I hate to waste a whole post just to tell you this, but the server that hosts my mail has been blacklisted (because of spammers). As a result, many of your servers are bouncing my email. If I don’t/haven’t respond(ed) to your comments, this is why! I am switching to gmail, but it takes time as I have many aliases!

*cue shifty eyes*

As Tracy pointed out, with the start of Hurricane season, Dish Rag Tag should be right around the corner! And it is, at least I want it to be, but I’ve got a problem to solve. Well, a couple of problems, but one is more difficult.

There has been a little bit of an economic downturn. The Miracle Economy is not quite as booming as it was this time two years ago – or even last year*. The cold, hard fact of the matter is that I either need to figure out a way to offset DRT expenses or I can’t run the race this year.

This is where I need your help, ideas and input. My current plan is two-fold:

A) Charge a $1 participation fee to cover postage. This also should help with the other problem: the people who sign up and then are never heard from again. Too many folks left their teammates in the lurch last year.

B) Design two patterns, one priced at $1 and one priced at $5. All the income from this “Knitting Bake Sale” will be used for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place team prizes.

I consider Dish Rag Tag to be a gift to the knitting community, and it really bothers me that I just can’t do it that way this year. Do you think there will be a major objection to the $1 “fee”? I wish I had more confidence in pattern sales alone, but I’m afraid that they won’t total enough to cover both shipping and prizes. Can you help a knitter out with some feedback?

*Thanks to the generosity of Kate, Alaina and Lisa and my Mom’s mad sewing skills, last year turned out wonderfully well!

Newsflash: I just had a great idea for the $5 sock pattern – you knew the patterns would be a dish rag and a sock, right?

Here’s your square. It was a nice change of pace.

one of twenty-six in 2009

And here is my practice top!

Simplicity 2931, here’s another view.

It’s too big because sewing patterns LIE about what size they are supposed to fit. I guess that’s why you’re supposed to make a cheap one (a muslin) first. At any rate, I learned a lot and the next one will be better!

Happy hurricane season, y’all.

To celebrate, I will knit one (1) CounterPain Square.