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Gifts from Kate

Today was a good day.

For one thing, I didn’t have a subbing assignment, and the timing could not have been more perfect.

I kept myself busy burning DVDs and completing other tasks in between…multi-tasking like a pro.

One of my chores involved folding a huge mound of clean clothes.  Because of the crazy schedule I’ve had the last few weeks, I’ve had a difficult time keeping up with the housework.

As I folded, I came across several washcloths and dishcloths that I made during the 2008 Summer Olympics.  You might remember my posts about them.

Well, life happens, or rather DOGS happen, and Molly got a hold of a few of them.  She has made a game out of stealing socks and dishcloths and running under the bed with them.

So, a few of my treasured cloths are deteriorating.  It has been rubbing me the wrong way (pun intended, sort-of) to see the frayed ends.  I’m anal.  I like things to be fairly neat.

Today, I gave in and threw two or three of them in the garbage.  Oh, but it broke my heart, but they were well-loved and heavily used.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been toying with the idea of making new ones…even considering purchasing more Sugar ‘n Cream.

“Say it ain’t so!” said my friend, Rabbitrescuer, who enjoys teasing me of my dislike of cotton yarn.  During the last Olympics, I had made so many dishcloths that my hands hurt.  The yarn is not very soft when you first knit with it, and it is also thick and, thus, hard on the hands.

Of course, wanting to get more yarn and having the funds to do so are two totally different things.  Given my job situation, knitting dishcloths has been put on the back burner.

And then I received a package from my friend, Kate.

She’s a sweet gal…one of my internet knitting buddies who has a generous, tender heart.  She has commiserated with my coupon frustrations and has been sending me the inserts from her paper.

A few days ago, she sent me a message, telling me to keep an eye out for the mail.  She hinted that she “might” be getting me a little something extra if she had time.

Hence, my anticipation when the mailman arrived.  I caught him before he could reach for the doorbell, a huge smile on my face.

“Did I do good?” he asked.

“Only if you didn’t bring any bills,” I replied with a grin.

I happily carried my box inside.  When I cut through the tape, I saw this…

Underneath the goodies on top were my promised coupons…

But on top of the coupons…

Oh my…

Take a look at the little somethings (as in plural) she had alluded to…

Now…are you seeing something here?

Yep.  Yarn and a new pattern booklet!

You see, I believe that God heard the small, inconsequential, material yearning of my heart and put my name on Kate’s heart.

I had tears in my eyes as I felt a great sense of awe.

God is incredibly wonderful and ever mindful of His creatures’ needs and desires.  He knew I needed an emotional lift and a reminder that He hasn’t forgotten about me.

Though I have not been granted my dream position yet, He will give it in due time.

In the meantime, I’ll be making more dishcloths (as soon as I finish another secret project and a comfort shawl already on my needles).

To Kate, thank you, my sweet internet Friend.

Thank you for heeding the Holy Spirit’s prompting.  Thank you for seeing a need (the coupons) and being willing to fill it.  I know you have a busy schedule with school and work.  The fact that you took time out of your week to shop for me is a reminder that, though my family teasingly describes my internet friends as “imaginary,”  you are all very real indeed.

You have a very special place in my heart.  ♥

Olympic Knitting – Part 2

As you probably already know, I went on a dishcloth knitting spree during the Olympics. I organized an Olympic Dishcloth Knit-a-Long on KnittingHelp.com. You can find the thread here. My objective was to use up my cotton stash, which had grown quite large in the two years I’ve been knitting. We travel quite frequently to soccer tournaments, and I’m always surprised at the different colorways that Michael’s and Joann’s carry. I remember one find that was especially delicious…self-striping Sugar ‘n Cream! Lovely stuff, I tell you.

When I left off of this topic (you can refresh your memory by going to this post), I had completed Dishcloth #8. I wasn’t nearly done.

Dishcloth #9 is called Flurries Dishcloth. Here’s the link for the free pattern. I used Tahki Cotton Classic.

Flurries Dishcloth

Dishcloth #10 is the Dayflower Cloth, and it’s a free pattern that you can find here. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Natural Stripes. The yarn is self-striping and really pretty up close. The pattern was so much fun and literally flew off of my needles. I’m really surprised how quickly it went by.

Dayflower Cloth

Next, I knit up 4 Corners Dishcloth, and I used Sugar ‘n Cream. The color is Rose Twists. I loved this yarn, and the pattern was fairly easy, except for the provisional cast on (used the video here on KH), and the garter stitch graft (instructions found here). You can find the free pattern here.

4 Corners Dishcloth

The next dishcloth begged for me to use my I Love This Cotton, and the color is Buttercup. The pattern is called Christmas Lace Dishcloth. It’s free, and you can find it here.

This was a FAST knit…took me under two hours. I’m not sure exactly because I started it while in car loop picking up my children and then stopped while I cooked dinner and cleaned the house a bit. I picked it up and finished during the diving events one evening.

Christmas Lace Dishcloth

This dishcloth (I’ve lost count by now) is called Eyelet and Bead Cloth. The pattern is located here. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Ecru.

Eyelet and Bead Cloth

The next pattern was a bit different for me. I found it on Ravelry, and it was written by Eloomanator. You can find it under her name. The pattern is called Eloomanator’s Diagonal Knit Dishcloth. What an awesome pattern! I used the rest of the skein of I Love This Cotton (Buttercup). Here’s the finished project:

Eloomanator's Diagonal Knit Dishcloth

Dishcloth #15 is called the Squidge Cloth. Here is the link for the free pattern.

The reason why it has this name is because you’re supposed to use a much smaller needle than normal…to tighten up the stitches for a tight gauge, which makes the cloth squishy.

I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is called Tie Dye Stripes. It is a self-striping yarn. I used size 3 needles, cast on 48 stitches (the pattern calls for 40 or a multiple of eight) and completed 60 rows.

The Squidge Cloth

The next cloth called the Mason Dixon Washcloth, and you can find it in the Mason Dixon Knitting book. I used Sugar ‘n Cream Twists, and the color is Country Twists.

This was a fun pattern! It was a bit tedious, at first, but once I got through the third or fourth round, I was set.

Mason Dixon Washcloth

Dishcloth #17 is called Intertwined Dishcloth. You can find the free pattern here. I used Sugar ‘n Cream. The color is Ecru. This one gave me a fit! I think that’s because I was getting pretty burned out by now, but I desperately wanted to use up that yarn! I made it 3/4 of the way through before I discovered I had made a mistake. Unable to fix it properly, I frogged the entire thing and had a tantrum on the floor, determined that I was done with this KAL. About ten minutes later, I picked up my needles and tried again. I guess you could say that the Olympian spirit has infiltrated my person. I dove in again, adamant that a pair of needles and yarn would not get the best of me. The effort was worth it.

Intertwined Dishcloth

Well, my 18th (and final) dishcloth leaves a lot to be desired. I wanted to use up the Cornflower yarn I had, and that’s just what I did. However, it wasn’t enough to finish up the pattern. I debated about buying more of that color but decided I wanted it finished, so I pulled out the remnants of the Tea Rose yarn and knit the last third with it. It’s a bit funny looking, but oh well.

The name of this pattern is called Springing Up Flowers. The pattern is located here. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, Cornflower and Tea Rose.

Springing Up Flowers

Here’s what all of my cloths look like, stacked on top of one another…

18 Dishcloths Completed - Olympic Dishcloth KAL - 2008

And here are the remnants of yarn leftover…

Perhaps one day I’ll get around to knitting up some “scrap” dishcloths. I know it won’t be for quite a while, though. I’m a little dishclothed-out.