Bugs!

In an effort to cut down on paper napkin and paper towel use, we have been using cloth napkins at mealtime since last summer.

I have made four sets thus far that have been seasonal, including some summery ones that look like they'd be fun to take on a picnic.

Although colourful and functional, I felt they looked a little ho-hum so I thought it would be cute to stitch on some insects one might find at a picnic.

In addition to some ants, I stitched a horsefly,

a dragonfly, (whoops! I just noticed I didn't finish its right wing)

some bees,

and a beetle.

I used some waste canvas and stitched them up in a couple of hours. How cute! They look WAY better, I believe.

Now I assign a napkin which gets used for a week (or less if it gets quite dirty) and throw it in with the wash.

No more paper napkins or paper towels for daily use.

BTW, I get 4 napkins from a yard of fabric. I hate waste and I love shortcuts ('cause I'm lazy) so I don't even make them square. I cut the yard of fabric into fat quarters and hem each side with mitered corners. They're so quick and easy to make and lots of fun to switch out for each season. Finished size is about 16" x 19".

My dishcloths have been quite popular lately so I knit up another one this evening. My current favourite pattern is the ballband dishcloth.

I used two colours of Peaches and Creme cotton yarn.

The multicoloured yarn is scented! It's the same price as the unscented yarn but only 56g as opposed to 70g in a ball of the unscented yarn.  It really does smell like lime!