Needlework Tuesday - New projects

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

Wow. I've really gotten out of the habit of posting on this blog. I had a post mostly written for last week, but never got around to posting it. Since then I've put most of my projects aside to tackle a new one (more about that in a minute). Once this new project is more underway, I'll get back to some on-hold projects and post about them at that time.

So, the newest project I started is a mystery Knit-A-Long (KAL) for Joji Mystery Wrap. My local yarn store and other sources were promoting it quite a bit and that peaked my interest. Joji (pronounced Hohee, I believe) has given us a few indications about what we are knitting, it's a large wrap, but other details are being kept under wraps. ;) Each week she sends out a clue, which has instructions on how to proceed.

I don't like time constraints that much, but with this one I'm determined to keep up with the weekly clues. So far Clue 1 has been sent out and I'm just about done. The next clue should arrive late Thursday or early Friday.

I had purchased some yarn for the project, but at the last minute I decided to go a different route and use some yarn from my stash.  My choices don't exactly follow Joji's suggestions for yarn colour, but I'm going with it anyway. I can show you the yarn I've chosen, but I'd prefer to keep the knitting part a secret until the end...well, at least for a bit longer. I don't want to give anything away for my fellow KALers. Here are my colours:

If nothing else, the wrap will be colourful.  ;)

Just before I started the KAL, the next project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month showed up in the mail. While I don't love this one either (I'm starting to sound like a broken record), I decided it was time to tackle one of these. The pattern for this throw (or what I'd call an afghan) is 16 rows and is pretty simple. The repeating fan pattern has only one tricky bit every few rows. I especially like that the WS rows are all just working the stitches as presented. Perfect for TV knitting. Hopefully, before it's done I'll have memorized the pattern. Here's the project and what I've done so far:

This week I'm going to be concentrating on the KAL. If I find time or finish early, I'll take a look at one of my other projects.

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 - Flooding and Summer Tops

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

Has it really been a month since I last posted? It really has been busy around here.

I'll get to the knitting in a minute, but first I wanted to post a brief update on the flooding of 2017. I was going to do some separate posts, but decided against that for various reasons. It was quite an adventure with water level forecasts ranging from "minor inconvenience" to "major flood event" all within 48 hours. It eventually ended up with the peak somewhere in the middle of all of that. Here are a couple of photos of my backyard, before and after:

Backyard before

Backyard after

Normally, the river is about 700 ft from our house, but here it's about 70 ft from the house. It's gone down quite a bit since then, but there's still plenty of water around. Some of the land is lower than the river, so at some point it'll be landlocked and will likely stay around for a couple of weeks.

Now on to the knitting...

First up, the Handmaiden's Bias Shawl. This one turned out okay and works great as a scarf, but it's a little too short to wrap comfortably around my shoulders as a shawl. The fact it's biased makes this even worse. The instructions say that it may stretch a bit when worn, so maybe it'll be okay after awhile. I might try to block it to see what happens. My photographer is busy painting today, so here it is on the back of a chair:

I finished knitting the summer top from Shibui called Interval. It knit up surprisingly quick and it now blocked and ready for assembly. I learned a few new techniques for this piece and am loving how it looks so far.

The next project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month showed up in the mail a couple of weeks back. It's a shawl, but not one that thrills me. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to make this one.  If I don't, that'll be three projects in a row that I don't like.  If this trend continues, I may have to cancel my membership.

Finally, I've started another summer top, this one from designer Stephen West. It's called Banaue Breeze. I'm using some yarn I bought for another project that didn't quite work out as planned. The yarn is quite funky, so I was looking for a funky piece that would suit it. I'm hoping this works.

The top is unique in that it's knit in two halves, starting at the arm hole, and seamed in the middle.   I had a really rough go of it so far.   I must have tried the cast on a dozen times before getting it right or somewhat right enough to continue.   I had to learn what provisional stitches were and apply that knowledge to working in the round.  I abandoned the idea of using the magic loop technique at the same time by switching to a smaller circular needle.   I'm so glad I got it figured out.  I didn't want to abandon this one.  

I'm trying to come up with a name for this one.  Since I'll probably never get to the Banaue in the Philippines, I'm thinking closer to home.   The colours remind me of autumn or harvest...Harvest Breeze...Autumn Breeze...or Prairie Winds...or Manitoba Mayhem.  Still thinking.

I have a few other things to report, but I'll leave that until next time. This coming week I'm going to hopefully assemble one summer top while continuing to knit the other.

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 - 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.  

Needlework Tuesday - Too many projects - On Wednesday

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

Last week, I wrote about working on 3 projects and starting a 4th. Well, I think I've now spread myself to thin because while I worked on all of the projects this week, I don't have much to show for it. I do have a few things to write about...

First up, the Hidden Gusset fingerless mitts. I have one almost complete. Just need to do the thumb. I'm not totally happy with it, though. It's not quite as snug as I'd like it, especially at the top around the fingers. I guess it'll be good if I'm working on something and need good dexterity. Since I've already started this one twice, I'm probably going to make the other one. Maybe they will grow on me. I'll post a photo once the thumb is done.

Last week, I mentioned a project that was in the planning stages. Well, I started it. I'm using the Sand Layers pattern, but I've renamed it "Sky Layers" because I'm using leftovers from my sky scarf. Since the pattern only uses two colours and I wanted to use 5, I sat down and planned it out. At least, I thought I did. Once I started knitting, though, I realized that my planning wasn't all that thorough. I've already made some changes on the fly and I still refining the colour changes. I hope to get it more ironed out before I continue. I really don't want to be ripping out another project. Here's what I have so far:

The colour is off in the photo.  It starts off with light grey then goes to charcoal and finally light blue.
The latest project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month showed up in the mail yesterday. It's a leg warmer/mitten set. My first thought was "Leg warmers? I haven't worn a pair since the late 70s." My second thought was "Sure. Why not? I sort of like the yarn." My third thought "Hmmm...Am I really going to wear these? Mary Maxim sent me a project last year for boot cuffs, which are like short leg warmers. I made one. Didn't like the way it fit. Didn't make the other." I'm still having thoughts and am not sure what I'm going to do with this yet. Here it is:

Two things about the photo struck me as odd.

1. It's winter and she's not wearing socks. My feet are never cold in winter and I walk around barefoot in the house all of the time, but I'd never put on boots without socks. 
2. Why go through all of that work to hide the leg warmers under the boots? Is that the way they are supposed to be worn? Back in the 70s, I wore them instead of tall boots. That is, with runners to keep my legs warm or with short boots. Either way, it showed them off. 

Was that the style back then or was that just me?  Has that changed? Anyone know?

Lastly, Kate over at Art and Socks asked me to friend her on ravelry. Well, I was a little embarrassed that I'd been using ravelry for patterns, but hadn't actually put any of my projects on there. That has been remedied. In fact, I had a lot of fun going back over some old projects and putting them up on the website. I didn't realize how easy it was. I still have a bunch of previously finished projects that I'll be adding as time goes by. Going forward, I hope to do add the project as soon as I start it. So, if you are reading this and are also on ravelry, feel free to friend me. I'm ILoveSpring. LazyDaisy was already taken. I still have to figure out how to put a ravelry button on my blog.

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.  

Needlework Tuesday - Scarf, Hat, Scarf

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

This past week, I worked on two knitting projects: the latest one from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month, and a new one. (I didn't get around to fixing/ripping out the fingerless mitts.  Darn!  Forgot about that one.)

I managed to fix the hat I wrote about last week. There was a problem with the pattern and it wasn't turning out quite right. As it turns out, it was a misplaced "*". That wasn't the only problem with the pattern. It called for a 24" circular needle. However, I couldn't get the stitches to join in the round on that size, so I used a 16" circular needle instead. Much better.

I also encountered a problem with the scarf. Even though I followed the pattern, the loop on the back of the scarf (to thread one end through to hold it in place) isn't wide enough to accommodate the width of the scarf, so it doesn't lie flat. It's knit into the scarf itself, so the only way to correct it is to rip the whole thing out. Not happening at this point.  I'll just pretend it doesn't exist.

Despite having a few problems with this project, I'm sort of happy with it.

Short story about the photo: I had showed my husband the scarf after I was done because I liked the patterning. I hadn't mentioned the matching hat. I figured he'd figure it out when he saw it on my head. Silly me. So, the first few photos he took featured only the scarf. He completely chopped off my head because...hat? What hat? It didn't even occur to me to say something until he showed me the shots he took. This is me doing an eye roll and pointing to the hat.

I also started another project. Another scarf from Shibui called Multigrain. It's supposed to be a one-colour scarf using three different yarns. However, when I bought the yarn (on sale), I couldn't find enough yarn in any one colour so I decided to improvise. I'm the three different yarns (as the pattern suggests), but two different greens. Here's the start of the scarf and the other yarns:

I'll explain more about how the different yarns and colours are used when I get to those sections.

I really shouldn't have started another scarf because I already have one on the go, two if you count a lacy shawl that can double as a scarf...one I've been working on for way too long.  This new one will make three.  Dumb idea! Scarves are so, so, so long and I'm easily bored. I've been trying to do a little bit on all three every day, but I might have to start another project or two to break up the monotony. Mitts? A summer top? Another shawl? I have yarn and patterns ready to go for all three, but I'm not sure I can juggle another project without letting one or two slide. I'll have to see how the week goes.

How many projects do you have on the go at one time? Not counting UFOs. I mean actually working on, say, at least once or twice a week.

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 - On Tuesday!!!!

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

Look at me posting a Tuesday post on Tuesday!!  Maybe it's this glorious weather we are having.  The nice thing is that it's expected to last a week.  The highways are probably going to be icy at times (YUK!!!),  but it's going to be nice to wear a lighter spring jacket instead of a heavy parka.

This past week, I started two new projects.

The first project is the latest one from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month. I showed the project package last week and figured I might as well start. Because it's made with chunky yarn, it knit up quite quickly. It's essentially stocking stitch, so it's curling up quite a bit and definitely needs to be blocked.  I'll show the whole scarf once that is done, but for now here's a close up of the patterning:

Cool, eh?  I like the effect.  The best part is that there are very few ends to weave in.  Yay!!! I also started the matching hat, but I'm pretty sure there's a mistake in the pattern. Either that or I did something wrong. I noticed that something was amiss basically from the start, but continued to knit anyway. I'll have to rip back about an hour's worth of work before trying to figure out what happened. If it's a pattern mistake, I hope MM will send out a correction (they did this once before). I could try phoning them, but last time I couldn't reach the person I needed to talk to. It's probably best if I just try to figure it out on my own. It shouldn't be too bad, but it's definitely annoying.

The other new project I started is a summer scarf. The pattern is Tier from Shibui Yarns. It's rather plain with just a few sections of dropped stitches, but that's sort of why I like it.  I really like the yarn I'm using (Twig (colour Mineral 2022, also from Shibui), but it's more rough than soft.  It's made from a combination of linen, recycled silk, and wool. Here's what I have so far:

It's a super easy pattern and I've only just started. However, getting the tension correct after dropping a number of yarnovers (yo) was a bit of a challenge. It, too, is in stocking stitch and will need to be blocked. I have a couple of other projects from Shibui lined up. Look for those in futures posts.

This coming week, I'll work on the summer scarf for a bit then I'm going to figure out the problem I'm having with the hat (see above).  Oh, yes. I mustn't forget about the fingerless mitt I mentioned last week. It was another pattern I somehow screwed up. However, at least on that one I know it was me and not the pattern.  I should figure that one out soon before it ends up a UFO.

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 - On Thursday

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

Another week and yet another storm. We just can't catch a break here in southern Manitoba. Many of the highways were closed for most of the day, which means we spent the day at home. The blowing is over now, but we are under a Extreme Cold Warning. It'll be -42C with the wind chill overnight. The good news is that after tomorrow we are going to have a huge upward swing in temperature. By next Thursday, the day time high is supposed to be 0C (-5 with the wind chill). Yay!

Anyway, I have a few finished projects to show you, but first another project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month showed up the other day. I like the weave-like pattern on this scarf/hat combo, but I'm not wild about the style of the scarf. However, I don't have one like it, so I figured I'm make it as is.

The colours didn't show up well at all in the photo. From left to right: taupe, coral, and navy blue. At first I thought it was black and got really excited. I love black yarn. On closer inspection, though, I realized it wasn't. Boo. I guess they ran out of grey that's pictured on the pattern.  Another boo.

These next two projects finally got blocked this past week. One I finished in November; the other, I got done between Christmas and New Years. The yarn for both had come from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month, but I didn't care for either pattern and decided to make something other else out of it.  Too see the original patterns I pass on, check on my post on December 6.

The first one is the Boneyard Shawl, designed by Stephen West.  Unfortunately, this sparkly, variegated yarn doesn't do this pattern justice. It is big, cozy, and super easy to knit, though, so I guess it'll do.

Here's a close up of the "rib texture":

If you like original, funky, colourful knits, check out Westknits or Stephen West on ravelry.com.  I'll definitely be making another one of his creations.

The second one is Offhand Lace by Caitlin ffrench. It's fabulous in the neutral color (shown on ravelry.com), but I like my version, too, which uses two variegated yarns with long repeats.  Here it is:

Because the yarn is chunky and the suggested needles are quite large, it knit up in no time. I think I wore it for a straight week after it was done.

I did start one more project, Hidden Gusset fingerless mitts, in the last few weeks, but I haven't had any luck with it. The first yarn I chose was a lovely plum coloured tweedy wool, but it was breaking at the slightest tug. So I abandoned it and chose a much more sturdy sock yarn. The colours are okay, but the contrast is a bit too high. Anyway, things were going great until I sectioned off the stitches for the thumb and realized that my stitch counts were off by quite a few stitches.  Not sure what happened, but I'm going to have to start again, otherwise, the pair will never match.  

Did I mention that my local yarn store has a sale going on right now? Select yarns are 50% off, while the rest of the yarn in the entire store is 20% off. I swear some of the skeins were jumping right off the table into my basket. What was I supposed to do? Put it back? I had been eyeing some of them at full price before Christmas. There was no way I was going to leave them there unloved for even one more day.  In other news, my husband might be planning an intervention.

This week I'm going to work on the scarf/hat combo as well as figure out the fingerless mitt fiasco.

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 - Shawl, Vest, and a Canadian Classic

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

Believe it or not, I wrote a post last week, but it was Friday before I got back to the computer to post it. At that point, I figured I'd just skip it and post it this week. However, now the information is outdated, so here's another try. I finally finished knitting the shawl, Jette from Drops Design on ravelry.com and had time to steam block it. Here it is:

I deviated from the pattern slightly in a couple of places. For instance, that wide green stripe isn't in the pattern. I added for two reasons: 1) to use up the rest of the green yarn I had, 2) to "stretch" the pink yarn in hopes of having enough to finish the project. That plan didn't work. I seriously underestimated how much yarn I'd need to finish up and had to order another ball.

Anyway, it's done and I love it. It's large, cozy, warm, and made with (mostly) leftover yarn for just over $20. Can't ask for much more out of a shawl. Perfect for watching TV.

The other thing I worked on was Top Down Vest from Mary Maxim. I had a little trouble deciphering the pattern at first, but after that initial stumble it was easy peasy. Since the yarn is bulky it knitted up quickly. Here's the finished piece:

I'm quite pleased with the result. I was a little worried that I didn't pick the right size, but it fits me perfectly. I'd show you, but my photography helper was out today and I haven't mastered selfies. Even though I ordered the buttons that they suggested, I didn't use them. I found some others I liked better, especially after the mistake I made. No need to talk about that, though. Let's just move on, shall we?

I really like this yarn, Mary Maxim Aspen. It's 100% acrylic and it's speckled with all of these colours making it so rich looking. I used colourways, Fireside. I'd definitely use it again. Here's a close up:

After finishing the vest, I started on a pair of mittens for my husband. I don't knit much for him for a variety of reasons (see below), but when we were at the yarn store not too long ago, he spotted this kit for mittens based on the Hudson's Bay point blanket, a true Canadian classic with it's green, red, yellow and navy stripes.  This version, put together by my local yarn store, is knit with roving, which is something new to me. Also new for me is knitting mitts from a chart. I had a little trouble, but I think I managed okay. They will be good enough for my husband, who will either 1) lose one or both, 2) store them on the slushy floor of the car.    Here's a little peek at one sans thumb:

This is another one of those projects that knit up quickly.  It shouldn't be too long before we are looking for one mitt that's been lost.  Note to self:  Check the floor of the car first.

This coming week, I'm going to finish the HBC mitts and start another pair (different yarn, different pattern) for myself.

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 - Snowed in

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

Since we are snowed for the day (or days), I figured it was a good time to write a blog post. I had two appointments scheduled in the city today and I'm not pleased that I had to cancel them at the last moment, but what can you do when a blizzard hits and they close the highway.   It had temporarily stopped snowing and blowing in this picture, but has since picked up again.  sigh.

It's been awhile since I last posted, so I have lots to report on today. Two new projects showed up from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month and another one that I had ordered finally arrived.

The first project from the club is a Grey/White/Silver poncho.

I debated long and hard over this one and waffled back and forth as to whether or not I wanted to make this item. On one hand, I don't really like the style.  The holes are HUGE!  I can fit my hand through them.  On the other hand, though, casting off and on in the middle of a project is something new to try. And try I did. I started it twice and I got to the second row of holes before abandoning the project altogether.  Perhaps if the holes were smaller I could have lived with the results, but as is...nope. I've made something else with the yarn, but I'll leave that for another day.

The second project is a multi-coloured Saturate Entrelac Cowl.

I just received this yesterday. I won't be making it and will use the yarn for another project. I've already learned how to do entrelac on a baby blanket and while I liked doing it, I don't want to do it again...not on this project. I already have an oversized cowl that I don't wear.  It's not my thing.

The additional project I ordered is a Top Down Vest from Mary Maxim.

It's supposed to be an EASY project knitted from the top down...hence the name. I've started it and I'm already stumped...on ROW 3. I'm sure I'll figure it out, but not a great first impression.  I don't have a great photo of the yarn, but it's a really rich marbled blend of colours. Hopefully, I can show that better at a later date.

In the past few weeks, I've worked on a couple of previously started projects. The first one is a multi-coloured summer clutch.

This was another project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month. The white edging was the only thing that was outstanding and I procrastinated on doing it because I thought it was going to be difficult. It was, but not for the reasons I thought.  I won't bore you with the details other than to say that the pattern was misleading and not very helpful.  I don't know if I'm going to use it, though. I'm going to put it away until spring and decide then.

The other project I worked on is the shawl called Jette from Drops Design on ravelry.com.

I was using up some leftover yarn from other projects, but had run out of one colour and had to order more.  Now, that I've received it I can continue. I don't have much left to complete, so I should be able to finish that up this week.

This coming week, I'm going to finish the shawl above as well as continue work on vest, if I can figure out the pattern.

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 - On Wednesday - Knitting and Blocking

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

This week I worked on a couple of projects.

Last week, I had started another baby hat to use up the remaining yarn from the stuffed Rabbit project. If you remember, I also made a small baby blanket and a hat for a 12-month old. This new hat is supposed to be for a toddler. However, I think it might be a wee bit short, but only by a few rows. I was running out of yarn and may have stretched it a little to get to the desired length before starting the decrease rows for the crown on the hat. I think it'll be okay, though. I like the orange stripe. Here it is:

Anyway, I have about 5 yards of the yarn leftover. Probably just enough to make a pompom tail for the rabbit, which I totally forgot about.

I'm also blocking a shawl I made months ago. It's the first one, Waiting for Rain, in this post. I haven't done a lot of blocking, but a fellow knitter/salesperson at my local yarn store suggested blocking wires.

It looks a bit wonky, but it's the best I could do. It took quite awhile to get the wires threaded and the shawl pinned down. I measured it several times in an attempt to get the sides somewhat symmetrical. I'd measure, move the pins, measure, move the pins, measure....repeat several more times. It wasn't that much fun and being down on the floor for that long hurt my back and hip. I finally said good enough and left it. My main goal was to open up the lace and have it lie flat. I'll let you know how it works out once it's dry.

As for the wires, I've used them a few times now and they seem to be working out. (I consulted Google on how to use them). However, since I haven't done a lot of blocking, I'm not sure. Have you used blocking wires?

And lastly,  I started another shawl called Jette from Drops Design, a free pattern on ravelry.com. This particular version caught my eye. It's beautiful AND uses yarn that I already have leftover from other projects.

A word about the colour: It's medium green and dark rose.  I would have definitely picked different colours had I not been determined to use up some of the yarn in my stash. I had limited options and this was the best colour combination I could come up with.  All week I've been telling myself to think "rose garden" rather than "Christmas".

Here's what I have so far:

It's an asymmetrical shawl that's essentially knit in two parts. After knitting this part, stitches are picked up along the edge with the stitch markers and it's continued from there. My shaping is backwards because of the whole old left-handed, right-handed thing, but I'm hoping it's going to work out regardless.

This week I'm going to continue to work on this shawl. Also, another project from Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month should be showing up any day, so I'll probably take a look at that.

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 - Baby Knits

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

Last week, I mentioned that I had lots of yarn leftover from the Mary Maxim knitted rabbit project. I wanted to use up the yarn before it got lost in my stash, so I decided on a small car seat sized baby blanket. It's rather small, roughly 18"x20", but I wasn't sure how much yarn it would take. I probably should have made it bigger. However, I hate running out of yarn in the middle of a project, especially one that I'm only making to use up yarn. Here it is:

If I had known more (or anything for that matter) about "car seat blankets" I would have put a hole in it to accommodate the buckle(?).   Whatever.  It blocked beautifully, even though it looks a little wonky here.

After finishing that, I found a free pattern for a Basic Baby Hat on ravelry.com. The pattern featured 5 sizes. I figured I'd shoot for the middle, 12 months, and see what I had left.

As it turns out, I have more yarn leftover than I realized. Oh well, these hats knit up so quickly I don't mind making another one. I'll start on the next size up and go from there. For me there's no such thing as too much practice with knitting in a round with double pointed needles. Besides, this soft self-striping yarn is fun to play with. So, it's all good.  These items will be donated.

As for next week, have you seen the lovely leaf stitching over at Bayou Quilts? I'm going to use that as inspiration to see what I can come up with. I'll also finish up the baby hat I started and see what other project I can get into.

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 - Rabbit, Scarf, and a bit of lace.

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

This week I worked on three projects, all from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month.

For this first one, I completed the knitting last month, but didn't get around to assembling it until last week. Here's my finished rabbit:

I could have chosen to knit the arms and legs in similar colours so they'd match, at least each other (by winding off some of the self-striping yarn - an option on the pattern), but I opted to just continue knitting with the yarn as is.  At the time, I didn't think it was worth the bother.  However, now that I look at it perhaps it would look more finished or cohesive with matching limbs.

I'm not entirely happy with it, but it's done. The pattern was pretty vague in the finishing of this piece. There was some direction with respect to stuffing the arms and legs, but none for the head or body. The sewing together, the positioning of the limbs, and the facial features were all left up to the individual crafter. Something isn't quite right, but I think I did okay.

One part I really don't like is that the pattern instructs the crafter to make separate eyes and then sew them onto the head. Had I thought about it more, I would have embroidered the eyes instead. As they are constructed now, the eyes are a choking hazard for babies and toddlers. I wish the designers had thought of that or at least mentioned it in the pattern.

Things I don't like about knitting stuffed items:

• • it's hard to know how much to stuff 
• • it's hard to get the stuffing evenly distributed 
• • it never looks like the photo 
• • it eventually becomes a dust collector 

The kit had enough yarn and stuffing to make two of these rabbits. I don't think I'm going to bother with the second one. I still have quite a bit of yarn left, so I'll be looking for something else to make with the leftovers. Lots of options.

The second item I worked on was the Yin Yang Shawl, October's project, which could also be used as a scarf. I love working in short rows!!!  It turned out okay, I guess. It feels soft and drapes nicely when it's in my hands, but doesn't fit nicely on my shoulders as a shawl and is a little stiff wrapped around my neck as a scarf.  Perhaps some blocking would help??  Anyway, here it is:

At least here you can see the short rows and the subtle colour changes.

The last project I worked on is the lacy Mary Maxim project shawl/scarf I've been working on for months. It's getting a lot easier, but it's still slow going. Here's a close up of the lace:

This week I also took a trip to my local yarn store, which had a 25% off sale on selected colours of Shibui yarns. They're yarns are ultra luxurious and quite pricy, so generally sales have me jumping for joy. This time I actually went to the store with two scarf patterns, so I didn't just add to my stash. The hardest part was combing through the baskets looking for enough yarn to complete the projects I selected. Luckily, I had both my husband and the helpful staff helping me pick colours. I'll feature both of these patterns at a later date.

This coming week I'm going to start a new project. I'm just not sure which one yet. Of course, I hope to continue to work on my lacy shawl/scarf.

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.