Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Needlework Tuesday - This and That



Here's a brief update on some of the craft projects I've been working on.

I wanted something mindless to do while watching TV. I found a very simple wrap pattern in the Knitting Cards I pictured last week and picked up some cheap yarn (factory ends) from the thrift store. It's worsted weight yarn of unknown content, but it's done on large needles, so it's knitting up quite quickly. I did this in about 30 minutes yesterday. For some reason it's knitting up skewed to the right.   Could it be the pattern (R1: K2, *yo, K2tog, K1, repeat from * to last st, K1, R2: K2, purl to last 2 sts, K2) or maybe the yarn?  I can stretch it out so that it's straight, but it always bounces back.   I've done a little more since I took the photo and it's now undeniably skewed to the right.  The left hand side, which appears to be almost straight in the photo, now also slants to the right.  Hmmmm...  Any ideas fellow knitters?
 











The other thing I'm working on is my temperature scarf. I didn't expect to give an update so soon, however, lately we've had too many really warm days in a row and I wanted to show how that looks on this scarf.  The RED rows are for temperatures about +30C.  The scarf doesn't show the feels-like temperature or the humidex. Some of those hot days felt like +40C.  Also, some of those orange rows are 28C or 29C, which I consider too hot especially if the humidity is high.  Hot, hot, hot.   Thankfully, it's cooled down a bit now. 



















Lastly, I started my Zentangle year-long(?) project on September 1, 2013. Basically, I'm doing one-a-day (one Zentangle pattern per tile) and then at the end of the week, I'm going to incorporate them all onto one tile (maybe) with a string.  That part hasn't quite been decided yet. I also don't know how I'm going to keep track of the ones I've done. However, since I was already doing drawings based on zentangles on a mostly daily basis, I figured I might as well start the project already. Here are the two I've done so far:












Both are have the zentangle name (Crusade and Spyz, respectively) and date at the back.  I have about 30 drawings that I did previously to these, but I'm going to call that "practice".  I'm probably going to do a few of those (some favourites) again as part of the project.

That's it for this week.
Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.  

4 comments:

  1. Sorry, I'm no help on the knitting issue since I can barely knit, but I love what you've made. The pattern is so delicate and intricate looking.

    Love the zentangles. The pattern on the left is one I've tried and I goof it up every time. Practice, practice, practice! What kind of pens/pencils do you use? Especially for the shading?

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  2. busy fingers lately. I also think that it's the way that knitting stitch goes. If you were using a wool you could block the heck out of it and beat it into directional submission. I have that same problem with my crochet. I have a few skewed afghans. Love how the temperature scarf is looking. We've been having some chilly days lately, perhaps a green.

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  3. I think it's the pattern as well but I wonder if it'll make a difference on a wrap pattern. See how it looks as you get further along. I'm curious to follow your progress on the zentangles as I've never even heard of that before. Love the temperature scarf. I'm tempted to get wool and start one too.

    I just finished one mitten and I'm working on my second one. I made a nice cabled hat too and am working on a scarf to match. Next up I found a knitted bag I want to do and then felt it. I'm on a knitting streak right now. Listening to books and knitting away. Lol.

    How's your weather right now. It is way too hot for people and dogs here. Sam and I are about to head down to the basement since he hates the heat. Hope you're having a good week!

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  4. my sister sends a suggestion. since the pattern is every other row, first time, do the yarn over and knit two together, the next time, the yarn over and then slip one, knit one, pass slip stitch over. that way your decreases lean one way and next time they lean the other. She hopes this helps.

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Thanks so much for your comment. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I've been getting lots of spam comments, so I'm turning on word verification to help keep spammers away. I know it's a pain; I don't like it either. Hopefully, in time I'll be able to turn it off again. Thank you!