Needlework Tuesday - Knitting...again.

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

This week, I worked on a Spring Wreath from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month.  It showed up sometime last year, but I wasn't too excited about it. It's not my style at all and certainly isn't a project I would have chosen for myself. However, since it contained at least one new technique, finger knitting, I figured I'd give it a try.

The finger knitting was really fun to do.  I used that technique to make the cord to wrap the wreath.  I should have taken photos in progress, but since the yarn was actually on my fingers, I couldn't pick up the camera to take a shot.  There might be a few spots where the Styrofoam peeks through, but a straight pin or two can fix that quickly.   The flowers and leaves were really quick to knit.  About five minutes apiece for the flowers; less than that for the leaves.

All in all, it turned out pretty much as pictured.  I like the whole project a bit more now that it's done, but I still don't know if I'm going to hang it up in my home. The good thing is that in the assembly, glue was optional. I went with just straight pins, so that when I get sick of it, I can disassemble it and use the yarn for something else.  If it does grow on me, then disassembling it might be the best way to clean the different materials.

I also worked on the burgundy Triangle Knit Wrap that was giving me so many problems when I first started. It's still going really well. The rows are quite long now because there are 4 additional stitches every second row.  It takes awhile to get one row knitted, but so far I'm pleased with my progress. I don't have a photo this week...maybe in the next week or two.

I also did a little work on the sock yarn hat/fingerless mitt combo. I had deemed the hat a "finished" piece.  However, I decided to make the hat doubly thick (and reversible) for those cold southern Manitoba winters. I could have made the second hat a separate piece and sewn the two together. However, the pattern suggested that I pick up stitches around the bottom of the first hat and start the second one from there. Since I hadn't attempted anything like this before, I figured it was something new to try. Here's what it looks like so far:

I've marked the end of the first hat with a aqua stitch marker.  So, everything above the marker is the new hat; everything below is the old hat.  It's kind of weird, right? I'll provide more photos of how it's all going to work once I'm into it more.

You might notice that I have some point protectors on the double pointed needles. I had been having trouble with stitches falling off the needles, not only when knitting, but also when storing the piece and moving the piece around. I went to the yarn store to get better (wood/bamboo) needles, however, when I got there, the fabulous staff came up with some other/cheaper options. Since the metal needles I was currently using were almost brand new, they suggested I try the protectors first. They can be used on a variety of needle sizes and are definitely cheaper than new needles. So far, they are working great.

The next project for the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month showed up on Friday.  It's a pair of Fair Isle mitts. I like the look of it, but I'm not sure when I'm going to start. I wish they'd sent me the red yarn as indicated on the project photo, but the black yarn will do. You can't tell by the photo, but the two yarns are carried throughout the whole mitt making it doubly thick. One of the inside photos shows a stripy pattern on the palms. Interesting...

This coming week, I'm going to continue with my two current projects (wrap and hat) and possibly look into other projects I've abandoned along the way or maybe start the mitts???

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.