Needlework Tuesday - 2 Finished Projects

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


I really didn't knit (or craft anything) over the holidays, so here's a couple of projects I finished a few weeks ago. The newest project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month was an oversize cowl knit on 20mm needles. Here's the completed project:

 

Despite the humongous needle size, it really wasn't too bad to knit and only took a couple of hours to complete. I should have got my husband to take a photo of me knitting with the needles, but I was done before I thought of it. The cowl is warm and cozy, but I haven't worn it yet (with the exception of a minute or two to take the photo). It's nice that the project didn't take too long because December is quite a busy month. Overall, I'm happy with the project.   Now that I have these huge needles, I'm thinking of making another cowl.  ;)

The second project I finished was a cabled scarf for me. Here's the finished project:

 

Again, overall I'm happy with the result.  I had used a mixture of some old (rolled up in a tight ball, recycled from a failed project) and new yarn (still in the original skein).  If you look really closely (in person) you can see where I started with the new yarn, but it really didn't turn out too badly. 

On one hand, I like knitting scarves. Generally, I have the pattern down pat after a little while and after that it's more of the same.  I like repetition. On the other hand, though, about halfway through I'm bored and I'm ready for something else. I have to force myself to pick it up again and complete the thing. That even happens when I have another project or two on the go. Oh, well, it's done. 

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.   I don't know if she'll have a post up with week because of the holidays, but 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.   If there's no post there and you'd like to share, you are welcome to leave a link in the comments here. 

Happy New Year!

Needlework Tuesday - Big Ass Needles!

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


I worked on a couple of needlework projects this week.  First of all, I continued work on my Snowman mitten, a kit from Mary Maxim. It was nothing short of frustrating with at least a dozen small balls of yarn dangling from it, all getting into a terrible tangle. I should have taken a photo of it at its worst, but I didn't. My main goal was to get past those few rows and get to the part where fewer colours were used. Thankfully, I'm there now. There's got to be a better way.  Hopefully, my friend YouTube will have a video or two that will offer some helpful hints.  I should have checked there first.   

The other thing I worked on was my cabled scarf. I thought I might finish it, but I ran into a bit of a snag. The yarn I was using was from a failed project I started many (many, many) years ago. Way back when, I ripped out the project and rolled the yarn into a few balls. Because I tried the project a number of times and I rolled the balls quite tightly, over time the yarn stretched out and lost a lot of  its fluffiness. That's all fine and dandy except that to complete this scarf, I needed more yarn than what was in those balls. The additional yarn I needed to use was still in its "virgin" form...loosely wound in a skein. Still nice and fluffy.  The difference is a bit noticeable, but not so much that I'm going to give up on it, especially since I have less than 12" to go.   It did make me stop and think, though.  Next time, I'll have to take better care of the yarn.   

Lastly, my new project came from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month, a bulky, oversized cowl. However, I haven't started it yet because I needed  to purchase some new needles.  I really wish there was a way for them to send them with the kit.  For instance an email saying, "Hey, Marie.  Your next project is on the way.  We can't tell you what it is, that's a surprise, but you're going to need size 20mm needles.  Do you have them?  If not, we sell them for $15.  Would you like us to include them in your shipment?"  How cool would that be?   They make an extra sale and I'd have my needles and could start my project right away.  Here's shot of the project:

I think I'd prefer it in the brown, but that wasn't my choice.  Also, I'm really not happy about having to purchase these big ass needles.  Just look at them!!!  As a comparison, I put them next to some "regular" 5mm needles:

Knitting with them should be interesting.  It's unlikely that I'll make another of these cowls and I'm not sure what else I'd use them for.  Even the lady at the yarn store said that they only got the needles in because of this bulky cowl fad.  Hopefully, someone someday will come up with another use for them. 

That's it for this week. 

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.   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.

Needlework Tuesday - Two Finished Projects and One New One

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

My two finished projects come from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month. First up, is a hat and matching fingerless gloves/mittens. I was a little dismayed to see that I had enough yarn leftover to actually make full mittens and not these ones that don't cover my fingers, which tend to get the coldest, but I like them anyway. I'll probably end up wearing them over my black leather gloves for added warmth. Here's me with the finished project:

 

I'm not terribly fond of me in this photo. I'm freezing and squinting. However, my husband did a great job of manning the camera...something he only does once or twice a year. I should have posed a little differently so that you could see that the mittens don't match each other in colour at all.   Trust me, they don't match.

The second finished project is a pair of felted slippers. I finally sewed on the straps and button, but I'm still not loving these things. They have very little/no structure and tend to change shape every time I touch them or put them on. They don't really hug my feet, but rather just fall away from the sides, so it's a little like walking on knitted kitchen dish cloths. Oh, well. 
 

 

Heather suggested that I add an elastic.  I'm sure it would help, but for the time being I wanted to make the project as directed.   Also, I'm not really how best to do that.   

Because I finished two projects, I gave myself permission to start a new one!!! I started the Snowman Mittens, also from Mary Maxim. Once again I find myself learning a technique, knitting blocks of colour with small balls of yarn. Right now I've got a tangled mess, but I think it's working out ok and should be fairly easy to untangle and continue on.
  

 

I find it a little odd that the mitten has the snowman design on both sides. At least, that's how I interpreted the pattern. If this were a worn item instead of a decorative one, I'd do it differently.

That's it for this week.  This coming week, I hope to finish up a scarf and made some more progress on the Snowman Mitten.  Also, the next project from the knitting club should be showing up any day.  Yay!

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.   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.