Wyoming Breezes

July 2022 A quick glance in the cotton yarn bin revealed some small scrap balls of various colors, and soon after, I cast on some franken-dishcloths. I don’t mind using the cloths made with bits and pieces of various colors, and I welcomed the mindless knitting, Soon, nine dishcloths were finished.  I grabbed two variegated balls of cotton yarn and knit two, hanging kitchen towels, using the Leftover Dishtowel pattern by Stephanie Haberman. (Ravelry link) Gradually, I’m making progress in my goal of reducing my yarn stash.

August 2021 All of these projects have been stuffed in my knitting bag for months, and the scarf on the left was started nearly two years ago. Two years! How does that happen?!  Complexity is not the reason for their abandonment because all are mindless knits. I’ve simply lost interest in knitting. Perhaps if the projects were more visible, I would pick one up and work on it. I’ll leave them out of the bag to see if that helps.  How have you dealt with stalled and abandoned projects? 

ten, knit dishcloths August 2020 I know that it seems crazy to knit a pile of dishcloths from a simple pattern, but the repetition helps keep my mind focused when I have no desire to do anything.   Who knows what I will do with the dishcloths, but I'm sure they will be useful to someone in the future. 

gift dishcloths December 2018 Lately, I've been focusing on practical knitting. I had several small balls of scrap dishcloth cotton, so I paired them with solid white or cream to create striped dishcloths for Marilyn and Brenda. I use the Magic Knot to join the scraps and to make a larger ball of yarn, but I don't trim the yarn close to the knot: I leave about a half inch tail.

Simple dishcloth knitting October 2018 I took my car to have the windshield wiper blades replaced with winter blades and to have the windshield washer sprayer fixed. Even with an appointment, the wait time was longer than I expected (nearly three hours), so I was glad to have my knitting bag and some dishcloth cotton with me. Knitting the simple dishcloths is my go-to project for mindless knitting. Often the magazines in the waiting areas are geared to men (hunting, fishing, cars, etc.), but this waiting room did have some food and wine magazines in addition to the usual mix.

knit dishcloths for neighbor gifts December 2017 It's common for my neighbors to drop by with a plate of cookies, fudge, or other delicious treats between now and Christmas, and I like to have dishcloths knit to give to them in return. By the end of this week, I'll roll two matching dishcloths together and secure with a colorful ribbon. The bundles will be placed in a basket by the front door and ready for visitors. Do you give gifts to your neighbors?

dishcloths made with scraps September 2016 Kathyb's Dishcloth Swap motivated me to knit some scrap dishcloths with odds and ends from previously knit cloths. I made a smaller version of the cloth, made for the swap - details here  - as well as some traditional diagonal cloths. I tried a "new to me" yarn joining technique, and it is not only easy but seems to be stable, too. It's called the Magic Knot or Double Knot join - see a video below. I was skeptical about using knots, but honestly they really can't be seen or felt. I would not use the technique on a pair of socks because the knot may cause irritation when worn.

dishcloths and scrubby made for the swap August 2016 In early August, Kathyb organized a dishcloth swap, and fourteen people joined in the fun. The swap guidelines required each person to make and send two dishcloths. One or two small trinkets could also be included in the package. I sent two cloths, a tulle scrubby, and some knitting notions to my swap partner - Betsy ( The Simple Life of a Queen ). Thanks, Kathyb for the fun and easy swap. The pattern I used is no longer available online, but it uses the Double Woven Stitch - YouTube has a tutorial for completing the stitch  here . Double Woven Dishcloth   made with US size 7 or 8 needles one ball of cotton dishcloth yarn Cast on 38 stitches or any multiple of four Rows 1-4:   Knit across Row 5:  K3, P32, K3 Row 6:  K6, *sl 2 wyif, move yarn to back, K2; repeat from * to last               4 stitches; K4 Row 7:  K3, P32, K3 Row 8:  K4...

ten cotton dishcloths This time of year, I like to knit simple dishcloths as neighbor gifts. This stack of colorful cloths were fun to knit. The pattern is an oldie and is commonly referred to as Grandma's Dishcloth. Grandma's Dishcloth Yarn: Any cotton yarn (Peaches and Cream, Sugar and Cream, etc.) Needles: Size 8 needles (US) Cast on 4 stitches Row 1: Knit 4 Row 2: Knit 2, yarn over, knit across the row. Repeat Row 2 until you have 40 stitches on the needle. Knit 1, Knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to the end of the row. Repeat Row 3 until you have 4 stitches on the needle.  Either bind off or do a round of single crochet and make a little loop of chain stitches in one corner.