Cinderella’s Spa Cloth

On Your Mark, Get Set, Knit!

Posted on by alexand knits

Get ready for a doozy of a sock post tomorrow–lots to tell on that front! Otherwise, I’ve been working on my third spa cloth test knit for Carol at knit equals joy. Here’s a teaser pic:

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This one doesn’t have a name yet. It’s cast off now, but needs a bit of blocking before I can get better pics. I love pretty much anything that includes knitted mesh lace! So easy and it looks awesome. What’s not to love? Also, in case you missed it, Carol has published The Queen’s Spa Cloth and Cinderella’s Spa Cloth. They’re both on sale for a significant discount (and they are very reasonably priced to begin with) so check them out if you are interested!

I’ve been itching to cast on for something big–a giant shawl, perhaps? But I don’t know when I’m going to get to it. I have sweater pieces to block and sew together (for a friend at my LYS) and a couple of other projects that need wrapping up. Also, I’m contemplating participating in the 2016 Ravellenic Games. For that, the idea is to knit along while the Olympics are happening. For projects to qualify for prizes, they need to be started and finshed during the 2016 Summer Olympics, so August 8 through August 21. I’m trying to think of projects that are on the small to medium size so that I could conceivably get them done in that window.

One of the projects I’m considering is this Mesh Lace Slouchy Hat by Jaime Sande, free on ravelry. I’ve posted about this one before, so I won’t go into a ton of detail. I have a skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca that should be perfect for it.

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Another is this Neon Ski Bonnet by Lacey Volk. This one’s also a free ravelry download.

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I matched this pattern a while back with a skein of Cascade 220 in a rather fantastic shade of coral.

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If I don’t run out of Cascade Ultra Pima Fine from testing spa cloths, I will whip out a Castle Beach Spa Cloth, also by Carol.

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Also, there’s one more cloth to test, so I could do that too! I’m sure I can find something appropriate in my stash for one of them. Maybe I’ll do the Castle cloth in stripes so I can use up the last of the purple and blue.

Nothing else that’s currently in my queue is in the small to medium range (except a pair of Purl Soho legwarmers that I’m not sure I’m going to make), but those are likely to keep me busy for a while. If I knock all of those out, then maybe I’ll finally make that pair of Metolius River Mitts I’ve been promising myself for months now!

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Are you joining in the friendly knitting competition? What projects are you planning on doing? Anyone crazy enough to be doing a sweater or another large project?

All pattern photos are from the ravelry pattern pages. Copyrights are to each designer.

 

FO Spotlight: Cinderella’s Spa Cloth

Posted on by alexand knits

I jut finished up* my second spa cloth test knit for Carol at knit equals joy! Rumor has it she will be releasing them as an e-book, so stay tuned!

The rundown

Pattern: Cinderella’s Spa Cloth (not yet published) by Carol E. Herman. This pattern will be part of her spa cloth series. The two published patterns in the series are Fairy Godmother’s Spa Cloth and Castle Beach Spa Cloth. I also tested Queen’s Spa Cloth.

Yarn: 65 yards of Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima Fine, same as for the Queen’s Cloth. This one used just shy of a half of a skein, so you could probably squeeze two in for optimum yarn usage! Also, this pattern is very flexible–you could just knit the second one until you had just enough yarn to cast off.

Size made: Per pattern. You can do more or fewer rows to customize the size.

Needles: US4s.

Techniques used: Nothing crazy. I used longtail cast on and standard bind off.

Modifications: None.

Difficulty: Easy. This could be a great first or second project for a new knitter.

Ravelled: here.

The Pretty

First off, I need to share my starting pic. For whatever reason, I just love it!

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I estimated the yarn length for my longtail cast on just right, on the first try! It’s the small joys in life, right? I think the other reason I love this pic is that you can see a hint of my lovely yarn bowl. I don’t use it all that often because I usually work from center pull cakes, but it came in handy for this project.

Okay, enough teasing. Here are the finished pics!

A lot of my comments on the Queen’s Cloth apply to this one, as well. It’s basically the same design, just without the loopy scalloped border. It’s a quick and easy knit that produces a polished, lovely cloth. What more can I say?

I can say at least one more thing: even for a simple project like this, Carol’s pattern is lovely. Everything is clearly and concisely written, and her attention to detail shows. This is the kind of pattern that takes knitting from “home made” to “hand made”.

Happy knitting!

*Full disclosure: It’s not actually technically finished yet. I didn’t weave in the ends! I was in a hurry to get pictures earlier, so I cut corners, so to speak. I’m going to do it at my knitting group tonight 🙂