Needlework Tuesday - Knitting...Again

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.

After having abandoned (temporarily?) the scarf I was making last week, I scrambled to find another knitting project to do in front of the TV.

I've had two balls if Kroy Sock yarn sitting around for some time. I didn't love the socks I made from this yarn, so I searched online for something different. I found a pattern for a beanie online. I don't think a "beanie" is appropriate for someone my age so I'm thinking of it as a light toque. I was planning on making a narrow scarf with the second ball, but it looks like I'll have to dip into the first one to finish the hat.  I'm already into the decreasing section at the crown of the hat (I've done more than in the photo below), but had I known that sooner, I could have made a contrasting strip with some other leftover Kroy yarn. I might figure out something yet.

This hat was supposed to be knit in the round, but since I didn't have the proper circular needle and didn't want to buy one,  I decided to knit it on two needles and have a seam down the back. I'm hoping it's going to work out.

What I didn't anticipate was how differently the colours were going to be "scattered" around the scarf from knitting back and forth instead of in rounds. I know it doesn't really matter, but it's not something I considered when making the decision to go with two needles. Here's how it looked a couple of days ago:
 

My next project in the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month arrived yesterday. This time it's Felted Slippers. I've never felted before, but I've seen projects for it and have been curious about how it's done. Of course, I didn't have the proper needles, so that meant a trip to a specialty yarn store in the city. I can't see me using these needles (4 double pointed 8mm needles) that much, so I wasn't that happy to have to shell out another $18+ for this project. Sure, I could have bought plain metal ones for about $13, but these bluish wooden ones are kinda pretty, so I went with them. In hindsight, I should have bought the metal ones and saved a few bucks, but it was a long day, I was tired, there was a line-up at the store, and I just wanted to go home. Here's the project:

 

...and the new needles:

 

Pretty wood grain, eh? 

I'm not excited that about this project. That's because I only knit for myself and I don't usually wear slippers. I wasn't that excited about last month's project either, the carry-all bag, which I've yet to use. I'm finding that I have to keep reminding myself about why I joined this club...to experience new things, patterns, yarns, stitches, techniques, etc. In that regard, the club is doing what I wanted it to do for that's exactly what's happening. I've had to look up online a number of new-to-me things in the last three months and have learned some new abbreviations as well as techniques. I just wish I loved the items more or found them more useful and that I didn't have to go out and buy new needles for every new project that arrived in the mail. ***big sigh*** Oh, well. 

After complaining last week about the cabled scarf I was knitting but not loving, I received a comment from Heather, who suggested smaller needles. Thanks Heather!!!  I'll probably try that this week.  Hopefully, I'll have a photo to share in the next week or two.
 
Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.   She's finished her beautiful year-long temperature scarves which are 17 feet long!!!   If you haven't seen them, you can find them on her blog.   Also, if you've done any crafting this week, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so other can enjoy your creations.