Rainy Day and Blue Crochet

Pom Pom has been asking about Sandy. What's the pup-pup up to? Well, today is rainy, so not much! But I know how you love her sweet little face, Pom, so here she is:

 And when I tried to get a slightly better picture with her ears up? She did thi.

Then she wouldn't let me get near her. This is her doggie-amputee pose. Just joking! She likes to sit this way, with one (or both) paws tucked up under her bib.

The rain has been coming down steadily since lunch time.

And that kind of weather makes a puppy dog do that.

 For weeks, I've been wanting to post about these nice little cloths I made. They are cotton yarn, crocheted, and a beautiful light blue. The patterns I used are called the Sandy Shore Washcloth Set, and if you type that into Google, it will take you to the LionBrand site. I'm not a member; a friend printed off the patterns for me. But you can get them there for free, and at Ravelry too, I think.
This is my favorite pattern of the four, the "Grit Stitch." It's thick, deeply patterned and rather elegant for crochet. I added the little loop on the corner. I made five of these. I gave the first one to my mother.

But when I first photographed them, the pictures turned out like this.  Gray! I did not use a flash, but the light in the room apparently made the color come out this way. I finally achieved the true blue, with natural light coming in the window, as you see above.

Anyway, here you can see what the stitch looks like, close up:

This lovely pattern is the "Sedge Stitch." It's even more bumpy than the Grit Stitch. I liked it a lot also.

Then I tried the "Back Loop Stitch" pattern. Ick. It was very thick, but I just didn't like it, so I pulled it out. I didn't want to waste this pretty blue yarn, on a stitch I didn't like.

So, I finished a total of six cloths. Will they be dish cloths for the kitchen? Wash cloths for the bathroom? Hot pads? I don't know yet. I don't want them to get grimy in the greasy dishes. For right now, they're looking pretty. I'm considering selling them, along with my soap. I definitely want to use those two patterns again, when I get more cotton yarn. They're so fun and fast to make!
I had a little yarn left over, and I've been wanting to crochet a small soap pouch, so I did.

It has a drawstring for closure. This one is small, and designed to hold all those little slivers of soap that end up sliding down the drain, or not attaching themselves to the new bar like they should, y'know? So, this is a thrifty item. You use it to scrub, just like a washcloth.

I want to make more of these too, but larger, to hold a new bar of soap. I made two of them, and I've been using one for the past week, and I really like it. It works well, fits into the cup of your hand, and you don't have to keep re-lathering your washcloth.

This was four skeins of yarn, which I bought for $1.50 at a thrift store. I'm feeling creative and frugal! I like that!