Knitting Sandwich

dishcloth drama

i ran into a friend of mine the other day and the following conversation ensued:

friend: oh melissa!  i've been carrying this around for weeks and keep forgetting to ask you, can you fix this for me?

me: uhhhhh.....

friend: maybe darn it or something?

me: is this a sentimental dishcloth?  was it the last thing your grandmother ever knit?

friend: no...

me: the first thing your daughter ever knit?

friend: no...

me: then give that to me, i will "take care of it" for you.

now in her defense, she is very eco-conscious and was wanting to reuse, but please... that is one sad sad sorry dishcloth!  if it had indeed been a sentimental dishcloth i would have happily done my best to repair the damage, but please, that cloth is past its prime.

don't worry though, being eco-conscious myself i will not just throw it out, i will add it to my rag pile where it will have a fulfilling second life as a rag, scrubbing my tub and other such things.  just not in public, in the kitchen.  i told my friend if i actually trusted her not to put it back in her kitchen and use it as a rag i'd let her have it back... but i didn't think she would do that.

so i made her a replacement.

a playful plaid cloth (rav link), which she can use in her kitchen without people wondering about her sanity.

i feel much better about the whole situation, and hopefully she does too!

-melissa

the dishcloth report

it is definitely time for some dishcloths around these parts!  

first up are some cloths for door prizes for the 8th annual earth conference.  this is my third year on the planning task force and therefore my third year knitting dishcloths to be given away as door prizes (years one and two, if you're interested).

this year we've got two sets, each one with a window to my heart cloth (rav link) and a playful plaid cloth (rav link).  

and then we've got a little birthday present i made up for one of my friends at knitnight.  she is a HUGE benedict cumberbatch fan and loves the bbc's sherlock.  (which if you haven't watched it, i highly recommend you get right on that, it's completely genius.)  

if you haven't watched them, spoiler alert... the dishcloth is taken from a key scene in the "scandal in belgravia" episode in season two.

yay dishcloths!

-melissa

may dishcloth news

the only dishcloth i knit last month was for the may swap in dishcloths r us over at ravelry.  this is the cloth i knit:

it's a portcullis dishcloth (rav link) and is a new to me pattern, which i must say i rather enjoyed knitting!

and this is the dishcloth i received:

a fun swap indeed!!  yay dishcloths!!

-melissa

let's talk dishcloths

i participated in the april dishcloth swap over at dishcloths r us and here's the cloth i sent:

it's a bind stitch cloth (rav link) and i really like this pattern - i highly recommend it!

this is the cloth i received:

i also knit up a few dishcloths for my friend's wedding gift:

from left to right we have: another bind stitch (see, i told you i liked this pattern!), an aunt may (rav link), and a playful plaid (rav link).

i also finished the dishcloth turned kitchen towel just in time for the wedding (about 45 min before leaving for the ceremony, but hey, who's counting?)

-melissa

turns out, i'm knitting a towel

i'm going to a friend's wedding on saturday, and like i do whenever i go to a wedding i'm knitting up a pile of dishcloths for the newlyweds.  i wanted to make a cloth with two entwined women symbols in a heart, but couldn't find an existing pattern.

not to be deterred i printed out a page of graph paper and decided to make up my own pattern.  which i did:

as i was counting up the number of stitches to cast on i thought to myself... "wow, this is going to be a big cloth."  but i reasoned that i usually make my cloths on the small side and that it would probably work out, because really, why wouldn't it?

i gave very little thought to the number of rows my design was using, because don't these things usually work themselves out once you start knitting?

well they do.  but only if you decide you're knitting a hand towel and not a dishcloth. 

so surprise!  i'm knitting a towel!  yay!

-melissa

oh dishcloths... you make me happy...

i signed up for the march dishcloth swap over in dishcloths r us on ravelry and was excited when i got a partner in the u.k.!  this is the cloth i sent her:

it's a checker-square garter cloth (rav link).  and this is the sweet cloth that i received:

i've also been busy working on a few more dishcloths for my cousin's wedding gift.  i have two more finished:

a playful plaid (rav link) and a morse code (rav link).  (two of my very favorite dishcloth patterns ever.)  that brings my wedding cloth count to five:

not a bad way to start a life of wedded bliss!  i hope dishcloths make my cousin and his new wife just as happy as they make me!

-melissa

the longest 8 inches...

i am a mere 8" from finishing the second sleeve on lily's birthday sweater (pattern: tiny dancer - rav link). 

to say my motivation is waning would be putting it mildly.  i keep finding excuses to work on other, more quickly finishable, projects.  i honestly do have a cousin getting married in april, and he and his new wife really will need a stack of dishcloths to start their new life together!

clockwise from the top we've got: tie the knot (rav link), a harmonic mosaic (rav link) and a waffle cloth (rav link).

i *will* finish lil's sweater though... i just need to power through those last few inches.  but let me tell you, i'm already looking at sleeveless tunic patterns for next year!

-melissa

plugging away

i'm plugging away on lily's tiny dancer jr (rav link) sweater.  the sleeve construction is really clever (short row sleeve caps) but when i'm working it with the three yarns to make the stripes it gets really tangley and messy and slows me down!

add the fact that lily (very sweetly i may add) asked if her sweater would be ready by the 14th for her class valentine's day party and i'm starting to sweat finishing this sweater on time...

but i *did* finish something... school pick up line waiting added to the fact that lily has ymca basketball games every saturday morning has given me lots of dishcloth knitting time!

here's a very scrappy double fleck dishcloth (rav link)!  i love knitting dishcloths!

-melissa

a little of this and that...

here's a random smattering of lovely things from my weekend:

a sunday morning three-way video skype sandwich meetup!  turns out there's no better way to start your day.

i reached a point where lily could actually try on her birthday sweater and (big sigh of relief) it will fit!  there was considerable worry as i just cast on for this project without checking my gauge... and when i did check (maybe 8-10" into the body) my gauge was off.  eep!  luckily i had cast on for one size too big, so it all worked out in the end!  (but i think it helps that my daughter is skinny as a bean pole.)

i noticed the other day that (gasp of horror) a lot of my dishcloths have holes in them and are falling apart.  we certainly can't have that!  so i immediately reinstated the "knit dishcloths while you wait for lily" policy and now have this lovely playful plaid (rav link) cloth to show for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my niece received her owl hat!  all signs point to: "she likes it!"

-melissa

earth conference dishcloths

it's that time of year again, time for the annual center for earth spirituality and rural development's earth conference.  this is my second year on the planning committee and subsequently my second year knitting up a little something for part of the door prizes.  

this year i have two sets of dishcloths, up first: the window to my heart cloth (rav link) by tammy carlton.

and second: the double fleck dishcloth (rav link) by kit zerbe:

most all of them were knit up with odds and ends of dishcloth cotton left over from other projects, i think that gives them just a titch more eco-street cred.  

-melissa