I’ve been running from one event to the next for the last several weeks and consequently feeling a little burned out. Bouncing back and forth between school events and a fun line-up of freelance work is great, but sometimes I need a moment to just be still and collect my thoughts. You know what I mean?
I’ve been busy interviewing interesting people for my weekly newspaper column, stressing out a bit over the future of said column, building weaving looms (thank you, dear customers!), hosting apron sew-ins, managing the Girls Scout cookie sale for my daughter’s troop, competing in indoor triathlons, training for a 25k, teaching, writing, designing and planning a charity apron show. While 99 percent of the things on my to-do list are super fun and most people are great to work with, there are times when the pressure of juggling a lot and working with the occasional rude individual makes me want to, well, scream.
And because screaming is not exactly socially acceptable or particularly helpful, I always try to opt for less disturbing ways to blow off steam. Inspired by a friend who is knitting her way through the grieving process one dishcloth at time, I picked up my copy of “Mason Dixon Knitting The Curious Knitters’ Guide, Stories, Patterns, Advice , Opinions, Answers, Jokes and Pictures” by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. I found my saving grace on page 19.
Behold the Ballband Dishcloth Pattern.
Now my friend and I are both knitting these things like mad. This simple pattern ranks among the most satisfying and quick knitting patterns I’ve attempted to date and I NEVER used to knit dishcloths. There’s something very soothing about knitting these slip-stitch, two color designs.
Knitting this project is a great way to peacefully deal with your issues, clear the creative palate and bring a little cheer into the kitchen at the same time. Now if I could just find the time to actually wash the dishes. : )
Thanks to Ann and Kay and their great stress-reducing book, I made a dishcloth instead of a knuckle sandwich. (Thank you, ladies!)
So today’s lesson is this: Don’t let jerks make you furious – furiously knit beautiful things like Ballband dishcloths.
