Thursday, November 30, 2006

"hakucho" dishcloth

I love swans and do you know what? I just finished my very first ever hand knitted item that has a swan on it! I have been collecting swans and anything with swans slowly for many many years now. Someday I may show you my collection. This swan cloth is a first (of many) for me and I love it:
The pattern can be found here. As your probably have guessed by now...my love of swan's is the reason why I named my blog "hakucho", which is the Japanese word for "swan". I picked out the name after looking through my eldest son's Japanese/English dictionary and thought it had a nice ring to it as well as it was fitting because of my love of swans. My son is very much into all things Japanese because of his great love of the art of a Japanese style of karate. Kyokushin Karate to be more specific. Guess some of the Japanese culture may have rubbed off on me as well, too! Now you know how I came up with "hakucho". :)
Another thing I had fun making the other day was this soap saver. I found the pattern on Jennifer's blog. She calls it a"soap holder wash cloth thingy". This was the first time I did the "linen" stitch and it was fun. I made this one for myself, but I think it would make a nice little gift. I'm going to use it in the shower for all those little odds and end of soap that you end up with, but really don't want to throw away. The good thing is that it's a wash cloth as well! I don't like to waste anything, so I can't wait to try it out :) ! Actually a new bar of soap fits right inside the pouch perfectly, but I'm using it for the scraps.
The pouch is small although it looks big in the picture. I think the pouch would make a good trinket or sachet or potpourri bag as well. I'm sure if I wanted to I could come up with a hundred different uses, but right now I'm not thinking too well. Here's a picture compared to the dishcloth for sizing purposes:
In addition to these new items I have been working a tiny bit on a new prayer shawl. I'm making it with some of the yarn Coats and Clark sent to our church. I'm making "Knitting a shawl the long way" by Janet Bristol. This pattern makes a shawl that will be self-fringing. I cut the yarn after every row. This is my new take-a-long project. I just have to make sure I carry a scissors with me :) The pattern I am using comes directly from Janet Bristol's prayer shawl ministry website. Guess that's about it for now. Hope I didn't ramble too much today.
Happy Knitting :)

11 comments:

  1. What a lovely dishcloth!! Everything looks great!! I may have to try the little bag. I would love to see some of your swan collection!

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  2. How very cute this soap bag is! I love the colors and the whole set is lovely. I might just make a few of those myself. ;o)

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  3. all your projects look so nice!

    i love cute little japanese things... : )

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  4. i like that lil soap bag too! I'll have to remember that. How cool that you found a swan pattern. :) I wondered what hakucho meant!

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  5. Very nice! I've never heard of the linen stitch, I'll have to check that out.

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  6. Pretty dishcloth! I have enjoyed your blog, so I'm glad to know where the name came from. I had definitely wondered. Please show your swan collection someday! The soap bag is very handy and cute.

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  7. I was just asking my eldest if she knew what the name of your blog meant. She is taking Japanese in High School. Her love for all things Japanese comes from Animee (I think that is how it is spelled) I love the dishcloth and will have to make a few of the soap bags too.

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  8. Love the swan dishcloth and your explanation of your blog name!! We lived in Japan for 4 years, so I am also drawn to things from Japan.
    The soap holder is a great idea... will have to check out the pattern. The prayer shawl looks like it will be beautiful!!
    Happy Knitting :-)

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  9. Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog (^_^) I love the blog name; as you might have seen, I'm studying Japanese language in the evenings after work.

    Your projects seem to be coming along, I hope I'll get to see them finished in the future!

    About the Cartwheel, though...it's supposed to be very feltable, but haven't felted any of it yet. I have enough that I could probably work a swatch, or see if I can find some of the leftover pink and make a teeny little swatch. If I get the chance I'll drop you a line, ok!

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  10. i love that soap bag its a great idea i might try it thanks

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  11. I love the soap bag! (and the cloth) About how much yarn did you need for the bag? Is it good for using up leftovers?
    Thanks

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Thank you all for your comments! I really appreciate them. I usually don't follow up with an email, but if you do have a question please make sure you include a way to reach you within your comment so I may answer your question. Thanks and happy knitting :)

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