Needlework Tuesday - Scarves

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

I guess it's been a few weeks since I posted an update on my knitting. I've made some progress on some of the projects I was working on. However, some have fallen by the way side and are threatening to become UFOs. I hope to take a look at those this week and get them moving again, but in the meantime here's what I've been working on...

I finished one of the scarves, Tier, from Shibui Yarns. I made it longer than the pattern called for because I wanted to use up the reminder of the yarn. No use keeping less than 80 yards of speciality yarn around when it can easily be used up in the current project. I also added an extra 3 rows of dropped stitches (like those on either end of the scarf) about 2/3 of the way so it has a asymmetrical look.  You can just about see them on my upper back/shoulder.  Blocking flattened it out quite a bit, but the edges are still rolling at the slightest touch. Stupid stocking stitch. Despite that, I love this scarf.

I also started another project. I wanted something really portable for a short trip we took last week. What's more portable than a single ball project. It's sort of a shawl/scarf-in-a-ball kind of thing. I don't love the yarn because there's no twist to the threads. It's just 4 strands, which give me plenty of opportunity for split stitches. Also, I would have loved a little denser fabric for this shawl/scarf but I only had one set of needles with me. It's turning out okay regardless.

This Spring Rainbow yarn (colorway 52) goes from taupe to white to black, changing one of the threads at a time so there's a nice progression.  Currently, I'm knitting with two taupe and two white strands.  The most unfortunate part is that there's a knot in all 4 strand with every change. Some knitters have been untying these knots and retying it so that ends can be woven in, but I'm leaving the factory knots as they are. I hope I don't regret this decision.  What do you do with factory knots?

The next project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month showed up in the mail yesterday. This time it's a mitered pillow. The kit comes with one pillow form and enough yarn to make both pillows in the pattern photo. Meh. I like the colour of the yarn I was sent; a mix of rich blues and pinks. However, the pillow style doesn't thrill me. I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass on this project and just add the yarn to my stash. If you remember, last month I received a kit for leg warmers and matching mittens. I still haven't decided on those yet, but it's not looking promising. Perhaps next month I'll get a project that I'll like.  Here's the pillow pattern and yarn:

That's it for this week. I'm going to continue working on my WIPs.

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.