Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Something for home

Every time lately that I've had a few minutes (or hours) to sit and spend as I'd like, I've been knitting. Lots of knitting, not so much on the photography, blogging, etc. So, somewhat to my chagrin, I'm posting an entry I wrote a while ago (for such an eventuality), just so I don't go an entire month without posting.

How can you tell you're in a knitter's house (besides the obvious, like the swift and ball winder that seem permanently installed on the dining room table)? By the presence of knitted things - socks, sweaters, blankets, dish cloths, tea cozies, cushions, etc. (I have yet to meet a knitter who doesn't keep at least some of their handiwork).

In an effort to improve my fiberly street cred (because, you know, having a blog and knitting at work leave that in doubt), try a new technique, use up some scraps, and protect my furniture, I made coasters.


They're actually crocheted (which isn't the new technique) rather than knitted. I used the scraps from the Baby Bright afghan and what is very nearly the world's simplest crochet pattern (ravlink). My new technique? Felting. I started by hand felting them in the sink, where I got some of them to fuzz up before giving up and deciding that they were going in the washer. Now, for reasons having to do with my unwillingness to part with my laundry quarters and my sense that a load consisting of four coasters is wasteful, I threw them in the wash with some regular laundry (not in hot water). As you can see, they're hardly felted at all.

Coasters before felting

Coasters after felting

But that's okay - they still save my furniture from water rings!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember seeing these on your Rav page or something. I'm glad you posted about them though, because I too attempted to felt a little crocheted bowl I made to hold my rings while I do dishes. I used the Patons SWS and a smaller crochet hook, perhaps an F, and it turned out pretty cute, but really didn't felt worth a darn. Oh well, it still works. Your coasters are adorable!

Unknown said...

I admire your bicraftiness. But there's no purple in the coasters, so I'm not entirely convinced that they're yours.

Jennifer said...

I love them! What a great idea for using up leftover yarn! I am going to share this with my mom, who love to crochet.