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Today started out like a normal work day. I did a few things around the house; did some knitting and crocheting and spent time homeschooling. In the middle of those things, I did a few loads of laundry. That is typical. At least it was until I went downstairs to see if uniforms were ready to be put on an extra rinse cycle. The washing machine had stopped in the middle of the wash cycle and would not restart. I checked to make sure it was properly plugged in, which it was. I tried to start in on different cycles with no success. By that time I was worried. All of my uniforms were wet, dirty and soapy.

I did the best things I knew to do. I checked the checking account balance; figured out what could be spent to replace or repair the machine and called my husband at work for his thoughts on the subject.  The conclusion of our conversation was that I would ask my boss for the day off if possible and then check on the price of repairing this machine. If repairs were not cost effective then I would go buy a new washing machine.

My boss responded by giving me the day off. Now for the fun part of my day. I called a local appliance dealer with the reputation of honesty and integrity. Based on the symptoms the washer was displaying he said it sounded like the motor was going bad. This was not good news. He said the estimated replacement cost is about $175. This was worse news. It was clearly not cost effective to repair a machine that already had other problems besides that. It was time to do some shopping. The result is that a new washing machine will arrive here in the morning.

A check of Laura Spradlin’s site last evening provided a wonderful surprise update on the Rebuilding Greensburg Block by Block Project. Take a look here if you are interested. Words fail at this point. :)

I have been busy and having fun with fibers in the past few days.

This is a Darrell Waltrip Cloth made with Bernat Summerset. I enjoy using this pattern with variegated yarns because it shows off the colors well. It also works up quickly and easily. Despite all of the patterns readily available, this is one of my favorites.

This cloth is one I have never made before. It is called KBB Dishcloth by Cathy Waldie. I made it using Sugar’n Cream Twists in the color Denim Twists. It was started on 4.5 mm needles. Somehow in the middle of making it I started using one 4.5mm needle and one 4.25 needle. That was the result of knitting at the kitchen table with several needles handy and not paying attention to what I was doing. In spite of that, the cloth came out looking fairly well.  This is one of those patterns well worth using again and again in a variety of yarns.

Some time was spent this morning working on part of the gift for a friend at work. It is not progressing as quickly as I wish it were. One of the issues is that I am finding it a bit difficult to switch from using the natural fibers in the dishcloths to the acrylic fibers being used for this project. Could it be my taste in yarns is changing?