The Neverending Story

I bought some cotton at Michaels mumbledy years ago with the thought of making my mom a set of dishcloths as a gift.



I brought this yarn with me to Germany because I knew at some point with such reduced stash, I'd knit it. Fruit cloths!



I hope you can tell that's a pineapple. I made a whole bunch!



(The two red ones were actually knit by my friend who visited and neglected to bring her own knitting.) If you haven't knit dishcloths, let me tell you, cute patterned ones like this are so fun. Faster than just about anything, and as the pattern emerges, it's just so delightful to watch it take shape. Simple pleasures, greatest treasures.

There was some yarn left over after these ten cloths were knit. I was expecting this, because the pattern said you'd get 2.5 cloths to a ball of kitchen cotton. I went on a pattern searching spree and got really excited by the Linoleum discloth. Voilà.



This pattern might be even more fun that the fruit cloths, especially because you stop needing the chart quickly and can just groove on it. I will say, though, that I probably spent almost as much time weaving in ends as knitting the thing, but I adore the finished product. It's so nubbly and squishy, I'm thinking of making bigger versions for bathmats or hand towels or something. I'm also thinking about doing this in different colors of natural cotton in handspun, because apparently I'm a person who will consider knitting a dishcloth out of handspun yarn.

There was still yarn left. My fancy turned to crochet. I'd had the linked-ring tawashi in my queue practically since I started using Ravelry in 2007. It was time. Turns out I had yarn enough for not one, but four more tawashis.



I totally messed up the linking on the one on the lower right. I didn't realize it until I had crocheted the second one correctly. Pretty sure it'll still work. These are also incredibly fun and fast, though next time, I might use acrylic instead if I really want them to be scrubbier. Also, they certainly appealed to the husband for their mathiness, but I think he would have been more impressed if they were Borromean. Pretty sure I could do that next time, for funsies, right?

Guess what?

There's still yarn left.



WHEN WILL IT END?

I haven't thrown these out; I can't bear to. I also can't bear to keep working with this yarn right now. I've been trying to get creative. I made a clothesline out of some of the orange for hanging drying socks from the posters of the lofted bed. We even used a little bit when my roommate from the San Francisco years visited and we did a blind taste testing with some of the delicious Belgian beers we've collected.



I'm out of ideas. Help?