The Saga of the Dishrag

You would think I could finish a dishrag by now.

Well, other than the one I crocheted with no pattern that ended up being lopsided and funny-looking.

But no. Not me.

I have attempted and torn out approximately seven different dishrags so far. They have been a mixture of crocheted and knitted. Usually I'll get about one-third of the way through, realize how awful it looks or that I've missed stitches or stitched where I shouldn't have or in the case of knitting, dropped the end off of a row and been unable to pick it back up. So rather than just sally forth and continue on, mistakes and all, I grumble and grunt and groan and rip the whole thing to shreds.

There is not a perfectionist bone in my body. And I certainly don't feel as though I should be able to master this RIGHT NOW after all the videos I've watched and the books I've read.

Oh no. Not at all.

To be honest, I have a hard time doing a double cast on. I had to watch a video on YouTube over seven times to be able to get the doggone slip knot on the knitting needle. It got to be so comical that The Boyfriend came over to watch behind my shoulder to see what kind of brain surgery I was trying to perform.

I am a sad, sad lot.

So last night, after I finally got four, count 'em, FOUR, stitches cast on, I began a pattern called the Idiot's Dishcloth. I figured it suited me well. I was determined to FINISH this project come hot places or high water.

If I made a mistake, I faked it. If I dropped a stitch, I tried to pick it up. If I couldn't, I skipped it. Hey, the pattern said it was "very forgiving" and even an idiot could do it, so what do I have to lose? In the process I have learned to yarn over, knit two together, and I'm on the downhill side.

Don't stop me now, I'm on a roll.

I may not be a pro yet, but I'm learning. And a year from now, when the needles are gathering dust in the the drawer of the dresser, I can proudly say I made one of the worst dishcloths in the history of mankind.

But by golly, I will have finished it.