Off the Needles: KAL Mystery Shawl #3

Here's the 3rd and final shawl I made using the KAL mystery shawl pattern and the Stonehedge "Crazy" yarn. Still have this and another of the shawls to block. I think I'm tapped out on both the pattern and the yarn for now and am ready to move on to something else. The designer promises a new mystery KAL pattern in October, but if I do that one, I think I'll use some other yarn. I'm not as crazy for "Crazy" as I was when I started this knit along.

Off the Needles: Mystery Shawl #1

Just finished the first shawl I started after frogging the mistakes and redoing. Haven't blocked it yet. The yarn is the first Stonehedge "Crazy" skeins that I bought. Later skeins have not been such wild colors. I have one more that I'm working on and then that will be it for the pattern for now. It's been fun seeing how the color changes stack up against each other.

Off the Needles: KAL Mystery Shawlette #2

 This is the 2nd Knit Along Mystery Shawlette I knitted. I ran into some problems with the 1st one that will require some frogging. So I put aside that one and finished the second one which is now being blocked. I have yarn for a 3rd shawl as well.

Off the shuttle: Tatted embellishments on christening outfit

Years ago, my mother's hobby was doll making and sewing outfits for the dolls. She used some of my early tatted edging as an embellishment. Now that I'm so much better at tatting, I decided to make new edgings. The light blue edgings are DMC size 20 and size 30. The darker blue on the bonnet is a vintage thread in size 70.

On the Needles: Knit Along Shawl

I bought this yarn from Warm 'n Fuzzy, the new yarn shop in Cary. It's "Crazy" from Stonehedge Fiber Mill. It's basically mill ends that are spun together in random order so no two skeins are alike. The pattern is a knit-along shawlette with directions given out from early August till Labor Day. So far, I've knitted all the clues and am waiting for the final set of directions. More about this project at https://www.facebook.com/groups/471591562853584/.

Off the Needles: Linen Market Bag

Here's another project that I got to the almost-finished stage and then put aside for a few years. The only things left to do were to sew up the sides and add the strap. Since the body of the bag had a tendency to skew, I blocked it before doing up the sides. The yarn is 100% linen in magenta (2 strands used throughout), and it blocked very nicely (despite the uneven appearance in the photo). The pattern is from Folk Bags: 20 Knitting Patterns and Tales from around the World by Vicki Square.

The body is mostly knitted mesh stitch and the top edge is a basketweave stitch. In the pattern the strap was yet another pattern, but I found it a bit too fiddly for my patience and did the strap in the basketweave stitch as well. A nice thing about the basketweave stitch is that it doesn't stretch much on the vertical so the strap won't have a tendency to "grow" and lengthen.

Off the Needles: Summer Cardigan

 

I started this sweater earlier this year and just finished sewing it together this weekend. The pattern is Jill Vosburg's  "Drifting Dreams Jacket" from Just One More Row. The yarn from my really old stash. It's Bucilla Caprice, a 100% pima cotton that I bought years ago at the Belk in downtown Raleigh. It's probably over 20 years since there was a Belk there that sold yarn. The original price for a 50 gram ball was $3, but I bought it at the markdown price of $0.50/ball...so this sweater cost me less than $3 in materials. And I got the two shell buttons I used on sale for $0.25. Truly an almost free project!