Book and Yarn Review: “Baby Washcloths & Afghan Squares” book and Omega Sinfonia yarn

Last month, I got the book, “Baby Washcloths & Afghan Squares” by Lisa Carnahan, published by Annie’s. This is a knitting book, not a crochet book. But since I now know how to knit, as well as crochet, I wanted to give some knit washcloths a try. Here is a photo of the front cover of this book:

Baby Washcloths & Afghan Squares book (front cover)
Baby Washcloths & Afghan Squares book (front cover)

This is a very nice book with some nice washcloth patterns. I especially like it because I’m a relatively new knitter and my knitting skills are still a work-in-progress (I’m not ready for the TKGA Masters program by any means, yet!).

It was hard to pick which washcloth designs I wanted to make from this book because I like them all! But I finally chose the Zigzags and the Triangles washcloths to make. Here are photos of these 2 washcloths in the book:

Zigzags Washcloth from book
Zigzags Washcloth from book
Triangles Washcloth from book
Triangles Washcloth from book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The washcloths in this book were made with Tahki Yarns Cotton Classic, which is a DK weight yarn. Since I didn’t have any of that yarn, I used some Omega Sinfonia that I had left over from the “Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths” book I did for Annie’s. I LOVE this yarn! It’s a sport weight 100% cotton yarn that comes in many gorgeous colors. It is 3.52oz (100g) and has 218 yards (200m) for $4-5, so the value is good (and you can buy it for even less than this with a coupon!). I started knitting a pretty pink sweater this month from 5 balls of Sinfonia that I bought on sale for $3 each to learn more about knitting and shaping sweaters! It should be really nice!

But back to the baby washcloths! These washcloths don’t use that much yarn, so using left overs is perfect for these projects. In my opinion, these washcloth patterns aren’t just for babies. Since pretty much all of them are geometric designs, they can be used for much more than babies. At 8” (20cm) square, I think they’re a great size for facial washcloths and smaller dishcloths, too. I LOVE the drape of them and the stitch pattern keeps my interest instead of knitting rows of all knit or all purl! I also LOVE how quick they are to make. I can make a washcloth in just 1 or 2 evenings while watching TV (I’m not that fast of a knitter, yet, either!). Okay, here are photos of my washcloths for you to see:

My Zigzags Washcloth
My Zigzags Washcloth
My Triangles Washcloth
My Triangles Washcloth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think? I think I did pretty well for being a new knitter (since July of this year).

There are 10 solid washcloths and 1 striped washcloth (done with slipped stitches) in this book. There’s even an afghan made with all 10 of the solid squares and 10 of the striped squares in the book (the afghan can be seen on the cover of the book and there is a full-size photo of the afghan inside the book). Here’s the striped washcloth for you to see:

Slip-Stitch Washcloth from book
Slip-Stitch Washcloth from book

You can see larger photos of all the washcloth blocks in this book and purchase it online on the Annie’s website here. If you love to knit washcloths and dishcloths, you’ll really enjoy this book!

Happy crocheting (and knitting),

Susan

Design Contest at the 2013 CGOA Conference

Last month, at the CGOA Chain Link Conference in Charlotte, NC, there was a design contest, open to all CGOA members. We have the design contest each year and I always enjoy seeing the fabulous designs that are entered. This year was no exception! There were some fantastic entries and the winning entries were spectacular!!! Here are some photos from the design contest:

2nd Prize Afghan by Jessie Rayot
2nd Prize Afghan by Jessie Rayot
1st Prize Afghan by Julia Bryant
1st Prize Afghan by Julia Bryant
3rd Prize Artistic Expression by Deborah Bagley
3rd Prize Artistic Expression by Deborah Bagley

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st Prize Artistic Expression by Sachiko Adams
1st Prize Artistic Expression by Sachiko Adams

 

Grand Prize Winner by Dot Drake
Grand Prize Winner by Dot Drake
Winner's Circle
Winner’s Circle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see a full list of the winners in the design contest, please visit the CGOA blog here.

We also had a fashion show at the conference. Some of the garments in the fashion show were in the design contest and others weren’t. The fashion show has lots of “eye candy” and is part of the dinner at the conference! It’s a lot of fun! If you’d like to see lots of photos from the fashion show and the design contest, visit the CGOA Flicker page here.

I entered 3 designs in the Design Contest this year. I didn’t win a prize, but that’s okay. At least I tried my best! I LOVE the designs that won, so that’s what counts! Here are the 3 designs I entered:

Brandyce modeling my Kauni Poncho
Brandyce modeling my Kauni Poncho

This is Brandyce from Lion Brand Yarn Company modeling my Kauni Poncho in the fashion show. I love the looks of this poncho because the yarn does all the work (well, most of the work!). If you’d like to make a Kauni Poncho of your own, the pattern is available for purchase here on my website, as well as on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy. It takes 140 grams (612 yards) of Kauni Effektgarn yarn to make this poncho. This yarn is 100% wool fingering weight and I LOVE the colors it comes in. To see all of the colors of this yarn, please visit the Kauni website here.

Vashti modeling my Alexandria Shawl
Vashti modeling my Alexandria Shawl

This is my Alexandria Shawl, modeled by Vashti Braha. This shawl is made with 100% cotton yarn. The large triangular section of motifs and the inset of motifs are made in the Continuous Crochet Motifs method, with less ends to weave in because the motifs are made continuously, not separately. If all goes well, I’ll have this pattern available for purchase on my website within the next year.

Triple Delight Pillow
Triple Delight Pillow

This is my Triple Delight Pillow. It’s made with 3 shades of size 10 DMC Cebelia. I made it in 3 techniques: Irish Crochet motifs (the flowers and leaves), Filet Crochet (in the large center section) and Bruges Lace around the edges (hence the word “triple” in the name!). I also added small beads in the center of many of the flowers. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this design, yet.

 

If you’re a CGOA member, you’ve tried your hand at designing crochet projects and you haven’t entered them in the CGOA Design Contest, you should consider entering your designs next year. Who knows! You might win! And you don’t have to write the patterns to enter your designs (of course, if they’re going to be published, you’ll need to write the patterns eventually!). The prizes are $100 for 3rd place, $200 for 2nd place and $300 for first place in each of the 6 divisions, plus $1,000 for the grand prize winner! That’s nothing to sneeze at!!! And the designs remain yours to do with as you please after the contest.

Keep watching the CGOA website for more information on the design contest as the 2014 conference gets closer. Next year’s CGOA conference will be July 23-27, 2014 in Manchester, NH. It’ll be the 20th Anniversary of CGOA next year! Yahoo!!! There will be lots of celebrating going on, I’m sure!

Good luck! I hope to see your designs in next year’s CGOA Design Contest.

Happy crocheting,

Susan