let the good times roll

I have been on a crocheting roll lately! Tuesday I decided to keep the good times rolling by working up a bunch of new dishcloths for my kitchen. I've had these three balls of cotton in the stash for exactly this purpose, so I spent all afternoon stitching away. 

After clearing up the holiday decorations and returning our home to it's "normal" state of being (except for a very few festive Valentine's Day items), I got to looking at my kitchen drawer where the towels and dishcloths live. Some of the dishcloths have seen better days. There were some that were fraying, super faded, or just don't smell right anymore (eew!). So I tossed a few of them telling myself replacing them would be fun. 

I have a few of these daisy wheels around the house - I don't actually wash with these, they are more like trivets or decoration. I do love them, especially the ones my mom has made me. I think they look best when at least one of the colors is a variegated yarn like the one here. I think I've made a few in the past with just solids, but the variegated ones from mom just look the best.

I ended up using a variety of patterns that I found free on the web (a search of the term "granny square dishcloth" brings up quite a lot of great options), and stuck with these two color combinations. The light blue did double duty, so I ended up with some extra red and made a couple all red ones (one not pictured, just a small hdc stitch rectangle). 

The funny part is that I've been bugging my mom for the pattern for the ruffled granny square... and I found it on accident! One of my favorites to use for dishes is a turquoise and green version I got from her. I was pretty tickled when I went to put these away and realized that this is the same pattern she must have used. Serendipity! I did one round fewer of the center color, so they are just a smidge smaller than the original. It is going to be my go-to pattern for making new ones in the future. They look good in two colors especially with the ruffled edge, but I found a single solid also works great.