weekend knitting

Took a road trip to Minnesota this weekend with my family and had hours to knit in the car. Started out the trip by trying to finish up the legwarmies for my nephew. Only had the cuff left to do ... easy peasy, right? Wrong. It had been months since I had done the other cuffs, so I forgot that when changing colors/moving on to the cuff portion, I first need to do a round of straight knitting (stockinette). Oops. I changed colors and went right into the 2x2 rib. Pure ugliness to see my mistake. I don't do well ripping out rows and getting my stitches back on the needles, so I put that project aside and will try to fix it later today when I am well-rested and sitting in a quiet room. I could have tried to fix it in the van, but I was a bit fixated on keeping my eyes peeled for the next truck rollover on the highway (we saw two in a matter of 30 minutes).

I brought some fun colors of Sugar 'n Cream yarn along and decided to take a stab at a Ballband Dishcloth. I have eyed this pattern on Ravelry for quite some time and once I cast on and really took a look at the pattern, I found it was a cinch. Made for a nice knitting project on the road since the pattern is easy to remember once you get a few rows under your belt.

My husband helped me choose the color combo. Will go nicely with the smattering of bright colors I have chosen for my Fiestaware dishes. The colors of this washcloth are very cheery ... I love it! (And washing dishes is not my favorite thing to do, so if I can have something cheery to look at while washing ... all the better!)

(Click on image to see larger version.)

I only had DPNs in size 8, so I had to use my needle point protectors to stop the ends of both needles. Worked out great. I'll have to remember that trick because good needles are expensive ... so if I can get by using DPNs for more projects that will be wonderful!

Looking forward to finishing this cloth up today and possibly casting on another one! Oh, wait. I have to fix the cuff on the legwarmies first. Maybe that will be motivation to get those done so I can knit up another dishcloth!

Yarns: Sugar 'n Cream Hot Orange, Sugar 'n Cream Yellow (available at Michael's)

Needles: 8" Harmony Wood Double Pointed Needles (Size 8)

Pattern: Ballband Dishcloth

The completion time for this dishcloth is supposedly 1.5 hours. After 1.5 hours, my husband looked over at me and smiled. We both know that whatever the stated completion time for a project is, for me ... double it. At least. Granted, we had three boys who needed to stretch/run/take potty breaks every couple hours and I was watching the traffic pretty closely ... but I will admit, I am a slow knitter. That's ok with me, though. I love knitting no matter how long a project takes!

(Dishcloth tip: While at my friend's house up in Minnesota, I was looking at her knitting books and read that you aren't supposed to dry knitted dishcloths in the dryer. No wonder my dishcloths end up looking like a washcloth for a doll instead of for humans! From now on, I will wash them and then wring them out by gently rolling them up inside a large towel to press out the moisture ... and then I will hang them to dry. Voila! No more tiny, faded washcloths!)