Needlework Tuesday - A whole lot of knittin' goin' on.

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

It's spring. Well, sort of. Yesterday and today are a bit cooler, but after that it's going to be lovely. I've been busy enjoying the warmer weather as well as knitting up a storm. I finished two projects, started a new one and, picked up one that's been sitting for awhile. Go Me!!!!

The other Shibui Yarns scarf that I was working on is finished. Multigrain is a fabulous scarf that uses three different yarns for great texture. All sections use two strands of yarn held together as one. Some times it's two strands of the same yarn, other times it two different ones.  It's supposed to be done in one colour, but since I was buying my yarn on sale, I had a more limited colour selection. I went with 2 colours and couldn't be happier with the result. It's quite a wide scarf, so there's a number of ways to wear it.

What appears to be a solid light/apple green section in the middle is actually three sections using two different yarns in the same colour.  It's hard to tell that though because the yarns are so similar.   I love this scarf!!!!

The other project I finished was the shawl/scarf from Diamond/Katia using their Spring Rainbow yarn.   I realized that I picked the colourway that is the least "springy".  However, the others ones were more pastel and that definitely ain't me.  It turned out okay, but I didn't love the yarn structure. As I wrote on raverly.com, this shawl is a really quick, easy knit. I'm a little disappointed that I finished the shawl before I got to use the end of the yarn which was solid black....one of the reasons I purchased this colorway. Perhaps I should have started with the black. However, I was worried that pulling this yarn from the centre was going to create a huge mess. There's no twist to this yarn and it's basically 4 separate strands. I wasn't sure I'd be able to find the beginning without getting it all tangled up. The other option was to rip back to the centre point and make the shawl bigger. I wasn't sure how much bigger I could make it, though, so I just followed the instructions. I'm happy with it regardless. It's another scarf that can be worn a couple of ways.

The new project I started was from a kit I purchased from my local yarn store. The pattern is Handmaiden's Bias Shawl, available for free on ravelry.com. The only difference is that the kit suggested I use two yarns (Handmaiden Fine Yarn Angel Hair and Handmaiden Fine Yarn Rumple held together as one) instead of just the one suggested by this particular version of the pattern. It gives the shawl a slightly different look. I've only just started this one, but I already know that I don't love knitting with boucle yarn. It's bumpy texture takes a little getting used to and really messes with my tension. Here's what I have so far:

The last thing I've been working on is the Hidden Gusset fingerless mitts that I started quite awhile ago. I had almost finished one of them, but put it down because I had had various problems with it and wasn't loving it. After some time away from it, though, I'm finding that absence really does make the heart grow fonder and I now like this project enough to continue. I've add the thumb to the first mitt and have started on the second one. I still wish I had used a different yarn, but I'm okay with how they are turning out.  I'll post a photo of the pair when they are done.

Whew! I told you I've been busy. The coming week, I'm going to continue working on my WIPs as well as get a jump on a summer top that I've been meaning to start. If I don't do that soon, I'll have to wait until next summer to wear it.

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.