That is the two sleeves, front and back of the polo shirt. They are a little hard to recognize, and I apologize for that, but for the next step in this project I have to get out the iron. And I just don’t want to.

The reason for this is actually pretty straightforward: I hate to iron. I have a very large backlog of un-ironed clothing (several articles are of a Hawaiian Shirt Nature and have been neglected since last summer). The backlog is in a pile in one of the chairs in my office. I’ve gotten to where I don’t even notice it anymore. The cats have been napping on it. I’ve considered donating the whole thing to Good Will to avoid it. When I get out the iron and the ironing board to flatten my polo shirt facings, I will be forced to address this issue. And I just don’t want to.

Instead, let’s talk for a second about the Dish Rag Tag forums. I am getting such a kick out of this! Only one team has no posts (you know who you are – for Shame!). If you are having any trouble figuring out how the forums work – just email me and I will give you a helping hand. Team Work and Communication is essential to Dish Rag Tag Glory! And I am certain that it will make your team captains feel much better if they hear from all of their team members.

Also: Y’all hurry up and come up with names! Team #So-And-So is just so uninspired.

PS In case your Team Captains haven’t told you yet, I am mailing the boxes to them first. You can start your strategizing with their home location!

For a few hours last night, Yarn Miracle had actually exceeded its bandwidth allotment. And it’s not like I have a tiny amount of bandwidth. It’s fixed now (obviously, since you are reading this). Michael says, “Why do you have to do popular things?” I said, “I had No Idea this would be popular.” He will feel better after coffee.

If these are the biggest problems we experience during this swap, I think we’re doing pretty good!

Much to The Miracle Household’s consternation and embarrassment, we are experiencing some weirdness with the forums this evening. It was fixed and then broken again and some people could post and some couldn’t. All of that appears to be resolved now! So post your little hearts out.

Thanks for you patience and to all of you who emailed us to let us know there was trouble. The part where the error message says “we have been notified about this problem” is a *gasp* lie! Michael has now turned on the feature that notifies him about errors. But dropping us an email about bugs is still a good idea (especially whopping bugs like the forums not working). Michael does this for a living and while he refuses to drop his Paying Clients to work on Dish Rag Tag full time, he is still able to give us a fair amount of attention and fix our problems in a timely fashion.

Kathy officially wins the Special Swap Race! In spite of the dozens of priority mail stickers my little post office lady used to cover the box I sent, Illinois mail service must just be faster.

Yay! All kinds of wonderful things!

The yarn is Rowan’s Denim (Nashville*) which I have wanted to try for a while! There is enough to make a vest for me – I am thinking of something with a little texture to it and buttons on the front. I am so excited! Everything in the box is fun, delicious, cute and perfect for a garden swap (I wonder if everyone sent gloves? And watermelon candy? So appropriate.), but I would like to draw your attention in particular to the tiny jar in the center of the loot.

(How cute is that froggy?)

That, Dear Readers, is Spoonable Fudge. The answer to the eternal question of “How do you mail chocolate in the summer without making a mess?” It comes with an itty bitty spoon! Which is now proudly owned by one William Henry (I didn’t hide it – who knew cats liked spoons?). Thank you so much for a wonderful swap Kathy! I have had a blast getting to know you. And thank you to Lynne for pairing us up!

There was so much mail today that it wouldn’t fit in the box, Post Guy actually had to deliver it to the front door! Part of the first prize for Dish Rag Tag arrived (and Kathy sent one too) – more on prizes at a later date. The other big arrival was the prospective boxes for Dish Rag Tag.

***DISH RAG TAG UPDATE***

The same box (barring an unforeseen smushing disaster) will be used all the way through the swap, passing through each team member’s hands once. I have located something sturdy enough, easy to open without ruining (knife to the tape on the top flaps), and a reasonable size. It also has the right price tag: free!

Plenty of room left for treats.

The dimensions are 7″x7″x6″ and loaded with yarn, dishrag and cheat sheet of instructions (participants might get so excited that they forget what to do when they get the box) it only weighs 10.75 ounces.

I have done Extensive Research.

This leaves 4 ounces for treats and 1.25 ounces for packing tape and mailing label. No problem.

I have notified all Team Captains – they were selected by chronological order of sign-up and state of residence.** US and Canadian teams have been officially created! On the US teams, all 10 of you are from a different state – the boxes will be crossing state lines every time they are mailed. The forums are also ready, so head over to Dish Rag Tag to meet your team mates! Navigation and instructions are pretty straightforward, but if you have any trouble or encounter any bugs, email me! Your team affiliation will show up in your profile, the forum link is also there (and up at the top). Team forums are private, but the General forum and Dish Rag Patterns (where pattern links should be posted and their merits discussed) are open to all participants.

Australian Teams, you are not officially assigned yet, I am still waiting on information from a few of you before I put together teams.

Spectators, when Team Australia is squared away, we will be opening up Spectator Registration. If you choose to register, you will be able to participate in the general forum, post dish rag pattern links, take part in the preliminary events and vote on some of the Individual Merit Awards (more on prizes at a later date).

*The blue shades are named “Tennessee,” “Memphis” and “Nashville”. The ecru shade is called “Ecru.” Do you think “Chattanooga” was just to hard to spell?
**Basically, I picked one Team Captain and then went down the list until I found the next volunteer who was from a different state. So all 20 (really 21 with Canada) are from different states.