In with the New

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!