Accidental Meeting

Back in May I went to Borders to buy a knitting book. There were at least three books on the list. All of them were on the shelf. I had a coupon. I didn't buy any of them. Do you want to know why?

Sitting on the table was a book I had heard a little something about but it didn't seem to be my style. I decided to thumb through it anyway. There was a section titled "In defense of the warshrag". The caption for the picture on the facing page said "If the Anti-Dishcloth Coalition targets you for making dishcloths, resist peacefully and start singing Bob Dylan songs." I was hooked.

This book was not only about knitting but it made me laugh. Out loud. For long periods of time. In public. The book had to go home with me. It's called Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne.

I discovered Ann & Kay have a website, Mason-Dixon Knitting. There's a great blog there too, Mason-Dixon KAL (KAL stands for knit-a-long). I started knitting dishcloths warshrags, and I can't stop. Must give them as Christmas gifts since I don't really cook, and therefore don't have dishes to wash.

My house is bursting at the seams with Sugar 'n Cream dishcloth cotton. I keep buying it even though I have enough to last me a few years. Tomorrow, I'm going to the tent sale at Mary Maxim to buy more. There's always another color to buy, another warshrag waiting to be made.

Once I discovered Mason-Dixon Knitting, I found dishcloth patterns everywhere. Criminy Jickets has a wonderful Garterlac dishcloth pattern on his blog. It's entrelac but done in garter stitch. Then I discovered a Monthly Dishcloth KAL Yahoo group and had to join. I need a support group to save me from all this. I've considered cooking so I can create dirty dishes so I can use all my wonderful warshrags .

Many people tell me they're too nice to use. They'll get dirty. wah, wah, wah. Your sponge gets dirty too. When the warshrag gets dirty just throw it in the washing machine. What's the problem? Tell someone you're knitting a warshrag and 9 times out of 10 they say, "you're making what?" which is quickly followed by "why would you want to do that?" Yet, every once in a while someone says "I love those. My Mom always used them" to which I respond "I'll add you to my gift list".

Renee


P.S. This isn't the usual list. The one where your name gets added at the bottom but nothing ever gets made for anyone on the list. This is the list I actually work from.


P.P.S. The Mason-Dixon Knitting book has lots of great items, not just warshrags. There are baby bibs, burp cloths, a cute baby kimono, a nightie, curtains, and more. If you haven't taken a look at the book, you definitely should. It's a great read even for non-knitters.