A few people have asked for the dish cloth pattern that my mom knitted for my birthday.

The pattern comes from her Aunt (and my Great Aunt) Evalyn.

I’ve gotten started knitting dish cloths to give as gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  I love using them for washing dishes and wiping down my counters.  They have such a nice scrubby feel.

Aunt Evalyn recommends Lily Sugar ‘n Cream yarn to make these dish cloths, since it’s 100% cotton.  It’s even on sale this week at Michaels for $1.29.  One skein makes 2 dish cloths.

I’ve created a free pattern for the dish cloth from the instructions sent to me by Aunt Evalyn.  To download the pattern click here.

Thanks Aunt Ev for sharing your wonderful pattern!

A few months ago I was at the store buying watermelons for a teacher luncheon. I was tap, tap, tapping away on the melons when I saw another mom from my PTA watching me.

She said, “Can I give you some advice?”

“Sure.”  I said.

“The best melons need to ripen on the vine before they are picked. Look for a spot where the melon was sitting on the ground…

“That spot should be dark yellow, the darker coloring the better, and have some scars. That’s how you know it was allowed to ripen before it was picked and you have a good, sweet watermelon.”… if that spot is white, or if the melon doesn’t have a spot, it was picked too early.”

We’ve used her advice all summer long and have enjoyed some of the best watermelons ever.

My son Ben, who is the best watermelon picker in our family, also adds his advice:

He says the heaviest melons are the juiciest. He loves to pick them up and compare weight. He also taps the melons.

A good watermelon should sound thunk, thunk – like it’s hollow and resonant. Ben also looks for a melon that has a nice shape and is dark green.

So there it is, the best watermelon picking advice I’ve ever been given and I’m happy to be able to pass it along. I’d love to hear your favorite melon picking tips too.