Needlework Tuesday - Busy week

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

Last week, I was trying to figure out my next project and showed three kits that have been sitting around for some time, two of which I had started and abandoned. I managed to take a look all of them as well as do a little on each of the three.

For the spa kit (that didn't come with enough yarn to complete), I decided to keep one of the pieces I completed and rip out the others. I'll be making a few dishcloths or facecloths out of the remaining yarn. Here's a shot of the salvaged piece as well as a sampling of what's left:

There are several more small balls of yarn as well as another skein of the variegated blue/pink shown on the right.

The kitchen set was more completed that I had originally thought. All I needed to do was tuck in some ends on the finished items. Three dishcloths and one scrubbie turned out okay-ish:

I love the scrubbie, but the dishcloths are a little small; barely bigger than my hand. I like my dishcloths to be at least another two inches wider and longer. Also, these patterns are not my favourites. While they knit up really quickly, they are the plainest, most basic patterns around for these cloths.   Something a little more intricate would have been fun to do.    Do you have a favourite pattern for dishcloths?  

The other two pieces in the kit were for those tea towel-like things that you (or maybe your mother/grandmother) hang from your oven or refrigerator door. On this one, the top part loops around the back and the flower-looking thingy (or button on most models) goes through a buttonhole to secure it.
 

 

I don't care for them that much, so I won't be making the other one. The thing doesn't really lie flat or hang nicely. When I first made it that flower-thingy didn't fit through the hole. At all. I tried and tried and tried. When I looked at this kit again this week, I decided to try again and really FORCE it. I pulled it through several times to enlarge the hole. I figured I had nothing to lose because the next step was to rip it out and make something else. Well, it goes through now, but it's still not easy. Silver lining....at least the thing won't come undone and fall to the floor. I still have quite a bit of yarn left and will be making a few decent sized dishcloths.

The last kit was for an entrelac baby blanket. I certainly don't need a one of these, but I thought it might be fun to try a new skill. So far, it's going okay. I don't have much done yet, so it's really hard to photograph.
 

All of it is a bit weird. I don't love picking up stitches or all of the "turning" that's involved, but I'm getting the hang of it. I'm hoping that when I get to the part of the pattern that says "continue as established", I'll have learned enough to continue.   Have you tried entrelac knitting?    

Lastly, I finished my shawl/wrap, the pattern of the week called Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool.  I love, love, love it!!! The colours are so vibrant and rich. The slipped stitch edge is pulling a bit (as the pattern said it would), so it's still not lying flat, but that's okay because it'll never be displayed like that. Also, it might be a bit better after it's blocked, which I plan to do this coming week. By the way, the curly end is supposed to be that way.  Isn't it cute?   Here it is:
 

The last row (at 500+ stitches) seemed like it took forever to complete...as did the castoff. However, I learned two new methods for cast off, which might come in handy for future projects. Since I have quite a bit of fingering weight yarn leftover from another project I might make another of these. This pattern is quite easy to do and the designer has added another option for edging, so it'll be like making a different shawl. Kind of.

This coming week I'm going to continue to work on the baby blanket. A new project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month should be arriving any day. So, I might start that. I'll also be going through my projects to see which one I can work on over Christmas. I'm thinking something small that doesn't require a lot of thought.

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.