I have discovered a new (to me) form of knitting that I really like. Log cabin - it's like a patchwork log cabin pattern, only knitted. It looks to be a simple way to add colours to a dishcloth and it allows me to use up little bits of cotton and bamboo that by themselves would not make a full cloth. However, you can also make rugs/afghans using this pattern in the same way you build a rug using crocheted granny squares. I'd like a knitting bag made of log cabins too.
This is my first log cabin dish cloth. It's a bit messy and I crocheted the edge, but I think it has a certain rustic charm. I'll certainly be knitting more lob cabins and may be joining some to together to make a larger project. Here is the Purl Bee's tutorial for log cabin knotting. The always incredible Mason Dixon women, Kay and Ann, wrote about it in one of their books and also here on their blog, where they show a beautiful knee rug (scroll down to the bottom of the page). Here is a good You Tube tutorial about how to join your colours when knitting this pattern. And here is a whole neighbourhood of log cabins - they're really beautiful.
My other knitting at the moment is a sky blue bamboo singlet\vest for Alexander using this pattern from The Thrifty Knitter. It's so soft and cuddly and beautiful to knit with. I'll be taking it with me today when I conduct my first Crafternoon at the neighbourhood centre. I hope hundreds of crafters holding great baskets full of sewing, knitting, crochet, patchwork and all sorts of different crafts turn up, but if they don't, I'll be happy with a handful of eager ladies or gents.
This is a new addition to my stash - a collection of naturally dyed organic cotton from Eco Yarns.
Craft is such a wonderful way to bring people together. It can be a bridge between older and younger women who want to learn various needle crafts, it is the vehicle that transports the household crafts our great grandmas used to decorate their homes and clothe their families to us to use in a modern way, and it brings people together to teach and learn in a way few other activities can. I am looking forward to today - we start at 12.30pm, just after the shared lunch, and go till 2.30pm. Everyone is welcome to join us.
