The Camping Crafter: run the dishwasher twice

My good friend Dorette van Heerden shared this with me in February already. I am still mulling over it.

When I was at one of my lowest (mental) points in life, I couldn’t get out of bed some days. I had no energy or motivation and was barely getting by.
I had therapy once per week, and on this particular week I didn’t have much to ‘bring’ to the session. He asked how my week was and I really had nothing to say.
“What are you struggling with?” he asked.
I gestured around me and said “I dunno man. Life.”
Not satisfied with my answer, he said “No, what exactly are you worried about right now? What feels overwhelming? When you go home after this session, what issue will be staring at you?”
I knew the answer, but it was so ridiculous that I didn’t want to say it.
I wanted to have something more substantial.
Something more profound.
But I didn’t.
So I told him, “Honestly? The dishes. It’s stupid, I know, but the more I look at them the more I CAN’T do them because I’ll have to scrub them before I put them in the dishwasher, because the dishwasher sucks, and I just can’t stand and scrub the dishes.”
I felt like an idiot even saying it.
What kind of grown ass woman is undone by a stack of dishes? There are people out there with actual problems, and I’m whining to my therapist about dishes?
But my therapist nodded in understanding and then said:

“RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE.”

I began to tell him that you’re not supposed to, but he stopped me.
“Why the hell aren’t you supposed to? If you don’t want to scrub the dishes and your dishwasher sucks, run it twice. Run it three times, who cares?! Rules do not exist, so stop giving yourself rules.”
It blew my mind in a way that I don’t think I can properly express.
That day, I went home and tossed my smelly dishes haphazardly into the dishwasher and ran it three times.
I felt like I had conquered a dragon.
The next day, I took a shower lying down.
A few days later, I folded my laundry and put them wherever the heck they fit.
There were no longer arbitrary rules I had to follow, and it gave me the freedom to make accomplishments again.
Now that I’m in a healthier place, I rinse off my dishes and put them in the dishwasher properly. I shower standing up. I sort my laundry.

But at a time when living was a struggle instead of a blessing, I learned an incredibly important lesson:

THERE ARE NO RULES.
RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE!!!

Kate Scott

A couple of times since February, I had to tell myself to ‘run the dishwasher twice’, each time for a situation that had absolutely nothing to do with dishes. That just became the way to remind myself that sometimes, the rules and deadlines I create for myself, are totally unnecessary, unrealistic, and actually unhealthy.

This morning again, I made a decision, to ‘run the dishwasher twice’.

The planning was to finish the Cable me Cozy project in three months. The three months became nine months, simply because I had no idea how little knitting time I would have with a full-time job. And now? Well, the nine months changed to eleven months. I started working on this project in March 2023, and the KAL will start on 7 February 2024.

The reasons are multiple.

• My own blanket is not yet done.
  I am busy with the last panel. Then I have to join the last two panels; luckily the first seven panels are all joined already. And then, the border must still be done. I cannot thumb suck kit quantities. Or rather, I won’t. In today’s economy every cent counts. I have to be absolutely sure about the kit quantities before the kits are made available.
• My testers are not done yet either.
  I would really like to show more than one size option in the blanket when I start advertising.
• The timing is wrong.
  Most people now save up for Christmas presents. Even the most avid crafter will rather spend money on her family now, than on a kit. I certainly would.

I came on this camping trip dead set on finishing the blanket here. It soon became clear that it won’t happen. I forgot my crochet hook at home and I need to do a crochet cast on. As if that isn’t enough, I am seriously distracted. I am distracted by beautiful birds that walk right up to our camp, Nyala ewes that graze within 10 meter of us, Impala rams that show off their good condition while walking past, squirrels eyeing me from the tree, and the list goes on! My knitting has to compete with my camera, and to be quite honest, the camera is winning. I can knit when I go home. I can’t enjoy these beauties when I go home.

The timing in February is perfect for every crafter, both in South Africa and internationally. Let me explain why.

This is a cotton blanket. Who can afford to make a Merino blanket these days? I certainly can’t. In summer, this is the perfect blanket to use with just a flat sheet. It is the perfect weight and I speak from experience here. I made the first Aran Caresse blanket for my king size canopy bed. But my son was relentless; he wanted that bed, and eventually, we just gave it to him. Now we have a normal bed, so we need the overhang, something my original blanket doesn’t have. The original one is now our camping blanket – perfect for our offroad camping trailer. And where we are now, it is HOT. Very hot. That blanket is slightly heavy, but not too heavy. It just works for summer weather.

But what about winter? Do you like putting a duvet in its cover? I don’t. I HATE it. In wintertime, the duvet goes naked on top of the flat sheet, and then the Aran Caresse blanket goes over it. It looks beautiful. It creates a nice weight in winter, and I don’t have to get the duvet into a cover. Win-win!

The kits will be made available as soon as I am 100% sure of the kit quantities. That will probably be within the next month. Note – I am not committing to anything this time! I am learning to be gentle on myself! The KAL will start on my birthday, the 7th of February 2024. I know I will be ready by then.

Celebrate my birthday with me by joining the KAL. I would love to have a record participation with this one!