I have just taken down the old calendar of 2014 and put up the new one. It
is the start of a new year, a new start. The days are getting longer (really,
they are!), and summer will soon be here.
What better way for a youngish single man to celebrate New Year's Eve than
to do some knitting! And that is what I did. Actually, I started this on Dec
30, and completed it on the 31st.
I was looking around for something to do, and reached into a bag laying
nearby, and found a ball of cotton, in black. Now I have learned many years
ago, not to do anything in black! It is so very difficult to see the stitches,
no matter how bright the light is. I found that only natural daylight worked
the best. Even a cloudy day was better than the brightest tungsten light in the
house.
One of my favourite go-to things for me to knit is a dishcloth. I have one in
the kitchen that I use all the time, and needed more. My usual pattern is the
basketweave, in various sizes. It is a combination of knit and purl, which
makes for more interesting knitting, although doesn't require constant
attention. It is my usual mindless knitting while watching a movie or a TV
show.
I did this one in 3-3 design, but could have used any other combination. I
kept the 3 outside stitches in garter, and that blended in well.
As I've said,
black is not easy to work with. This yarn had some thick and thin sections,
which does add texture, but was much more difficult to read the knitting
itself. I have done this in several colours, as you can see, and the light
pastel shades are better for showing off stitch patterns. But these dishcloths
do get stained very quickly, so the black may be better. I did find that a lot
of the black/purple dye came out when I first washed this one, and it will
continue doing so for many washes to come. As long as I don't lay the wet black
dishcloth on anything white to dry, I should not have any trouble with it. I had it blocking before midnight.
To all my virtual friends, I want to wish you all the best of good things
in 2015. May there be plenty of knitting in your future!
