Still Knitting

So, sadly, I have no pictures to show you because I've been a little too busy to take them. Mostly the time has been being eaten up by taking care of the garden, I've been getting eaten by the mosquitos. Seriously, they are so bad in the mid-atlantic, I can't go outside without taking a bath in Skin So Soft or I get swarmed. Yuck!
Anyhow....I have been knitting on the dishcloths and it's been a pretty fun experience. It's nice to not have to worry about whether it will fit or about making mistakes or wasting/running out of yarn. It really is a good way to take a break from a stressful lace project or that sweater you keep casting on and frogging because it's not working. Plus it's a nice way to test a lace or stitch pattern on something a little bigger. In the end, even if you don't like it, you got something useful out of the work ;) So I have this one finished already, and I only need to do one more repeat on this one and I'll call it done. I made a total rookie, with a capital R, mistake on that one though. I admired the way the dishcloth had this nice garter stitch border around it to frame it, and then I promptly cast on exactly the number of stitches I needed and started the pattern from row 1. The best part is that I was bemoaning how tight my cast on was the whole way through, and wishing that there was some sort of border rows. I am so. damn. smart. Really.
So that one looks a little goofy, but the pattern is still nice and it's drapey and lacey, and you know what? It's a dishcloth and I don't care. Stress free knitting....I love it!

And, finally, I have chosen the first lace pattern I'm going to knit, and likely the yarn as well. I'm going for the Diamond Fantasy Shawl which I purchased/downloaded from this site. This was a great experience, because on most websites, you'd have to buy the pattern, pay for the shipping, then wait for it to get to you. Now, if you were ordering the yarn from the site too, it might not be such an issue, but I happen to have this yarn leftover from the failed attempt at the lacey scarf. On paper, the yarn is ideal for the pattern and I have just over 400 yards to work with, which is perfect for the "scarf size" of the pattern. But, back to the site....because I have the yarn in the stash and have the patience of a hungry two year old in an ice cream parlor, I wanted to download the pattern. This was the only site I found that would do that. Not only does it allow you to do it, but it gives you three shots at it. I still have 2 more shots at downloading and until Sat. to do it. It worked perfectly the first time, but if something had gone wrong, it would have been no big deal. To me, in this not so perfect world of today's technology, this is a great way to make sure your customers are happy. There was no nervousness for me about something going wrong with my 1 alotted download, and no worry that I would have customer service issues if something happened. Many of the patterns are available for download, and I would highly recommend it.

Tonight I have to go home, find something to wear to the wedding this weekend, pack it all up, pack up everything for Jordan, and get ready in general to leave tomorrow afternoon. That is, after working all morning. I still seem to think that I can get one more cloth done before then. My feet are rooted firmly in the land of not going to happen, but my hands are convinced they fly at the speed of sound. When I get back, I'll let you know who won, but I'm pretty sure you can guess this already. But if you figure it out, don't tell my hands, I like them, disillusioned as they are.