Road trip knitting.

I'm ba-a-a-ack, and although I knit a lot while travelling to Sorrento and back, (4 hours each way) I don't have a whole lot to show you.

I started on the Twisted Rib Tank that I am using the thrift store cotton on. I've decided to use a twisted rib with a similar look and elasticity as the Eyelet-Cable Tank, but a little simpler and easier to knit. At first it looked loose and I thought it was going to be way too big, but now that I have several inches knit it is pulling in nicely. It seems the nature of ribbed patterns to look loose and wide until a couple of inches are done. The same thing happened when I knit the Eyelet-Cable Tank and it fit perfectly in the end. Anyway, here is the progress so far.

With several inches of twisted rib already done I noticed a spot....WAY down at the bottom of the piece, where I had gotten the rib out of sinc. After returning home I spent a couple of hours painstakingly ripping out 3 of the twisted rib sections and carefully reknitting them.

I put the Twisted Rib Tank down for a while and knit this dishcloth up. Not too exciting, but it was something to fiddle with while I decided whether or not I was going to continue with the tank top "as is". I know you have likely seen a hundreds of dishcloths just like this, but here is a picture anyway. (I DO love putting up pictures! *grin*)

While on the trip I also taught my eldest daughter (26 years old and mentally challenged) to knit dishcloths. She already knew how to knit, it was the shaping that was a new experience for her. She did very well and we were both quite pleased with her finished cloth. Several years ago I had tried to teach her to knit dishcloths, but at that time she couldn't keep track of her increasing and decreasing. It was nice to see that her attention span, memory and skill level are improving.

Thank you everyone for your kind comments about the Eyelet-Cable Tank. I wore it while away and it was very cool and comfortable. I am happy to report that I have now successfully machine washed AND dryed it.

In answer to a few questions on my comment page:

Amie, the stitch pattern came from "The Hamony Guides 450 Knitting Stitches, Volume 2" and is referred to on page 72 as "Eyelet Mock Cable Ribbing".

Maggie Anne, yes, I do think the simple edging would work on a shawl, although in my opinion, it would be best on a shawl with a simple pattern....not an intricate lace. One detail that worked out especially well with the edging, was the single knit stitch bordering it. This was accomplished by picking up my edge stitches between two selvedge stitches I kept in knit for this specific purpose. Where the front and back pieces did not have knit stitches available (the horizontal edges at center front and back) I added "faux" stitches using an embroidered chain stitch that mimics a knit stitch.

Stephanie, yes, I think you would enjoy branching out and trying a cotton tank. Although the ones I have done were not "quick" (because of the fine gauge) at least I didn't have to knit sleeves. It is quite nice to have a few handcrafted things to wear during the summer months too.