Dear Neighbor,
I might be the only person to give back, not return, merchandise to a store. Let me explain…
I have been spending quite a bit of time knitting. My newest projects have been dish rags. They really are the best for kitchen clean up, their little nubby stitches scrubbing off even the hardest crusty food.
I stopped by the local craft store to buy two skeins of cotton yarn. I didn’t pay a bit of attention on the brand, just the colors. I found two lovely southwestern colors and began my project to finish it in time for a Thanksgiving gift.
Mama was so pleased with the rag she vowed to never use my “work of art.” Making this a doily wastotally unexceptable, so I tossed the rag into the water, baptizing it to its sole purpose. What emerged from the bubbles was a hideous, limp rope. Stretched twice its size, it begged to not be useful as all.
Perpelexed, I went to my knitting bag to find I had purchased two skeins of I Love This Yarn instead of my tried and true Coats & Clark
With a hug goodbye and a promise to knit a new dish rag, I went the next day to Hobby Lobby to return the remaining skein. Sadly, the “return” line was 12 people deep and I really didn’t want to wait that long to return a $3 and some change item. I stood at the entrance deciding what to do with the inferior yarn. I didn’t want it, but my frugal German-Jewish brain wouldn’t let me just toss the skein in the garbage. So, I simply walked it back to the yarn section and did the opposite of shoplifting…I “shopdropped” it back on the shelf. Pleased with myself, I found the tried and true yarn and headed out to Hobby Lobby knit a new dish rag. They turned out lovely, as usual. It’s not too late to knit up a few for gift giving. They take only a few hours each.
Basic Knit Dish Rag
(no credit due… the pattern is as old as the USA)
One ball of Coats & Clark
Size 6 or 7 Knitting Needles
This is knit on the diagonal…
Cast on 4 stitches
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit 2, yarn over, knit to end
Row 3: Repeat until you have 52 stitches
Decrease rows
Row 1: Knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to end.
Repeat until you have 4 stitches on needle. Bind off and finish tails.
Happy Homesteading, S