Simple knitting--Dishcloth

I have been doing a lot of sock knitting lately which is hard on my hands. I didn't have a mindless project that was on larger needles to give my hands a break so I started a washcloth Tuesday. These go so fast that I was able to weave in the ends yesterday and start another one.

I knit this while reading. Have you learned how to knit without looking? Elizabeth Zimmermann talks about doing that in her books. I get a lot more knitting done that way! I can read, watch TV, and visit with someone else and all the while my hands are creating something with yarn and sticks. I don't even think about it any more. But I often get comments about how can I knit without looking at my knitting? Try it some time. You might surprise yourself!

I love the hand knit discloths and don't have very many of them so I think I will keep working on them for a while. This one is plain garter stitch in Sugar 'n Cream Stripes. It is a new color that I found at Hobby Lobby. It is really bright and pretty. I need some bright right now. We have had at least a week of rainy weather. We need some sun!

Here are some new things I can do...

Of course, finished projects always seem to inspire me to start new projects.

This first one is a breast cancer pink ribbon dishcloth. This is going to a friend of a friend who is undergoing treatment now. It is made from Sugar & Cream cotton yarn on size 7 needles. These aluminum needles are too slippery for this yarn though! I found the pattern online here.

I also finished a prayer shawl which I didn't think to take a photo of. I started a new shawl in a triangular pattern that is started with 3 stitches at the top and worked in increasingly longer rows until it is the right size or you are thoroughly sick of it! I am using up several different colors of worsted weight acrylic. They all seemed to blend together and they were calling out to be used in something.

And finally, I started a tank top. I wanted to make a sample of something from Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool for my LYS. Besides teaching classes there I often make samples for the owner. I chose the Ylva tank that is on the cover of Designer's Choice book nine, The Second Viking Knits Collection.

This top has a double cable up the center front and back which splits for the V-neck in the front. There is also a beautiful knot design in the center front. The pattern has you knit each piece flat and seam them together. The cable band for the back of the neck is knit as a continuation of the fronts and then sewn to the back neckline. I am knitting the body in the round....I hate seaming! I am hoping that I can knit the cable band on to the back as I go, much like a border on a shawl. I am using size 6 needles so this is going to take a lot of knitting but I am doing pretty well considering I just started it on Wednesday. The yarn is color number 42, a beautiful burnt orange.

I am enjoying working with this wool/silk blend yarn. It feels really nice. The pattern is a little bit more challenging than some of the basic tanks I have done before but I think I have that under control right now.....we will see though when I get to that knot design!