Needlework Tuesday - Old and New

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

This week, I was been busy knitting my shawl (almost done!!), but I did manage to find a few minutes to complete a project I started in December 2014. It's one of the decorative snowman mittens from Mary Maxim. I didn't have much to complete, just the side seam and some finishing touches. But here it is:

I remember knitting this way back when and it certainly wasn't fun working with that many yarns hanging from the work. That's double the number you see on the front because there's another snowman on the back. I still find it odd that it was the same motif on both sides. The packaging shows the trio hung on a mantel, so you'd never see both sides at once. Unless I read the pattern wrong.... Anyway, while this guy is cute as hell and I love the shape of the mitten, I won't be making the other two anytime soon. In fact, I've been thinking of some options:

• not make them at all and use the yarn for something else
• make the mittens but forget the snowman motives
• make the mittens and only put the snowman on one side
• make the other mittens as I did here, with motifs on both sides.

I'm not going to decide right now.

I also had a little time to plan my next project. I have a number of Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month kits sitting about. Some of them started, others waiting to be started. Here's what I've lined up:

 

The first is a spa set. I wasn't happy with this kit at all. First of all, the pieces of the set were made from differently coloured Scrub-it yarn. While the colours mostly coordinated with each other, they didn't really look like a part of the same set and definitely didn't say "spa".  At least not to me. Second, the kit didn't some with enough yarn to complete all of the pieces. I contacted the company after running out of the one colour and they said they could send me one extra ball. After I said that I'd more than likely run out of two more colours, they said there was nothing more they could do, but I could order more if I liked. Since I didn't love this set anyway, I declined to order anymore. I think I'm going to rip out what I've done so far and make myself a few dish cloths instead. I think there are some free patterns online.

The second project is a Kitchen set. Again, another kit not to my liking. I only made a few of the pieces before running into problems. I'm going to go through this one again to see if there's something I can salvage.

The third one is pink baby blanket. I started another one of these and didn't get too far last year. I'm not interested in finishing that one yet, but this one is entrelac, which I haven't done before, so it might be fun to at least try.

First things first, though. I'm going to finish up the shawl I showed last week.  I have less than 20 rows left before casting off.  Then I'll take a look at these three projects to see which of them I'll tackle first. 

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.  

Needlework Tuesday - Knitting and knitting

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

This week I have a quick update on two projects.

The first one is the shawl/wrap, Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool. I'm about a 1/3 of the way through. It's still not laying flat, but that might change once it's off the needles. 

Speaking of needles, I've been reminded of why I dislike knitting on circular needles. It's hard to explain, but I just can't seem to hold it the right way without it curling in a direction I don't want it to.  I'd love to buy an identical one and just use them as really long needles.  However, since this shawl has already cost me $85+, that won't be happening.  I'll just have to continue to fight with it. 

Other than this, I'm loving the shawl.  The pattern is really easy to follow with lots of straight knitting, which is great because I like to knit while watching TV.  It increases 2-4 stitches EVERY row, though, so it's getting quite wide very quickly. Now that it's growing, I'm not sure how I'm going to keep up with that number of stitches (+500 by the end). I'd rather not keep counting them all, so I'm going to have to come up with a system, but since the pattern adds stitches on both ends, it'll have to start in the centre. Hmmmm....

Anyway, here's a shot of the shawl so far, followed by a close up of the slip stitch and garter sections.
 

Notice the stitch marker in the first photo.  That's marking the right side of the piece.  It's something I picked up from a previous project.  Such a simple thing, but it never occurred to me to do this.  Since much of this project is garter stitch, it's really handy.   

I also have an update on the second temperature scarf (mentioned here in a previous post) that I started back in June of 2014.  Sometime in February of this year, I discovered that I wouldn't have enough orange to complete the project. Get more orange you say? Sure. If only it were that easy. *HUGE SIGH*

First off, I checked my local yarn store. They don't carry the brand anymore, so it would have to be special order and they couldn't just order one skein...I'll have to take and pay for 10 skeins...of bright orange yarn. That didn't sound right to me, but whatever. I wasn't going to argue.

Second, I figured I'd find some online instead, even though I don't shop online. Well, as it turns out, that the colour is discontinued. Not the end of the world yet because some websites still had a few (very few) left in stock. When I looked around, I discovered that the price of shipping was more than the yarn!!!! In fact, quite a bit more than the yarn.  Crazy!

I hummed and hawed for a couple of weeks unsure of what to do. I had already completed 5-6 months of the scarf and had lots of yarn left...just no orange. Darn! When I went back to a few of the websites, they were sold out. If I wanted to finish the scarf, I had to act fast. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and pay the outrageous shipping price. I went to a website where the price was the most reasonable, but when I tried to place the order, something wasn't working properly and it just sat there spinning. I contacted the website administrator, but didn't hear anything back. However, a week later, I did hear from my bank saying that someone was charging thousands of dollars to my credit card. Sigh. I can't prove it was that website...I guess I could have a virus on my PC, even though I have antivirus software installed. Luckily, my bank caught it and I wasn't responsible for any of the charges. Needless to say no more online shopping for me. And the scarf? Well, I'm going to rip it out and make something else.  ;)  

Next week, I'll have an update on a Christmas item I started last year....I just have to finish it first.
 
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.  

Needlework Tuesday - Two Completed Projects

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

This week I have an update on two projects from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month.

Here's the shrug featuring dropped stitches that I mentioned last week.  The dropped stitches run almost the whole length of the shrug (48"), except for 2-3" at each wrist.  There were only 10 stitches that were dropped for the whole project, but surprisingly it took a lot longer than I thought it would to make them "run" as far as they needed to go. I really took my time with that though because I wanted to be careful not to stretch the piece too much.   

 

I wish that the sleeves tapered a little at the wrist...they are a bit too wide for my liking...but otherwise I like it.

The other Mary Maxim project I finished was a quick cowl, which can be worn as a long circular scarf in the fall or twisted twice (as shown) around the neck in colder weather. The ball of yarn apparently can make 5 of these cowls, but I don't like it enough to make more of them. The pattern, which alternated between lace and cables, wasn't that complicated, but since it's hard to see either of them in this yarn, I'm not sure the work was worth it. In fact, when I made mistakes I didn't even bother to go back and fix them. I just made sure I had the correct number of stitches and continued on.  Even I'd be hard pressed to find the errors.  Also, the colour, called Plum Pudding, isn't a favourite. It contains dark brown, light brown and purple. Do these colours even go together?  Unless I can find a more suitable pattern for this yarn, I'll probably make a scarf out of the rest and put it in the donation box.  

 

As for new items, I started the project of the week, Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool. It's a fairly easy pattern, but I somehow messed it up and was short one stitch. Also, it wasn't laying as flat as I'd like. Since it was knitting up quite quickly and I only had a couple of inches done, I decided to start again. If all goes well, I'll have a photo of the progress next week.

If I remember, I'll also provide an update on my second temperature scarf (mentioned here in a previous post), which caused a small disaster.

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.  

Needlework Tuesday - Where did the time go?

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

l can't believe how long it's been since I've posted about my knitting. Then again, considering that I've mostly been ignoring this blog this year, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Maybe one day I'll post about what been taking up all my time. For now, here are some of my latest knitting projects.

I'm still receiving projects from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month. Some of the projects I received over the spring/summer were not really that thrilling and not to my taste at all. However, I couldn't bring myself to cancel my subscription. I kept hoping that the next month would be better. I'm glad I stuck it out, because the last few have been awesome.

The latest one, a wrap, showed up on Friday. It looked like a really easy knit, so I decided to start it right away....and Ta-Da, it's done! Here it is: 

 

The pattern mentions that it's a small wrap and they weren't kidding. If I make this one again, I'd probably add a few more rows to the back to make it a little bigger. I bet I could even cast on a few extra stitches at the beginning and adjust the pattern accordingly to make it a bit wider. I'm getting ahead of myself, though, because although the wrap is small, it still fits okay.    

The other project I just finished (mostly anyway) is a shrug that featured dropped stitches. This worried me quite a bit because I hadn't done them before. I'll do the final unveiling next week, but for now, here's a sneak peek at the piece. The first photo shows the pattern before dropping the stitches; the second, after.

I was foolish enough to think that once the stitches were dropped they would run all the way down to the end or in this case where they were designed to stop. You know, like they do when you are knitting that you don't mean to drop a stitch, but you do, and it runs through several rows before you notice what's happened. Nope. Not here. Not in this case.  Every dropped stitch had to be manually undone. Once you see the whole project (hopefully next week) you'll see why this was sort of a big deal.
 
Finally, I decided to try the project of the week, a wrap/shawl, called Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool. I adored the look of the wrap because of the colours, yet when I got to the yarn store (after seeing it online) I picked completely, I mean completely, different colours. I'm having a wee bit of buyer's remorse, but I'm hoping it's going to work out anyway. I hope to start it this week. Here are the colours I chose:

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.  

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

In Plantation Shudders, Maggie Crozat returns to her family's plantation in Louisiana after breaking up with her boyfriend in New York. The plantation, now a bed and breakfast, is full of guests. When two guests, an elderly couple, die within minutes of each other, everyone at the B&B comes under suspicion. Maggie must work with the town's new detective, Bo Durand, to find the killer and clear her name, while keeping the business going. As she investigates, she uncovers some interesting and mysterious information about her guests.

I really enjoyed this debut cozy mystery. The story is filled with lots of humour, a little romance, a little spookiness, and a whole lot of fun. I wasn't able to guess the culprit ahead of time, but that didn't really bother me. I certainly enjoyed all of the red herrings that kept me guessing until the reveal.

I really liked Maggie. She wasn't as flighty as some of the other cozy mystery characters I've read about. That was a bonus, for sure. When I found out that she was an artist, I was hoping that her art would figure into the story a little more. Perhaps the author could consider that for a future book in the series.

The other characters had a variety of personalities. Some were easy to like; others, not so much. Each of their backgrounds and possible motives were varied enough to make for an interesting read. I especially loved Maggie's grandmother. She was awesome!

I haven't been to Louisiana, but from what I've read and seen on TV, Byron represents the sights and sounds of Louisiana quite well. I'm sure those familiar with the area will get a kick out of reading about the area.

The book also contains a few recipes that might be fun to try. The one for Crawfish Crozat looks amazing, but there's no way I'm going to find crawfish (or a few of the other ingredients) here on the Canadian Prairies. Maybe one day I'll be able to find some suitable substitutes.

Highly recommended. I'd definitely read another book by this author and am really looking forward to the next book in the series.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Ellen Byron's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron, Crooked Lane Books, ©2015. ISBN 9781629532509(Hardcover), 282p.

Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero

In Kneading to Die, Stan, short for Kristan, is making a new start in a small Connecticut town after losing her high-stress PR job. Her new focus is creating and baking organic treats for pets. Her homeopathic/organic approach doesn't sit well with everyone, though, and when the resident veterinarian, who uses conventional medicine turns up dead, Stan becomes a suspect. Being new in town can be either a blessing or a burden as Stan is about to find out.

This was a fun book! The mystery was a little confusing, but overall it was a good story. Stan was a great main character. I especially loved how she talked to the dogs and cats in the story as though they were people. (That's what I do, too.) I liked reading about the animals, too, especially Nutty, Scuffy and Duncan.

Having said that, there were a number of things that I didn't like or quite get. I found the story a bit muddled, especially near the end. Also, Stan's theme song references were lost on me. A few of them were familiar to me, but many weren't. I don't think they added much to the story.

I thought Stan's relationship with Richard was a bit cool and was so absent from her life that I forgot who he was a number of times. It didn't seem like they had much of a relationship and didn't seem like a good fit. It was all a bit weird.

Another thing that troubled me was Stan's total reliance on homeopathy and organic measures to treat her animals. I don't want to expand too much on that, other than I think it can coexist alongside conventional medicine; not totally replace it. Therefore, alienating the local vet soon after she moved there probably wasn't Stan's best option. Granted the vet was antagonistic, but one day Stan might have needed her services or advice.

While this advanced copy doesn't include any recipes, apparently the finished published one does. Those might be fun to try out for those who have pets.

Recommended for cozy mystery and pet lovers. While I mostly enjoyed the book, I don't think liked it enough to read any other books in the series. It does appear to be quite popular with other readers, though. As I'm writing this, there are three other books in the series.

For more information about this book, please visit the Kensington Books website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Liz Mugavero's website.

Thanks to those nice people from Kensington Books for this review copy.

Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero, Kensington Books, ©2013. ISBN 9780758284785(Mass Market), 331p.

Red Line by Brian Thiem

In Red Line, Matt Sinclair has just landed his first case since coming off desk duty. A teenager is found on a bus bench. That's just the beginning, though, as other bodies turn up. With no apparent links among the victims, Sinclair has to wrap this one up quickly before this new chapter of his career comes to a crashing end.

When the book first came in the mail, I decided to read a couple of pages, just to see what it was like. I found the story so compelling that I immediately dropped the other two books I was reading just to see how this one was going to pan out. I wasn't disappointed. I absolutely loved this methodical police procedural with a great main protagonist.

Brian Thiem, the author, has extensive experience in both law enforcement and military duty. Since I'm not a huge fan of war related stories, I'm glad he focused on his knowledge of police work to bring us this terrific mystery.

There are many things I like about this book. First of all, the book got (and held) my attention from page one without gratuitous violence, sex or excessive swearing. Thiem proves that a good story and a great main protagonist go a long way in making a successful book. Next, Thiem not only explained many of the abbreviations/acronyms used in police work, he did it in a natural way. Not all authors do that. Also, cop lingo and insider slang was kept to a minimum. Both of these last items made me feel included rather than feeling like an outsider looking in. Besides that, the writing is pretty good and the characters are very believable.

I loved Matt Sinclair as a main character. His far from perfect life had me on the edge of my seat hoping he'd succeed in putting his troubles behind him. Everything that happened, though, left me with lots of doubt as to whether or not he had the capacity to do it. Lots of tension for sure! I especially loved his struggle with addiction and his relationship with his sponsor/friend. I also really liked how events from his past were scattered throughout the book. Because they were revealed slowly, they added another mysterious quality to the story.

The book also contains lots of information about Oakland, California. I haven't been there myself, but I'm sure those familiar with the area will get a kick out of reading about it.

Highly recommended. I'm anxiously waiting to read more works by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Brian Thiem's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Red Line by Brian Thiem, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company), ©2015. ISBN 9781629531946 (Hardcover), 360p.