it is quite possible, based on my own casual observations, that i am the last person in north america to knit a ballband dishcloth. i actually avoided knitting one for a long, long time--i can't even tell you why--i just refused to follow the herd (no offense to herd followers intended). and then, last week, as i finished a ball of peaches and creme cotton yarn, the band came apart and there in all its rich tradition and glory were the instructions for a ballband dishcloth. and i guess it was the combination of sleep deprivation and the presentation of the thing in it's place, but for some reason i was overcome and so i started a ballband dishcloth that very day.
since one of my life goals this year is to reduce my worldly possessions by 50%, i pulled out two balls of yarn from my stash that were chosen for the obvious reason that they were right next to each other in the bin. and in no time i had finished the first two courses of what looked like bricks and mortar.
when i showed it to ella, she said it looked like humpty dumpty should climb up on it. and that is how the humpty dumpty dishcloth was born.
i am totally smitten with this pattern and will be making more. i wish i hadn't resisted so long.
there are variations of this pattern all over the net, but if you want to kick it old school, go to the source: peaches and creme ballband dishcloth pattern. or, if you want to kick it even older school, go even closer to the source: go get a ball of peaches and creme cotton yarn (i get mine at wal-mart, i hope the wal-marts close to you still have a craft section) and open the ball band. you'll feel so radical and pioneerish. ok, maybe that was just me, but you won't know if you will unless you try it.
*the book is volume 1, "nursery favorites old and new" of the bookshelf for boys and girls (the blue series). my parents bought this collection for us kids when i was little, and over the so-far 40+ years i have read every volume cover to cover more than once. this collection is what i consider required reading for any well-educated child. but enough about me. :)
