Muses on Washing

So I did something yesterday that I realized says a lot about me as a knitter.  Yesterday was one of my rare days off, and I spent it in the manner I frequently do -- cleaning, going for a run, and trying to decide how to clear out more clutter left over from my pack-rat student days.  Or at least that was the plan before I got sucked into the first season of Downton Abbey with the rest of you hipster kids.  Anyway, I was doing laundry between episodes and when I pulled my clothes out of the washer to hang up to dry I discovered something.  Somehow the swatch for my Rocky Coast Cardi had ended up in a pile of sweaters that had been washed.

Now, don't freak out like I did.  After having a moment of sheer horror that I had put knitting in the washer I remembered something.  I'm knitting this out of some Miss Babs Yowza I was given for Christmas.  Yowza is superwash.  Superwash means that not only can I put it in the washer, I can also put it in the dryer.  And really, the only damage was the fraying on the ends because it's a swatch so I never wove them in.

Something you might find surprising about me -- I hardly use the dryer (just for sheets, towels, and underwear) and I never, ever, ever wash my knitting in the washer.  Ever.  I am very particular about how I wash things.  I have a mop bucket in my bathroom that I use specifically to hand wash all things I deem too delicate to go through the washer agitation.  I have two laundry hampers, one for regular washing and one for handwash.  Maybe it's because I can't really afford to replace things, but I cannot bear the thought of putting my knitting through the washer.  It is a system that has taught me patience and really preserved a lot of my clothing to the point I still wear stuff I had in middle school (yes, I'm aware this makes me very hit or miss with fashion).   I like my system, but it is getting to the point I am beginning to wonder.  I have quite a few pairs of handknit socks and don't plan to stop knitting more.  Maybe it's time I give in and start using the washing machine the way God and Mr. Washing Machine Inventor intended?