My Scrubbie Story

A friend who worked with my husband sent home a 'scrubbie' for me to try.  Someone made one for her and she loved using it when washing dishes and pans.  I was 'hooked' figuratively and literally.  I thought to myself, 'I could make these.'  And the google search for a pattern began.  Turned out there were lots of patterns being shared out there in cyberspace.  I chose this one.

I begin by cutting nylon net (the coarser the feel of the net, the better) into two inch strips.

I use a rotary cutter and layer the netting to make this go faster.  Here is what five yards each of three colors looks like.

This will make at least 30 scrubbies!

Next I tie the strips together making a simple knot (these knots work easily into the backside of the scrubby) and then roll the strips into balls.

Now you are ready to crochet.  I use an N hook instead of an I hook.  I start out with three chains and slip stitch to form a circle.  The pattern calls for four chains but that doesn't work for me.  As you go, put the knots in your nylon 'yarn' to the back of the scrubbie.  You'll see what I mean once you get started.

I love to make these scrubbies because, yes, they are mindless.  You can do this while watching kids play or while watching TV, etc.  Easy peasy...and these aren't heirloom items so if a stitch doesn't look perfect, well, so what.  They are for SCRUBBING.  I use them for scrubbing dishes and pans, preparing baked potatoes, scrubbing the shower, exfoliating feet, treating stains and spots before laundering...well, you get the idea.  You can wash them in the washing machine or the dishwasher.

And you make friends if you make scrubbies!  LOL!  I have many requests for replacement scrubbies once they are worn out.  My Amish neighbors, who bake all sorts of goodies at Christmas time to share with their neighbors, get scrubbies from me, their non-baking English friend.

:o)

We did it!!

From this--

To this--

Beautiful, Karen!

:o)

Okay.

Ya know how you hope when you wake up, you'll be wowed?  That didn't happen.   So I went back to work and now I am satisfied.  I really wanted an AH-HA moment.  But I've come to the realization that I am not going to get one unless I branch out, try somehting different, and push harder.  I do like this quilt and think it will be comfy, snuggly, and match a decor.  That was my goal.  The soul searching was a bonus.

:o)

Up on the wall

I randomly placed the squares on my design wall keeping in mind the way the colors and values played off of each other.  I have made my first pass at a layout.  I digitally photographed my layout and edited the photo to be grayscale to check for a pleasing contrast throughout the quilt.  Now I am sleeping on it.  I am sure there will be much tweaking tomorrow.

:o|

Pressing, sorting and squaring

After sewing the rectangles together, I pressed open all the squares and began sorting by both color and value.  This will help me when I lay out the squares on the design wall.

I also had to square up the blocks to be sure they were 6" squares.  I usually try to avoid having to do this step by cutting accurately to begin with.  But for this quilt, I had some adjustments to make.  I used a rotary cutter, a six inch square ruler, and my turntable cutting mat.

:o)