This dishcloth was designed in honor of my Aunt Becky. She was the younger of my dad’s two sisters. She was only 8 years older than me, so she was like a big sister. I loved visiting her at my grandparent’s farm. She always had a large stash of Archie comic books that I loved to read over and over.
Aunt Becky was a cheerleader during her High School years and she would teach my sister and I some of her cheers. It was so much fun playing cheerleader with her pom-poms and megaphone. She also had a collection of 45 rpm records. I was especially fond of listening to Elvis and the Beatles.
One of my most vivid memories of my time spent on the farm, and one of the
most talked about for years to come, was the water trough incident. My grandparents had a very large cement water trough for the cattle to drink from. I always liked to “walk a tightrope” on the edge of the trough. That was forbidden, as my granny always told me not to do that or I’ll fall in. Kind of a foreboding to the movie “A Christmas Story” where the mom tells Ralphie repeatedly that if he gets a Red Ryder BB gun – he’ll shoot his eye out. You know how that story ends.
No – I did not listen to my granny. Yes – I did walk along the edge of the water trough. And YES – I did fall in! My granny and Aunt Becky came running out to see what all the commotion was. I was soaking wet from head to toe. I had to take a bath to get cleaned off, and granny had to wash my clothes. In those days granny used a wringer washing machine, which I always thought was very cool. Her drier was the clothesline out back. So it took the rest of the day to get my clothes washed and dried.So what did I wear in the meantime? Well, I had no extra clothes with me, as this was just a one day visit. I had to wear my Aunt Becky’s underwear – which was way too big as I was just a skinny little kid and she was a teenager. Granny had to pin the elastic so they would stay up. I also wore granny’s house coat. Needless to say, I heard the term “droopy drawers” for years to come. I wish I could tell you that from then on I listened to my granny. But the truth is – I perfected my tightrope walk!
MATERIALS & GUIDELINES
ANY WORSTED WEIGHT COTTON
I USED CRAFTER’S SECRET
A: OCEAN – 60
B: SPA BLUE – 14
C: DARK TEAL – 18
CROCHET HOOK SIZE I / 5.5 mm
TAPESTRY NEEDLE
SIZE AFTER BLOCKING: 9” X 9”
ABBREVIATIONS:
Beg = beginning
Begdc = beginning double crochet
Ch/s = chain/s
Dc= double crochet
Hdc = half double crochet
Hk = hook
Rep = repeat
RS = right side
Sc = single crochet
Sk = skip/skipped
Sl St = slip stitch
Sp/s = space/s
St/s = stitch/es
WS = wrong side
The Begdc can be replaced with 3 chains.
SPECIAL STITCHES:
2Cdc (2 crossed double crochets): Sk next 2 sts, dc in next st, ch 1, dc into first of 2 sts just sk working in front of last dc made.
INSTRUCTIONS
Row 1: (WS) With A ch 26, working in back bumps of chs, sc in 2nd ch from hk and in each ch to end, turn. (25 sc)
Row 2: (RS) Begdc in first st, [work 2Cdc over next 3 sc, dc in next sc] to end, ch 1, turn. (6 – 2Cdc, 7 dc)
Row 3: (WS) Sc in first 2 dc, [sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next 3 dc] to end omitting last sc, turn. (25 sc)
Rep Rows 2 – 3 (7 times more) changing colors as desired. Finish off.
Note: I worked Rows 2 – 3 in Color A 3 times, and then Color B 4 times.
BORDER
Rnd. 1: With RS facing, join C with sc to the top right sc of last row just made, (hdc, sc) in same st, sc in next 23 sc, (sc, hdc, sc) in last dc of row.
Rotate cloth to work on vertical side, work 23 sc evenly across this side.
Rotate cloth to work on bottom of beg chs, (sc, hdc, sc) in first ch, sc in next 23 chs, (sc, hdc, sc) in last ch of foundation chs.
Rotate cloth to work on vertical side, work 23 sc evenly across this side, join with sl st to beg sc.
Rnd. 2: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), hdc in same st, work 3 hdc in each corner hdc and 1 hdc in each sc around, join with sl st to beg hdc. Finish off.
Weave in all ends.
© 2018 Melinda Miller – All rights reserved
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No – I did not listen to my granny. Yes – I did walk along the edge of the water trough. And YES – I did fall in! My granny and Aunt Becky came running out to see what all the commotion was. I was soaking wet from head to toe. I had to take a bath to get cleaned off, and granny had to wash my clothes. In those days granny used a wringer washing machine, which I always thought was very cool. Her drier was the clothesline out back. So it took the rest of the day to get my clothes washed and dried.
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