direction while washing. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  14. They look lovely! Did blocking them help to make them look even? Well done!

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  15. They look great! I'm sure they'll be well received :) Have a Merry Christmas!

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  16. Handcrafted gifts always run the risk of not being appreciated. But I think they will be well recieved! They look lovely to me!

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  17. I managed to do the crafting I could, but I have got christmas finally done! I hope you have a good christmas!

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  18. You can never have enough wash cloths. Love the basket weave pattern :) Merry Christmas!!

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  19. What a sweet gift! I hope your grandad loves them :)
    I haven't tried basketweave either..it looks pretty!

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  20. ahhh I hope he likes them.
    The basket weave pattern looks fab. WEll done.

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  21. What a great gift, and the personalization and labeling adds a wonderful touch. I hope your granddad gets a lot of use from his cloths. Merry Christmas!

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  22. I'm sure your Grandad will love them. I love the basket weave too.

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  23. I love the basketweave pattern.

    I also don't like knitting with cotton :)

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  24. I like the way they look all bundled up, too! Love the little tag and that basket weave pattern. Have a wonderful Christmas!

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  25. Merry Christmas! Very nice cloths. I too find it extremely difficult to knit with cotton, it hurts my wrists and tension is difficult to maintain evenly. I'm sure he'll love them!

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  26. Hey, Merry Christmas to you, gorgeous!

    So, did he like them? I hope so!

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  27. I have yet to find a cotton that I like. I keep hoping that one day I will. Hope he liked them.

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  28. I hope you had a great Christmas and all your knitted gifts were well received! The cloths looks great wrapped up like that, and the basket weave pattern is lovely

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