Saturday, September 16, 2006

I'm A Traitor To My Kind!

You'd think with a handle like, "Sheepish" I'd be more committed to the idea of knitting with wool. I would knit only with wool. I would garb myself daily in wool from top to bottom and would spend my days proclaiming to all and sundry that the wool undies weren't really "all that itchy."

But I seem to be cottoning to cotton these days.

My first paycheck since August 18th isn't really all that much of a financial gain given that it has been earmarked for little things like shelter and continued high speed internet access. But I did use a small portion of my meager earnings to purchase more worsted weight cotton since the lifetime supply I currently have stashed away could be attacked by weevils at any moment. And, perhaps predictably, yet another Octagonal Swirl Dishcloth was added to the ever growing pile of cottony goodness.



This one is a tad more "vibrant" than it's brothers and sisters, I think.
Say, what you will. This will brighten up any kitchen whether it wants it or not! I've continued to have difficulty linking directly to the pattern. But if you go to Knitting Pattern Central you can find it pretty easily.
It is a fun one to knit. I prefer the two circs. method over dpns for this although the process is not without it's issues. Beginning with naught but 8 stitches leaves quite a bit of cable free to flop around and wreak emotional havoc with a short tempered Sheep. The first few rounds are rather like wrasslin' with a reluctant octopus. And I'm pretty much guaranteed that on any given row there is likely to be an unused needle poking me in the nether regions. But, once I get a few more increases under my belt things settle down and the needles find themselves busy doing their job and holding my yarn. Frankly, it is a small price to pay for knowing that none of my hard earned rows will be sneakily escaping from unobserved dpns once the dishcloth gets big enough that an exit route is closer.
Other than an appointment with my most favoritest stylist and a short trip to the used bookstore next to her shop, it has been a pretty quiet day here at Casa de Sheep. Both Persephone and I seem to be suffering from our usual Fall allergies and have been pretty low-key for the duration. I put a little time and effort into attempting to teach her to cover her mouth with her paw when she sneezes, but that didn't really go as well as I'd hoped. Frankly, the better strategy is to simply stand clear when she lets one go. This can be challenging as she is confused by her sneezes and wants some comfort during the process, but we are working on a system. Mostly it involves the human covering her face with her hands while the cat attempts to get ever closer in order that she might share this phenomenon. Oddly, she doesn't seem half as interested in snuggling up when I am sneezing. I'm finding this to be a somewhat lopsided equation, but I don't think I have much of a vote at this point.
I did, however, protect the dishcloth. No cotton was sullied by kitty germs while this Sheep was at the helm!
SA

9 comments:

sheep#100 said...

The dishcloth looks great, Sheep. Hmm...garterlac, ball band...am I ready for octagons??

sheep#100 said...

PS - What size dpns did you use for this?

Sheila said...

I LOVE the cotton dishcloth...maybe you could hold some sort of contest and give it to the winner as a prize?
I don't like knitting with cotton (it makes my joints ache), but I like wearing/using it. Heck, I'll even trade you some sock yarn for it. Let me know if you're interested...I have some Lorna's Laces in the Tuscany colorway that I don't think I'll be using for anything. Maybe the contest could be to see who offers the best barter for the dishcloth. (I'm just full of ideas tonight. )

Anonymous said...

I like your dishcloth! Have you ever ordered cotton online? I'm wondering if there are different colors online than what is in the stores.

Anonymous said...

Very cute dishcloth! The colors are cheerful.
Allergies are in full gear here. Luckily the dogs aren't bothered. Unfortunately H and I both are so we're going through tissues like they grow on sheep.
Karen
http://nothingbutknit.blog-city.com/

Lorraine said...

Love the washcloth! I've made many but never the octagon. ROFLOL about the cat sneeze! Been there, done that, have the cat snot smeared t-shirt.

Mia said...

Must. Get. Cotton for Dishcloths. I think I went thru dischcloth envy about this time last year too *grin*

And um.. Annie.. I need to talk to you about how you got that way cool flikr picture thing *grin* I might need to have one of THOSE now too!

Anonymous said...

I love knitting with cotton. I'm also looking forward to trying hemp yarn (have you Sheep?) another wool-free option. Your dishcloth is beautiful, love those colors together.

The Mitz sends the kitties 2 headbonks.

Have a great day, G

catsmum said...

As I share my house with a large orange prone-to-feline-rhinitus furball who wheezes and snores in his sleep ... well, I can identify my dearest sheep... and can you tell me why, when he is at his sneezing-est / snoring-est, it becomes vitally necessary to sleep with his face in mine? Kitty germs at 3am... eeeewwww
feel better soon my sweet