Off and On The Needles

After fighting with my computer for 2 days, I finally got it to cooperate long enough to load some pictures of my finished 3S Shawl and new knitting project.  Now if it will just let me finish this posting I'll be a happy camper.

Being snowed in (with freezing temps from -9 to zero the last couple of days), afforded me some time to finish my 3S shawl   Here is a picture before blocking.

3S Shawl

I've never blocked anything before, so wasn't sure if I was doing it right.  Before blocking it measured 13 inches from center neckline to point tip.  I put it in warm water with a drop of Synthropol for a few minutes, then rinsed twice and gently squeezed out excess water.  Then layed it on a towel on top of my ironing board to dry.  I pinned it in a few places, at the tips and a few along the diagonal. When wet, it measured 16 inches from neck to bottom point.

3S Shawl After blocking

I decided on the picot treatment for the edge and I like the way it looks.  Having said that, I won't be doing many picots anytime soon though.  It was very slow and tedious and my stitches kept slipping off the needles. 

Picot Edges on 3S Shawl

I'm proud of myself for finishing my first knitted garment.  Now I'm going to try socks, which is what I've wanted to make forever.  Oh my!  Look at all these needles.  It reminds me of the Pick Up Sticks game I used to play when I was a kid.

The yarn I'm using was a gift from a knitter who has a big stash on hand, and it didn't have any information as to content or yardage. It had no label of any kind.  She assured me there was enough there to make a pair of socks.  I've started them 3 times and each time I run into another problem and lose my way trying to figure out how to correct it.  Guess I'm learning, but it's a bit frustrating.   Maybe by the time I finish one sock, the next one will be much easier.  We'll see.

I'm linking up with On The Needles over at Patchwork Times.  Take a few minutes and see what others are up to.

On The Needles - December 27, 2013

This is the last 'On the Needles' for 2013.  You are probably getting tired of seeing the same project on my needles.  I know I am.  I was hoping to finish my 3S shawl by the end of the year, but it doesn't look like that will happen.  But there was a little progress made on it this week-- it now measures 6.25 inches from neck edge to the lower point, which is about a third finished.  Maybe by the end of January, 2014 it will be ready to wear.

I also spent some time on gifts and finished a couple more face cloths.  The lighter ones are used as "face cloths" and the darker ones dish cloths.  These face cloths and a bar of homemade soaps are little thank you gifts for friends.

3S Shawl

To see more great ideas for knitting projects and some beautiful finishes, go to On the Needles at Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - # 51 and More

Nothing was added to the stash this week, but I used about half yard for our Christmas party game. This year we brought blue, green or purple strips cut 2 1/2". We play the LRC dice game (left, right, center) and somene goes home with a bunch of 2.5" strips. This year we had two winners. We hope to see a finished top or quilt by next Christmas.

Fabric Added - zero; Added YTD - 95.34 yds
Fabric Used -  .5 yd;  Used YTD -  97.36 yds
Net Used for 2013 - 2.02 yds  - No wonder I don't see any more space on my shelves.!  Next year I hope to do better.

I've also been reducing some of my scraps on the Celtic Solstice mystery quilt, but can't count any yet. Speaking of Bonnie's mystery quilt, here's my progress so far.  This shows Clues 1 and 2 finished (in the blue tins) and Clue 3 partially done.  Since this picture was taken, I have finished all of Clue 3 pinwheels (25) and the 100 HSTs and they are just waiting to see what role they play in the quilt.

Today I pulled lots of my scraps and finished cutting and pairing the 4-patches for Clue 4.  Now they are all ready to sew and press.

I hope to get that done before the evening is over.  I want to be able to link up with Bonnie's CS Mr. Linky tomorrow.  I've missed the last 2 weeks.  I'll have pics of my finished Clue #4 tomorrow. (How's that for positive thinking?)

One of the reasons I've gotten behind on the mystery is that I was working on my 3S Shawl.  It has grown by another inch and a half.  It's very slow moving with these Size #2 needles.

Check out more stash reports over at Patchwork Times.

On the Needles - 12/13/13

Knitting time has been very limited this week because of Christmas luncheons, guild parties and sewing all those small pieces for Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt.  But I did manage to make a little more progress on my 3S Shawl.  It's very slow going.  I figured out that two complete rows of knitting only yields a quarter of an inch in depth from the top of the center stitch.  That means I have to knit 8 rows to gain one little inch.  This becomes even slower when you realize that each row gets longer and longer -- but I'm getting some good practice, right?? 

Here's what it looks like so far.  I've inserted one eyelet row about 4 1/2" from the top.  The whole shawl has grown about 1.5 to 2 inches since the first photo.

3S Shawl

I also finished another face cloth for gift giving.  I decided to call them face cloths instead of dish cloths because I'm going to put a special handmade bar of soap with them. This one is too soft for doing the dishes. lol

face/dish cloths made w/ Cream & Sugar cotton yarn.

To see more projects, visit Judy's blog HERE.

On and Off The Needles - Nov. 22, 2013

I kept missing the Friday OTN post because I hadn't taken any pictures of what I was working on, but finally got my act together this week.

I'm addicted to these little guys.  I guess it's the instant gratification and the fact that I can finish them without having to rip anything, and they are so relaxing to knit!  I just can't stop making them.  They will make great stocking stuffers, so I'll keep making them for a while longer.  Some of the yarn only makes one with a little yarn left over, but not enough for a second one.  I'm hoping the tangerine yarn will last enough to finish this second one that I have on the needles now.  If not, I'll take some of the leftover green or multicolor yarn and finish it for my use.  My dishes won't care if they are scrappy looking.  The yarn is the 100% cotton Sugar and Creme brand, but the length varies within the skeins.

On my circular needles is the beginnings of a shawl that I started last month.  It's taking forever to see any progress.  It seems after an hour or two of knitting, it only grows a half inch more; and, I have to concentrate more, can't talk and knit at the same time.  It's the 3S Shawl that was so popular earlier in the year and everywhere I looked someone was making it. Anyway, I still have to check the pattern frequently so I don't make silly mistakes.  You see, I still don't know how to fix dropped stitches, especially when I don't realize I've dropped them!  Another reason it's taking forever might be because the needles are Size #2.  I wish I had started this on a #3 or $4. By now it might be half finished. lol Sure hope I can finish it before Spring arrives so I can at least wear it once.

Stop on over at Judy's and see what others are working on this week.

On and Off The Needles 10/18/13

This is what just came OFF my needles--a set of the multicolored dishcloths.  Just have to weave in the ends and they will be ready to use.  These were fun to make, but this yarn did discolor the tips of my fingers as I was working on them. I've never had that happen before. Maybe this yarn is not colorfast. It is the Sugar'n Cream - new super size, which I used for the first 2 I made in solid green.  No problems noticed there.

Now that I've finished 4 dishcloths, I think I'm ready to try my hand at the 3S Shawl.  This is reportedly an easy shawl - the 3S stands for Super-wide, Super Simple.  We'll just have to see. I'll let you know if it's easy for a beginner.

There are more knitting projects to see over at Patchwork Times.  Check them out. 

On and Off The Needles

I can't believe it is already the end of the first week of October and my last post was almost 2 weeks ago!  The knitting bug has started taking over my extra time these days.  I guess because Fall is in the air and cooler weather is due to arrive this weekend, I found myself visiting my local knit shop, Knit and Caboodle Yarn Shop in downtown St. Charles, MO.  They have so many beautiful yarns that it is very hard to get out of there without buying something--yarn, needles or patterns.  I'm still practicing my knitting and trying to get the rhythm and technique to be more fluid before attempting a bigger project; so I bought more dish cloth yarn and some wool blend yarn for one of the popular shawls.

I've finished 2 green dish cloths like the one shown and am starting another one with a new variegated Sugar 'n Cream yarn called Psychedelique. After I finish 2 more dishcloths, I may be ready to start the 3S Shawl that everyone was showing earlier this year.

I am linking up with On the Needles at Patchwork Times.  Check there to see what others have on their needles this week.