Projects
A Linen Hand Towel Color Party
I have a whole new category of knitting in my life now, and I have you to thank.
The category: things to knit while talking on the phone with Ann (and Others). It’s been a long time coming, and there were times that I nearly gave up, but I finally have a job that lets me knit during meetings.
The fruit of my most recent Meeting Knitting is a Chevron Stripes Hand Towel using one set of Euroflax Mini Skeins, colorway: Sea. For this towel, I cut the recipe in half. The full-size Chevron Stripes Hand Towel, while still looking like new in my bathroom, is really a lot of towel; it’s so long that the towel puddles on the counter, like French draperies.
This size—13 repeats plus half a repeat—is perfection. I just played with the colors, trying to get some contrast going. I actually think the dark part looks the most like the real sea. I had about one mini-skein left over, in bits of each of the colors.
It fits right in with your vintage prissy towels here in Nashville, a collection that includes some stitch-dictionary-wing-it hand towels that you made with Euroflax in 2006. (2006 was peak hand-towel love for us, as I recall.)
Linen: no kidding, it just keeps going, and never shows its age. Respect. Cat-tested, Kermit-approved.
I love you guys
I love you guys too!!! The new site is gorgeous!!!
Any more patterns for those minis? I like 2 of the colorways, never have worked with Euroflax, and already thought of and rejected the wavy towel and the Monteagle bag (OK, I’m difficult). Is there a face cloth thingy, or something? I like the idea of using each of the colors in a solid project. Those pinks and blue/greens are so inviting!
Baktus scarf! I’ll write about the one I made using two sets of mini skeins. Really fun.
Diane, you have inspired me: Buy two identical color batches, use one for the wavy-stripey handtowel, then each of the mini-skeins in the other (plus the scraps from the first – waste not, want not!) become individual solid-colored washcloths. Coordinating bath sets!!!
Honeybee33, you do some good thinking early in the day!
Love this new format and your blog is helping to distract me from the impending storm.
Good luck, Glynis. I hope it all passes you by without trouble.
In an effort to improve my knitting skills (being self-taught does have its limitations), I am working on small projects like socks and mittens. And this looks like another lovely small project to add to my list. Love the new site, I still have so much to explore on it and that is a good thing!
I’m mostly self taught, too! The internet has so much to offer in terms of tutorials and how tos. Kind of incredible, really.
I’m mostly self taught, as well, but in the days before the Internet (never underestimate the value of a good “learn to knit” pamphlet). I agree, Ann, that the Internet has so much to offer. I feel so blessed to be part of it all. It is, indeed, kind if incredible.
Maybe Kay you need some of the Yarn Harlot’s good karma? Rhinebeck sweater coming along swimmingly
Congrats on the new website – it’s really welcoming and comfy in here! I was going to say that really Rhinebeck is the only place for the big flower jacket, but then I remembered NY! (always comes with a !) – the home of statement outerwear. I look forward to photos of your sartorial splendor in your native environment.
In NYC no one will bat an eye!
Oh yes! You will be recognized on the streets of New York City because that jacket will definitely identify you with a capital”D”. Be orepared to be stoppd by adoring fans who want you to pose for a selfie with them. 🙂
You two are having Big Fun Now! Huzzah!
Already ordered me a batch of mini skeins. Looking forward to coming up with a design. Linen Luv 4-ever
Can’t wait to see what you come up with, Mary Lou. (Also counting on you weaving in a few ends on my Kaffe jacket at Rhinebeck.)
Nice new site! And nice to have the “reply” option-missed you this week!!
The new site is just fab!! I’m really enjoying it. And it is time to update my linen hand towels, which still look like new. Thanks for the size suggestion.
If it is Kermit-approved, it is not a hand towel. Instead, it is a Thing to Lay Upon — the human equivalent might be a yoga mat or a hammock. And, quit trying to stuff that Big Floral Slipcover Thing into the flux capacitor of your DeLorean. (Also, be glad Ann was not giving you the feline blank stare that says “Humans. Are. Such. Strange. Creatures.”)
Oooohhh…now I have to order more!
So it would be soft enough for a scarf? Gee, that’s good.
I’m wearing it right now! ; ) My field report: it has a crispness to it, but I washed it and dried it in the dryer, which softens it. The more you wash and dry it, the softer it becomes.
Ah! The mini skeins are perfect for a Baktus, but there are five skeins. How to measure 1/2 skeinvfor ghe middle skein ( to begin decreasing).
So sad that you do not ship your new book to Canada. I hope this can be remedied when time permits. At least I can take comfort from the fact that while we can’t get MDK stuff shipped here (yet!), neither do we have the Donald. Waiting hopefully for the former, GrannyPurple
I want to ship ME to Canada, Pamela! We hope to have international shipping set up shortly. Thank you for your patience (and you are free to gloat about our politics, because it’s all pretty gloat-worthy!).
Love the new site! Can you add the creation date to your articles on the landing page so it’s more obvious what is new? Or do I just need to drink more coffee today?
My morning got a jolt of Amazingness when I discovered your new site! This is fabulous, and I still have so much to explore. Thank you for all the work that went into your new “home” that you’re sharing with us. I’ll be back often!!
I started one of these with my Sea Colorway Euro Flax mini skeins, and I wrote a haiku about it this morning:
Pale stripe in the sky
Reminds me of my knitting
Dark, light, dark, light, dark
LOVE the new sight and I love you both!!!!!
Linen brings out the poet in all of us, Leah.
Thanks for the sweet words.
Love the mini skeins! I have the original book w this pattern but row 6 is throwing me off….is it just me?? Can you clarify the repeat, please?? Please and thank you!
I just got far enough into it to realize that the pattern in the book is wrong, and the errata on Ravelry is wrong too. Row 6 should read: Using B, K5, *k2tog, k2, kfb in next 2 sts, k3, SKP; rep from * to last 5 sts, k5. Recording this here in case someone else is trying to figure out how to knit this.
I’m new to MDK and just ordered a Euroflax mini skein set and the hand towel patterns. I would love to reduce the patterns by half but I am clearly too much of a beginner to figure out how to do that! Any chance you could provide a bit more detail than you provided in the post above? Thanks!
I think the color color change at row 12 should be 6 rows of garter. If you knit them as in the book they will not look the same
Ditto. Ordered the book (so fun to read! I am late to the MD party but am glad to be here) and 2 sets of minis. I’d like the make the smaller version. Help!
I love the mini skeins! I’ve made 2 of the wavy hand towels. So pretty! So addictive!! I’ve also made 2 of the linen hand towels from the original MDK book. Clearly I love linen! But alas, my towels all have holes in them. Am I doing something wrong? Have I loved and used them too much? Is there such a thing?? Does this happen to anyone else? So many questions…..
You’ve caught my eye with the “Sea” and “Forest” colorways, and I would love to try weaving with them. May I also purchase a regular sized skein (or two) in either a white, cream, or natural (undyed) shade to use as my warp threads? I would need a bit more than the 330 yard total of the mini skeins. Any idea about shrinkage? Have you any feedback yet regarding weaving rather than knitting with the Euroflax?
what linen should I buy if I do the solid color moss stitch hand towel? (a new knitter)