In an effort to both stay busy and create a sense of cleansing/starting some things anew, I’ve been cleaning like a fiend this week. Yesterday, I finally knit myself a dishcloth and, inspired by the yarn pirate herself, ditched my sponges. In keeping with my occcasional theme of knits-in-action, here’s a shot of my new dishcloth in its new home:

Thrilling, I know. (But seriously, these cloths are surprisingly sturdy scrubbers, and the idea that they will just go in the weekly wash with my other kitchen cloths makes me very happy.)

Also, I tackled the spice cabinet. I wish I’d thought to take a “before” picture, but I was too excited to measure brightly colored seeds and powders into their respective jars. This will be an ongoing project, as the co-op only stocks so many small jars (which I think are intended for lip balms or creams in small quantities) at a time. Still, this cupboard is much happier:

In celebration, I baked some chocolate walnut cookies. I saw this recipe over at the kitchn, printed it immediately and tucked it into the binder o’ kitchen ideas. In a word: yum. My kitchen smelled so rich and chocolately that I had to open a window.

These cookies are cooling on newly available counter space — yesterday I lugged the microwave that was in the apartment down to the basement. I figured that since I’ve been here almost a year and haven’t yet plugged it in, I probably won’t miss it, and the extra space sure is nice! Here’s a cookie macro shot:

Again: yum. Yummmm.

In the spirit of starting new things, a project I’ve been looking forward to arrived in my inbox yesterday. I’m test-knitting stripes! for Whitney over at whitknits. (You can see her stripes! in this post. All of Whitney’s knitting is beautiful, and this post highlights a whole slew of inspiring projects.) When I saw her stripes! earlier this winter, I knew I wanted one so I jumped at the chance to give this a try.

Because I am taking my test-knitting responsibilities very seriously, I swatched and even washed and blocked my square of eco-wool to be sure my gauge was correct. It really didn’t take long at all. In fact, swatches dry wayyyy faster than sweaters do. Note to self: there is no reason not to do this all the time.

I spent a few hours catching up on podcasts and getting started on my stripes!, and I’m already loving this sweater. I learned a new cast-on, and this ribbing is so pretty. More pictures soon, as I intend to knit a few more rows before bed.