Friday, August 08, 2008

The set is complete!

I finished my ballband kitchen set! In addition to my appliance covers and towel, I now have a ballband cloth and two potholders to match. I'm happy :) I would have made a few more ballband cloths (you can never have too many) but I had to stop because of my ravelympics knitting!

Today I cast on my 1st olympic sock. Didn't do much on it, but it's officially started. The games have begun (8:00 am here on the East Coast) and now I have to get serious and do some power knitting (maybe? not really). Not sure how many projects that I will actually be able to complete. It was advised to set up more than you actually think you can do because once the games begin you can't add any more projects. I have 2 sets of socks and 3 dishcloths and 1 washcloth all lined up in my ravelry notebook. I know that is truly very over ambitious of me, but I guess that's why I'm on team OOYPP (Overly Ambitous, but Plausibly Possible)!Now back to the ballband set. I've had a few inquiries as to " how to". Provided you already know how to knit the infamous ballband I'll give you an idea of how I did each one. Just keep in mind your appliance may be a different size from mine, then you'll probably have to do some improvising.

First off...here is how to make a simple ballband towel. Cast on 90 stitches and knit using the ballband dishcloth pattern the towel until you complete 33 ball band rows or desired lenght.

Now if you would like to make a rather large toaster (Cuisinart Classic Toaster Oven) cover you need to make a towel with the above directions and two ballband cloths with 13 ballband rows. Crochet the pieces together being careful to space the pieces so the result is even. If desired use crab stitch to edge the crocheted seams.

My mixer covers are knit in the round. For the Oster Kitchen Center and the Kitchen Aid Mixer(mine is the heavy duty Epicurean model) cast on 180 stitches. If your mixers are smaller cast on less stitches (multiple of 6). Here is the ball band stitch pattern converted to knitting in the round:
Round 1 and 2: knit
Round 3: with color B, knit 4, slip1 (*knit 5, slip 1) repeat from * ending knit 1
Round 4: purl 4, yarn back, slip 1, yarn forward (*purl 5, yarn back, slip 1, yarn forward) repeat from * ending purl 1
Round 5: repeat round 4
Round 6: repeat round 4 again
Round 7: with color A, knit
Round 8: knit
Round 9: with color B, knit 1, slip1 (*knit 5, slip 1) repeat from * ending knit 4
Round 10: purl 1, yarn back, slip 1, yarn forward (*purl 5, yarn back, slip 1, yarn forward) repeat from * ending purl 4
Round 11: repeat round 10
Round 12: repeat round 10

Repeat these 12 rounds until there are 20 ballbands for the Oster and 26 ballbands for the Kitchen Aid.
End with 1 knitted round and the last row k2 tog until there are 90 stitches and do a 3 needle bind off or crochet the front and back together creating a sack. If desired use crab stitch to finish off the edge.

Once you've made these it's easy to use exactly the same technique to make a potholder. Using small circular needles or dpn cast on72 stitches and knit in the round. The only thing different from the covers is that you need to close off both the top and the bottom. The first one I made I crocheted the top closed, but used the 3 needle bind off for the bottom. You could crochet both closed. I made a little loop by crocheting a chain(12) and slip stitched it to make the chain thicker. The second potholder I used a provisional cast on , then when I was finished knitting I used a 3 needle bind off for both the top and bottom. I like the 3 needle bind off better.
The one on the left, top and bottom are 3 needle bind offs and the one on the right has the bottom crocheted shut.

Well, I think that's about it. It's not rocket science, but I hope this at least gives you the general idea of how to go about it. You can easily adjust the number of stitches and the number of ball bands to fit your appliance. Good luck! If you have secific questions I'd be happy tp try and answer them, but please include an email address where you can be reached. Thanks :)

I've also been doing some more crocheting. I made a tote bag making up my own pattern as I went with some AC Moore cotton mill ends that I have in my stash. It's the crochet version of my big bag:
I just love how this variegated yarn pooled in such a cool way. Definitely not intentional. I wouldn't even know how to get that effect if I tried.For all of you whose blogs I try to keep up reading...you know who you are...my faithful friends...I am very very behind in my blog reading. Life has definitely got in the way of my computer time. Plus I just don't know where the time goes. I will be trying to catch up bit by bit so please do not give up on me. I'll be visiting soon :)

Happy Knitting and Happy Olympics :)

22 comments:

  1. I love it all, what a beautiful kitchen you have now.

    That bag is great too.

    I am not knitting for the Ravelympics but I am here to cheer all my favorite knitletes on...

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW, that bag really rocks! Looks like you planned it that way :) And I love your matching kitchen--thanks so much for sharing your patterns!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay,more ballband goodness.
    That is a really great bag, too.
    I started my Ravelympics socks while at a sheep show today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the potholders and I am going to have to try that. And I love the bag - the pooling is great! Good luck with your Olympics knitting!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your potholders look wonderfully thick & cushy! I like the 3-needle bind-off look best, too.

    I love your tote bag! To me the pooling looks like lightning...the speed at which she (you) knits!! Rootin' for you in Ravelympics!!

    Thank you for taking the time to give us the instructions. I will definitely make the potholders when my TE clears up. Btw, when you mentioned that you had started getting it in both elbows my only thought was..she's reading my mind! That's when I finally stopped knitting. It's so hard to do nothing. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. The crocheted tote bag is stunning - looks like a cross between an Australian and Egyptian design - nicely serendipitous.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love those potholders. They're adorable and are just the thing to make you be happy about cooking instead of knitting (at least you're using handknit potholders, right?) Fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Again, very, very nice objects. The pattern on the bag is a work of art.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love that bag and zig zags. Cool!
    Congrats on getting the whole set done. I love those potholders!
    Oh...thank you for sharing how to do the ballband in the round!!! YAY!
    Hugs!

    *good luck on your Ravelympics knitting...I gotta get busy on mine too.*

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh wow, I thought that design on your bag was intentional. That's really cool pooling!

    Good luck with Ravelympics. You've signed on for quite a lot of projects. I only signed up for one cable scarf (my Triumph Scarf), and finishing up my MIL's scarf (Regina Scarf) for the WIPs Wrestling event. I know it doesn't sound like much.

    We must be in the same blog reading boat, lol. I haven't had much time in recent weeks to keep up either. The great thing about my blog reader is that it keeps track of everything for me so I'll know which ones I need to get to.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good advice about setting up more projects then you might need. I didn't do that and I might be in trouble!

    Love the matchy matchy set. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great crochet bag! I have not attempted that skill yet, I think I'm still afraid of it. The pattern is snappy -- I love it!

    I look forward to following your Olympic knitting progress.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your bags are always awesome and I also LOVE the ballband insanity. I've been there!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your new pot holder look great, and very thick, that's good. Your crochet bag is very cool with the effect you got from pooling! I like crochet bags a lot more, than knit ones, they are stronger and last longer. Good luck with your Knitolympics and reaching your goals!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Awesome work, there, chica:) You are a wonder:)
    Ang

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dude, the lightning bolt bag is flipping awesome. You so could not have gotten it to do that had you wanted it to! I love it.

    I have yet to make a ballband dishcloth, though it's been something I've wanted to do for ages now. I will get to it, I swear. Maybe that will be my next project after the Ravelympics. Provided no more chickens roost in my knitting bag. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ooh thanks for the lovely pattern, I need a cover for my Molly, I mean my Kitchenaid. I will go and see what colours I have to make it in! Bet your kitchen looks the bees knees now. Good luck with Ravelympics, I have a medal for some socks already, cheating a bit though as it was for WIP Wrestling!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very nice set. Once I'm done with the baby knitting I'll have to make a few.

    I love the bag.

    Hugs!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. i love the potholders and thanks for the tips on how to make them. that's what my kitchen needs..a set of handmade potholders! :) thanks also for telling how to do a ballband towel!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I really love the ballband yarn, wondering what it is that you used, but I'm going to go view older posts now, just found your fantastic blog!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi there. I'm catching up with some blogs since I haven't been reading much in the past month.

    Everything looks great. The kitchen set is lovely, and I really like the crocheted bag.

    I'm trying to do some stuff right now too, but it's been slow going.

    I hope you drop by my site again soon. Hopefully I'll have something to show.

    Amy

    ReplyDelete

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 :)

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.