"Palette" Cleansers

If you've been reading for any time at all, you know that I love all the colors! Whether in my wardrobe, on my lunch plate or in nature (check out these cool fungi we saw at one of our fave walking parks!), 

I am happiest when surrounded by bright, colorful things. As you might suspect, this preference punctuates my knitting as well, including everything from bright-pink-and-speckled-white fingerless gloves (3 pair knit this month!)

to basic staples like dish-/washcloths in all kinds of colors!

Lately, I've been doing these simple, garter stitch cloths as an in-between project while I wait for yarn in the perfect yellow and red for my next adventure. Gramma's Favorite (Grandmother's 2nd Favorite) Dishcloth is my pattern, which I have thrown to the internet freely for all, and the square cloths in these bright colors are knit from this free pattern.

The round one is based on another pattern, also freely available at a price (Link to Almost Lost Washcloth Pattern), but the more I knit it, the more I like it...and the more I tweak it! 

If you are looking for a reliable pattern for a round dishcloth with points, this pattern is a great start! If, like me, you are always looking for something new, stay tuned. I'm taking notes and seriously considering writing  up an alternative pattern very soon. I have even taken some very detailed photos in prep for the plan!

As I cleanse my knitting palate and my yarn-colors palette, I've also knit some little coasters from this pattern: Teeny-Weeny Garter Stitch Coasters

As you can see, they are the perfect size for mugs full of coffee or cocoa or cranberry tea, and they are super quick to knit up. But I've tweaked that pattern, too...and you guessed it...I may be writing it up soon! At just about 5 inches, it's a great coaster. In soft, cotton yarns, it would make a lovely makeup cloth or face scrubber, too. Need something cushy to wash baby in the bath? A tiny circle of cotton yarn might be just the ticket! (Not sponsored by anyone, but FYI: I really like Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton and Knit Picks' Dishie for this idea...both are super soft and absorbent, and they come in so many colors!)

So, that's where I am: Kindof in-between projects, but still knitting...as one does, when one is Pretty! Don't worry, there are still trips to America's Roller Coast pretty regularly. Check out this dusky shot of the entrance, enrobed in one side of the spectrum...so many coasters! None of them pair well with coffee, lol!

So far this season, I have 18 visits, and Cedar Point has 18 roller coasters! Yes, readers, I have ridden them all...the only ones I have not been on this season are the Camp Snoopy coasters. Anyone have a 4-year-old I can borrow? JK, I have a grandson that fits the bill in my family, and HalloWeekends run through the end of October, so there is still time!

I hope you are finding joy wherever you are, and if you see me at the park, let's ride! Until then...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Semi-Speechless Saturday

Not many words, but lots of pictures, because it's been a busy week! Here we go...and in no particular order:

Cedar Point, and more Cedar Point!

Before the Guardian Mile last Saturday...

The boys' times are improving!

Big boat in a tight space, from the bridge,

after the race, storms moving in!

Knitting colorwork for hands,

working inside-out, so it's not too tight,

Second pair, first fingerless glove.

New car...yay!

HalloWeekends are coming...

Was your week busy? Are you looking forward to fall, getting back to the routine? I'm back to work, and it's going well, but I'm out of words today...lol! Still, it's good to see you here. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Recovering (?) Type-A

Quick! Name something that comes back to "bite you in the butt" in life! I'll start...

PERFECTIONIST PERSONALITIES!

You know what else starts with P? That's right, Pretty starts with P, and Pretty has a perfectionist personality PLUS. As a recovering type-A (am I recovering though, or just continually backsliding?), I make mistakes then berate myself pretty hard on a fairly regular schedule. It's partly rushing (because I love a finished task), and partly doing too many things at one time (I'm doing this and this and this...might as well do that too), which is not an equation for perfection, but failure. It's like being impatient to finish a hand-knit sweater, maybe because I also want to finish the matching socks and bake some cookies, so I convince myself that a mistake isn't a mistake until I've bound off a sweater that has three sleeves! 

Special Note: This knitter, like most knitters, has only two arms. Thankfully, that is also true of the sweater she is currently working on...

Still, there is evidence all over my world of the mistakes I've made. Some of my blunders were bigger than others, and I am most thankful for the ones I have owned up to, shared with appropriate people, and learned from. 

I am thankful that I had another opportunity to learn to slow down again this week. Error Ahoy! Believe me when I tell you that I am not continually thankful for this mistake or any other, but in hindsight I am hopeful that I have learned from it. In this moment, what I am always thankful for is the people God has surrounded me with. The ladies in my Bible study have prayed for me as I floundered through the week, and they brought me back from the brink of feeling badly and beating myself up to admitting guilt and working through it. Ultimately, there was nothing I could do (this time) to fix the flub, so I admitted fault and apologized profusely while I prayed and knit my way through it, almost finishing sock 1 of a new pair as well as the progress on the sweater. 

All of that to say this: Everyone makes mistakes, and errors are almost always inconvenient. Nobody died, so it could be worse, and isn't that a good place to sit? As long as I can say, "It could be worse," I know it's probably going to be ok. This is true all throughout life, whether it refers to my mistakes or the consequences of another's actions, and I have been in situations that I don't think could have been worse...but most of life is somewhere between "Great!" and "Can't-Get-Worse," so that's where I live best. Could it be worse? Yes? Then it's going to be ok! Maybe not "Great!," but that's what a recovering Type-A needs to know...it doesn't have to be perfect. Sometimes ok is truly OK!

Are you like me, a straight-A student that can't let go of that one B in 7th grade, or the mistake that she made last week? Or are you gentle with yourself because not one of us is perfect? I hope you tend toward the latter, as it is a kinder and gentler way to treat both with yourself others. If you're struggling like I am, I hope you'll hop up onto the bus. When we struggle and grow together, we all get a little further down the road. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good health!

Kindness and Color

Before I start today, I'd like to say that I'm aware of all that is going on in our country, and in the world, and it makes my heart heavy. My personal response to all-of-the-things is to work as hard as I can to be as kind as I can to as many as I can while I move through my world. I hope that you are doing the same, even as you contact your representatives and post to your social media accounts. Kindness changes people so we can all help to make our world a better place. 

I also find it helpful to my personal mental health to take breaks from the gloom to remember what I am thankful for and to engage in activities that bring me joy...like, you know, knitting!... so I've cast on a new sweater with yarn that brings me joy

and a colorwork pattern that brings me joy

while I post joyful photos to my social media accounts!

Another thing bringing me joy today is the fact that, after living here nearly 5 years, we are finally repainting! 

Please excuse This Old House on the TV, but do check out that luscious purple on our accent walls...it is lovely in any light! 

And I'm loving the new bathroom color, in all three, as well! 

I haven't put much back on the walls, 

and two of our bedrooms are still patiently waiting for their new coats, but there is so much progress, and we are loving the house once again! 

Curious about our colors? Here's what we've used and where:

One more thing that's bringing me joy is these handsome goofballs

and these pics from my granddaughters! The oldest received a varsity letter in debate for her freshman year...so proud! Her sister is still working on her squishmallow collection while she also sings in the choir and plays soccer! 

There is much joy to be found, even though we live in a fallen world, so keep looking for it everywhere...and let me know when you find it. Shared joy is multiplied, and shared grief is divided, so find your tribe and share, share, share! (If you're in the path of the current arctic blast, maybe use the internet...)

Thanks for stopping by to share my joy today, and Knit in Good Health! 

A Tale of Two Cuffs

Hey friends! How has your week been? We returned from Gatlinburg on Saturday, and I went back to work on Monday, so I've been slogging through a little extra exhaustion...but other than that, it's all good here! I even finished my sweater this morning! 

This Neretina turned out great, and the fit is perfect (if I do say so, myself 😉), it even looks good before blocking!

It would be blocking right now, except for one thing...well, two things actually. After finishing the colorwork on sleeve two this morning, i realized it turned out much better than the first one. Mr. Pretty helped me take a Pic to show you...

...but I guess it's not something that shows super well in a photo. If you look closely, the white "pops" much better on the left sleeve than on the right, because my tension was a bit tighter on that first cuff than on the second. 

So now what? Its not so tight that it'll be uncomfortable to wear, even if I push that sleeve up a bit...but I'm not sure my sensory self can wear a sweater with one cuff tighter than the other, which says far more about me than about the sweater... 🫤 ...so (of course)  I've already ripped back that cuff and started to re-knit it.

Hopefully this isn't the start of a "now I have to rip out the other cuff" competition...lol! Even if it is, I do have some recent yarn victories to boost my ego...like a finished sock (that I started on vacation),

and some recently untangled yarn for a friend at knitting on Thursday. 

So, no matter what happens this week, I've clearly got this, and I'm looking forward to settling back into the routine. Just like when I was in school, I kind of love being back!

I hope you're getting enough sleep, and knitting time, too. Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

My granddaughter texted me photos of
the sweater she is crocheting...I'm so
proud to see and celebrate her
artistry, too!

All the Summer Fun!

This has been my summer! I mean, there have been other summers, for sure, but this has been one of the best! From season pass visits to one of my favorite places...

... to time with family

... to the knitting

... even to a little straightening up, going through 4 years of greetting cards received

... this has been a really good summer, and I've made the most of my time off! As we get ready to wrap it up, Eric and I had dinner and took in some shows at the park last night. 

The Singin' SeaGals, shakin'
their tail feathers...lolz!

Harrowng High Diver Elain dove from a
max height of 80 feet! It was amazing!

My last week will again be spent with family, and I'll bet there will be photos for next week's blog! For now, the boys are on their way over, so I'm going to wrap this up! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!