Domestic

I've gone off the stocking reservation for a bit to create something totally useful and domestic...dishtowels!



These towels were made each from one skein of Manos Cotton Stria - so beautfully soft and crinkly and hand-dyed. The cast-on was 46 and the needles, #6. As you can see, after a few rows of garter stitch, I used an eyelet edging - K2tog, YO across - and there was a reason for this madness... I used the resulting holes for some handy ribbon and button hangers (removable when washing the cloths)!



I love to re-use the satin ribbons that come on boxes of chocolates. Something homey and domestic is a perfect foil for informal printed ribbon...and the buttons are from my sister's old plaid wool suit jacket; I found them in the sewing basket...



I've also gotten my box from kpixie.com and discovered the Best crochet cotton in the whole world! I thought I loved Perle Cotton #5, but that was mere flirtation compared to how giddy with inspiration this silky thread makes me. It's smooth, shiney, has lots of yardage, and is just the right thickness for my favorite hook size: C.



I have all these colours for a secret surprise little project that I hope will come to fruition in March. Did you know that March was National Crochet Month? or, NACROMO as we fondly like to call it...



Our winter storms have made me more domestic lately, keeping me confined to the indoors and imbibing frequent quantities of either hot chocolate with butterscotch schnaps or mulled cider with whiskey liqueur. I'm sure this improves my fiber arts because random is creative, yes?

The boyfriend and I, in a quest to watch at least one movie that had gotten some Oscar nominations, chose La Vie En Rose last night. This biography of Edith Piaf was quite good and of course the music was stellar, but viewing the raw horror of a life as unlucky as it was desititute was like walking into the hot kiss of a swift fist just for fun. I was kind of drained and upset afterwards and had to retreat to the comfort of my books and art. That doesn't sound like a recommendation does it? But it is. I do recommend it. For one thing, it shows that if you have a gift, that gift will rise to the surface like a bulb planted underground, no matter what. For another, the vintage fashion is fabulous. And for a third, Edith Piaf was a knitter - so obsessed a knitter that when her hands became arthritic, she became addicted to morphine so she could keep knitting! That's hardcore knitting. At the end, a reporter asks her, "Who are you knitting for?" She answers, "Whoever will wear it." Oh, yes. I understand.

Domestic Dishtowels
by UnravelingSophia http://unravelingsophia.blogspot.com

Materials:
straight needles size 6
i skein per towel Manos Cotton Stria (worsted weight)
bit of ribbon
button

CO 46 stitches
work 4 rows in garter stitch
K2tog, YO, across; ending with K1
work 4 rows garter stitch

Row 1: K5, P across to last 5 st, K5
Row 2: K across

Repeat these two rows until yarn is almost used up (you can calculate the amount of yarn you'll need to finish the the remaining 10 rows of the towel by measuring out 3 times the length of the row 10 times).

work 4 rows in garter stitch
K2tog, YO, across; ending with K1
work 4 rows garter stitch
BO

Cut and tack ends of 5" length of wide ribbon, attaching a small button to the bottom edge. Slip an eyelet of the towel over the button like a buttonhole, and hang the towel by its ribbon. Enjoy drying your dishes by hand!

C 2008 UnravelingSophia all rights reserved
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