obviously if you mention a 'potential buyer' is coming to your house before it happens then you jinx it...not fifteen minutes before they were due and just as i was scrambling to get all kids out of the place (in might i add the pissing rain) the phone rings and i'm told by the realtor "sorry, we're not going to be able to make it now"...what do you say to that. i know, if you are a Brit then you say "oh thank you very much"...WHY would YOU say THANK YOU when you have spent the best part of the day ferreting away pets, pet hair, pet beds, kids, kids crap, cleaning loos, vacuuming etc etc...that's what i asked myself when i got off the phone, "Tif" i said in my head "why do you thank someone when really you want to scream i have a life, could you not have told me five hours ago, or better still why the frigging **** did you call in the first place to make an appointment"...
well now i have got that off my rather flat chest i am feeling much better and quite ready to get on with today, and part of getting on with today involves me being a rebel...yes that is right dear readers I AM NOT GOING TO VACUUM or SCRUB THE SINKS or PICK UP USED DOG'S HAIR. and you know what that means don't you. i am guaranteed to get a call from a realtor...let us test this theory and i will get back to you on it tomorrow...
in the meantime we must talk about the lovely janet as she is a two parter remember...yesterday we marvelled at her sewing and knitting talents, well today i have to tell you that she inspired me greatly with her dish cloth. when i read the post and then clicked on the link for patterns, well that was it..."HURRAH" i said to myself, there solves my 'christmas pressie' dilemma. every year i try hard to make our christmas presents for our family members across the pond...it is just perfect because we don't see them, they are able to groan and roll their eyes at another handmade squishy gift and i am none the wiser. so it works out just fine for all of us.
i announced to my man that i had found the perfect gift, thanks to janet...i told him i am going to knit every one dishcloths and not just any old dishcloths, oh no i am going to use eco friendly yarn in the hope of making a positive statement. my man did not leap up from his laptop and twirl me around the kitchen exclaiming "you are amazing, you are so clever, what a fantastic idea" (i am quite sure that would have happened in little house on the prairie) nope, he questioned whether people would really want, NEY use knitted dishcloths (i know you are feeling rather faint at the coldheartedness of his comment, it took me a while to regain my composure i can tell you) then he quickly added "i am concerned for you having to knit so many and how your wrists will hold up"...(yeah, right)
so i found some eco yarn from here, it turned up two days ago, i printed off some patterns and now i have completed one dishcloth, yes that's right one down and god only knows how many left to make (i have a largest family)...i am already trying to calculate what my average turn out has to be per week for me to get them done and mailed in time from Christmas, plus i have plans to make tea towels (not knitted but out of recycled linens)
as our #1 pointed out "who on earth would use a knitted tea towel to dry dishes" i wanted to point out "who on earth in my house knows what 'drying dishes' is"...
i'm off to school (worried about getting an allergic reaction) to teach art to a bunch of 12 year olds with my friend Beth and wondering how i was mistaken as somebody that has 'art knowledge'...i think the word 'craft' sounds too similar to 'art' and there lies the mix up...
she's earning her halo ~ Tif
haha - i am on a knitted dishcloth kick right now. honestly, it makes cleaning a little more enjoyable.
ReplyDeletei love how you just slipped that in at the end...can we have more on the art teaching tomorrow please? i'm sure there's a blog post in it.
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ps. yarn yarn yarn...i love that word. i'm sure i've asked this before but is yarn a general term for wool, cotton etc?
ahh what a wise question my dear Fran...i have learnt to use the word 'yarn' whilst living in the US because it seems to be a generic term, just the way we use 'wool' as a generic term in the UK...i would wander in to yarn shops and ask about the wool and i always got 100% wool so in the end i discovered that i needed to use the word 'yarn' and if it is wool i am after than i say 'wool yarn'..you see i have learnt so many things moving to another country. like for example i must say 'vacuming' rather 'hoovering' as 'hoover' is the brand name and people would look at me like i was a bit deranged when i said "oh yes, just doing a bit of hoovering"...at least i like to think it was that and not just because they thought i was strange looking with an accent to boot :)
ReplyDeleteAs attractive a knitted dish cloths is I have HUGE issues with them....
ReplyDeleteHowever I would use one to put Harry's water bowl on.
The 'yarn' is however gorgeous....
My husband says the only time our house is tidy is either if we have visitors or the house is for sale...
Wow, I love the colours, isn't it great that we live in a world where you can knit yourself a stylish eco-friendly dishcloth!
ReplyDeleteI also lived in the US, but at the time I wasn't a knitter...I still use the word yarn, there must be some yank left in me I guess x
I love your eco-friendly disclothes and am jealous that I don't knit. I have one cloth knitted by a dear friend as she was (gulp) dying and I haven't been able to bring myself to use it. My suggestion is to give more than one as a gift or it might be viewed as "too good to use" (especially if you die and can't knit any more).
ReplyDeletegood point Diane, i decided that one knitted dishcloth is not enough that's why i thought i would combine it with a tea towel...
ReplyDeleteyour point is also a very good one to raise...when my grandmother died it meant so much to be surrounded by her art, her memory lives on in her pictures that she created and a knitted dishcloth is much the same...i believe any knitted item given, is knitted 'love', because who ever knitted it for you was thinking of you at the time...thanks for sharing your thoughts with me :)
What beautiful colors! Love the Little House reference too, I often think (HOW did she do it all?) I think that show makes me a little crazy, raises my expectations of myself too high. Sewing all the clothes, cooking from scratch, farming, raising kids and all the while being the most cheery woman ever? I need to remind myself that it is a fictional show!
ReplyDeletewell, i, for one, think your dishclothes are fabulous and would be thrilled if any member of my family presented me with such a thoughtfully lovely gift : )
ReplyDeleteWhen I clean my house, the dog starts pacing around and looking at the front door expectantly... when will they be here? she thinks.
ReplyDeleteThat cracked me up about the canceled appointment - and then saying thankyou. I do this ALL the time and feel such an idiot. Such a Brit trait.
ReplyDeleteOh and by the way I say 'yarn' now not wool because of reading all the American blogs...I have to be careful saying it to the lady in the market or I get a strange look!
Perhaps I should reclaim the generic 'wool'. Funny how we are influenced.....
actually I can't believe that I read this post and thought "knitted dishcloths - what a good idea" - I have now come to my senses and shall not be following you, beautiful as they are - perhaps a face cloth or two. . .
ReplyDeleteI am also mistaken by schools, brownie groups etc as an arty person. They are always very, very disappointed when I turn up and can't draw.
Finally got around to packing up the bordery thing so it will go in the post on Monday.
J
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