Why Knit Dishcloths?

For our knitting group last month my friend Janet challenged us all to knit a dishcloth. Some of the ladies were happy with the idea, some groaned. Personally, I like to knit dishcloths. It's sort of like knitting a big swatch that you get to use...for cleaning your kitchen. Of course, if you don't want your beautiful cloth lying in the kitchen sink you can always call it a bath cloth and use it in the shower! They make wonderful gifts too. My mom loves the cloths I've given her over the years. A great gift idea is a pretty round cloth bunched up to look like a flower, put in a cute basket with some fragrant bath soap and lotion. One of my favorite round cloths is the Annie Cloth (picture above). It is a free pattern listed here. There are many cute patterns there, be sure to check them all out if you love to knit cloths!

One week from today my daughter Stacey and granddaughter Mia will be coming to Minnesota for a 10 day visit. I am so excited. They were last here in March and I plan on visiting them this fall. Mia is getting so big and talks so much. With out of town family coming that means one thing...cleaning house. Yuck. Why can't I win that Powerball? The second thing I would spend my millions on is a housekeeper...to clean the first thing I would buy...a ginormous house. But, regardless of the size of my house (and mine is too big when it comes to cleaning it) next week it will be filled with people I love and the laughter of a child. I can't wait!

I am plugging along on the second Peach Petal sock and still loving this pattern. I knit the leg portion on size 2's (3.0mm) since my mom doesn't like anything restrictive on her ankles, and these socks are a gift for her. I switched to size 1 1/2 (2.5mm) for the heel and foot. I think that I would do the whole sock on one's the next time since the lace top is very stretchy anyways. I feel like I have my sock mojo back! Maybe this is the boost I need to finish all the mates for my single socks.

I have given myself permission to cast on the Lisa Lloyd cardigan. I doubt I will work on it a lot this summer since it is knit in bulky wool and would be too hot to handle, but I would like to start it anyway. I hope to have it done by winter, it gets mighty cold in Minnesota.

My 2 youngest boys (19 and 21) just walked in, I guess the cold rain has stopped their work for the day. They work construction for their dad and today is cold, windy, rainy, and all round miserable weather. They are both hungry so I am off to make them a ham and cheese omelet. A cup of tea sounds pretty good to me.