I was supposed to knit Dublin Bay for a KAL recently but I just didn’t like that huge stretch of stockinette stitch running up the front so I started tweaking the design a little. Next thing I know I have come up with something totally different. My sock is knitted toe up with a short row heel (though I think it might be easier cuff down). I added an arrowhead lace panel to the center and then decided that in needed the trellis lace on the left hand side to match the direction of the arrowhead lace better so I reversed it. I have knitted and ripped and knitted and ripped and knitted some more until I am finally happy with my socks.

I Proudly present to you
The Sock That Should Have Been Dublin Bay.

Now for the socks on a foot instead of a wire sock blocker.

My model has smaller feet than I do so they are a little long for her feet.

The color is a bit wonky. My camera doesn’t really like reds. The color is truest in the first photo.

Now I just need a name for my first sock design.

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Pattern – my own (to be available for free download as soon as I finish writing it in intelligible format)
Yarn – Knit Picks Memories Redwood Forest colorway
Needles – Size 1 circs.

I don’t know what has gotten into me lately but I cannot seem to knit enough cotton yarn. I have been knitting cotton wash cloths like there is nothing else to knit. I have quite a few to show you. Please ignore the ends that I haven’t woven. We can pretend that I was planning to make a chained hanging loop with that yarn.

First up are these Ballband cloths made from the scraps of the kids Valentine’s cloths. Three cloths from two balls of yarn make the cloths cost under a dollar each. This is my all-time favorite use-up-the-leftover-yarn pattern.

Pattern – Ball Band
Yarn – Peaches and Creme Ombre Faded Denim and Strawberry Cream with a scrap of Sugar and Cream Pink Lemonade and White
Needle – Size 8 (5.0mm)

This one is the February Mid-month cloth from the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. It was a fun and easy knit. I think it would look cute in more than two colors so I can see this pattern becoming my new favorite use-up-the-leftover-yarn pattern. This cloth is a bit smaller than the usual so I think next time I will cast on 39 or 41 stitches for a size more consistent to the others that I knit.

Pattern – Finders Keepers by Sue Schaefer for Monthly Dishcloth KAL
Yarn – Sugar and Cream Dark Pine and Hot Pink
Needle – Size 8 (5.0mm)

And these are my latest design for spa cloths. The last one was so soft and cozy that I had to try another pattern. I call this pattern Simplicity II.

Pattern – Simplicity II Spa Cloth by me
Yarn – Sugar and Cream Pink Lemonade and Country Side Ombre
Needle – Size 8 (5.0mm)

Here is the pattern, just because you are so nice.

Simplicity II Spa Cloth

Supplies

• 1 ball worsted weight 100% cotton yarn (Peaches and Creme Pink Lemonade and Country Side Ombre used in the samples)
• 1 pair Size 8 (5.0mm) knitting needles
• Tapestry needle

Cast on 41 stitches.
Row 1: *K1 P1* repeat *to* to last stitch, K1
Row 2: *P1 K1* repeat *to* to last stitch, P1
Row 3: *P1 K1* repeat *to* to last stitch, P1
Row 4: *K1 P1* repeat *to* to last stitch, K1

Repeat these four rows 14 more times until you have completed a total of 60 rows. Bind off loosely. Weave ends. Run a bubble bath and enjoy.

…that when a bare human foot collides with a Mr. Potato Head^™ foot with the proper amount of force and at the proper angle, it produces a rather significant hole in aforementioned human foot. This remarkable and rare feat is surprisingly painful.

The incident required the surgical removal (with my nail clippers) of damaged tissue and the application of antibiotic cream and a sterile dressing (a Ratatouille Tattoo bandage, a Ratattooey, for short).

It has probably also escaped your notice that it is relatively difficult to photograph the bottom of one’s own foot.

In the interest of public safety and the common good, I am sharing these monumentally important facts with you. You have been warned.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9vIzbmtj8s&rel=1]
The kids have finally stopped throwing up and are now eating again, the van is repaired and the bill didn’t completely drain the bank account, and the knitting is finally getting back on track. I am clearing out some of those projects for other people that have repeatedly been pushed to the back burner. I am feeling a great since of accomplishment. (Please don’t spoil it by reminding me of all the UFO’s that are currently littering my needles.

So here is the latest update:

Ricky’s Scarf – Finished and delivered.
Ricky has been teasing me about knitting him a shawl so I packaged the scarf in the bottom of a huge gift bag and put a red shawl on top. Wish you could have seen how red his cheeks were when he saw that shawl. Don’t worry, I didn’t make him suffer for too long before I pointed out the scarf.

Pattern – Easy Hunting Scarf by me
Yarn – Caron Simply Soft – Black
Needle – Size 7 circs

Jerry’s New Socks – Complete and delivered.
These were knitted with worsted weight yarn to be worn as house socks. I used a different yarn (Caron Simply Soft)this time and the gauge is tighter than the last pair that I knitted so I am holding my breath on the fit. Jerry’s wife is secretly hoping they won’t fit so she can snitch them. I really like the look of the socks in this yarn. It is a bit thinner than the average worsted so they would probably even be comfortable inside shoes. It is very soft and looks really nice knitted up. Overall, I am pleased with the results – assuming of course that they fit.

Pattern – Plain vanilla socks (2X2 ribbing cuff, eye of partridge heel, stockinette foot, grafted toe) knitted with Magic Loop method
Yarn – Caron Simply Soft – Deep Teal Heather
Needle – Size 4 circs

Calorimetry (February project for the Ravelry Christian Knitter’s group) cast on, knitted and bound off.
This is a great pattern – fun, fast and easy – I finished it in one afternoon. It is also perfect for the person who wants warm ears but hates hats (namely myself). I already have another one cast on.

This is my first time to use Paton’s SWS yarn. I like it but I don’t. It is really soft and pretty and I really like the colors and it looks fantastic knitted up. But I am not in love with the twist of the yarn (or rather the lack there of). It is a nuisance to knit because it snags and splits. Perhaps, I should use less pointy needles for the next project.

Pattern – Calorimetry from Knitty
Yarn – Paton’s SWS in Natural Geranium
Needles – Size 7

Dublin Bay Revisited socks have been frogged and had their necessary recovery time and are now ready to move forward.

SOTSii is in time out until a mood to find errors in lace hits me. I expect that to happen on Monday morning after I get the hubby off to work and before the kids wake up.

I also pulled Pink Soliel out of the pre-Christmas hibernation and have it back on track again. It is a lot farther along than the photo shows but I haven’t taken the time for another progress photo. It is my goal to liberate my needles from all of the languishing projects but I don’t know how long my will power will hold out.

I am already itching to start another new project. This one. The itch has been worsened by the fact that I purchased my yarn yesterday (Paton’s Classic Merino in Dark Grey Mix). I know this is not the yarn in the pattern but I think it will work. If not I have enough lovely wool for a sweater for my hubby and possible enough for a matching vest for Small Fry.

Knitting truly is a pastime that is suitable for almost all circumstances. While I don’t think it would be appropriate at a funeral or a wedding except possibly the wedding of an avid knitter, most other occasions easily lend themselves to knitting. I have knit at soccer and tennis games, at lectures, at concerts and at movies. I even read that EZ knitted on the back of a motorcycle, though I might have to see that one to believe it. Not questioning EZ’s integrity, I just cannot seem to wrap my mind around the dynamics involved in knitting on the back of a motorcycle. Knitting truly is a versatile pastime.

So what do you knit when you have to sit up with a child who is spending most of their time bowing at the porcelain throne (throwing up for those not familiar with that euphemism)? Ideally, you would need a pattern that is fairly simple, easy to memorize and very easy to put down in mid-row – that rules out lace as that is definitely not something to put down in mid-row. It helps if the project can be knitted in low light – forget those dark colors and fine yarns. It needs to be something that is easy to frog for the times when sleep deprivation prevents you from comprehending the simplicity of “Knit to the end of the row” – toss Fair Isle and other complicated stitch patterns. Also it needs to be something that is easy to pick up those inevitable dropped stitches – so long creeping and splitting yarns. And most importantly in needs to be washable in the event of an unexpected hurl – goodbye delicate wools, silks, cashmere not that I had any of that.

So what does that leave for knitting? Enter the humble dishcloth. A dishcloth is a project that is quick to finish, the rows are short, the patterns are short (usually one page), and generally easy to memorize, the worsted weight yarn is easy to see in low light and easy to “read” if you have to stop in mid-row or pick up those dropped stitches. And best of all the yarn is sturdy, reliable cotton. So if disaster happens, cotton is supremely washable – you can even bleach it if necessary.

So while my youngest has been sick with one of those nasty stomach bugs, I have been knitting dishcloths and bath puppets. I had forgotten how much I like the feel of cotton yarn. Don’t get me wrong. I am not ready to give up my wools, alpacas and cashmeres just yet. But cotton has a special place in my knitting heart. Could be the fact that I grew up surrounded by cotton fields. Okay, I didn’t live in a cotton patch but lots of the people who lived around us grew cotton. My favorite fabric to wear is denim. And the biggest project I have knitted for myself is a cotton skirt. You could say cotton is in my blood.

This pattern is the ever popular Ballband Dishcloth – also known as the Textured Dishcloth. The pattern can be found on the ball band for Peaches and Creme yarn (hence the name Ballband) or in the book Mason Dixon Knitting. This is a great cloth for using up little bits of yarn left over from other projects. Think I used up bits from four different skeins in the blue and green one.

These are bath puppets. My kids love these. The patterns are modifications of some from Briley Knits. I altered the Chick pattern slightly to make a duck. For the snake I pretty much copied the frog pattern and added the tongue because the printer didn’t want to print the snake pattern.

I have gotten a little bit of SOTSii done when I am not delirious from lack of sleep. It is sad but better than nothing at all.

I am also working on another Easy Hunting Scarf only this one is in black instead of the dreaded camo so I guess it would be an Easy Black Scarf.

And am making a little progress on Jerry’s New Socks. There is a story that goes with these socks on my spiritual blog.