Needlework Tuesday

I really enjoy reading about Heather's needlework projects on her blog Books and Quilts. Those projects are featured on her posts titled "Needlework Tuesday". Since I do a little crafting myself, I figured I'd try something new and join her. I procrastinate more than I craft these days so I won't be posting every week. Also, my crafting doesn't always include needles, so despite the name of the post, I'll be posting about some of my other crafts (if I ever get around to doing some of those again).

Last year, I started an afghan after reading about it on Heather's blog. The people at Bernat put together a Mystery Afghan Knit-Along. The link will take you to the introductory post if you are interested. I got a late start with this, then I changed my mind about which yarn to use. Needless to say, I didn't keep up with the knit-along. However, I'm back at it now and am determined to finish it. I only have the border to do so it looks promising. After reading on the blog that some of the knitters were doing a moss/seed border instead of the suggested garter stitch, I decided I'd do that too. I love the moss stitch! The yarn is Bernat Satin in silk, banana, camel. Here are a few teaser photos:

Very small section (including the border).












Three of the 8 blocks (in Banana, Silk, Camel).











































I'll include a full photo of the afghan once I'm finished.

The other knitting project I started recently was a Stocking Stitch Shrug. I got the pattern from the Lion Brand website. (Unfortunately, I think you have to join the website to see the picture and pattern).

If I would have thought about it more, I may not have started it. However, I've done about 10 inches (out of 40ish), so I'm not about to rip it out. It's mostly unstructured and is more like a sweater/cardigan that doesn't close in the front. The back is also kind of strange and is supposed to be very roomy and drapey (not a word). Anyway, I found some "factory mill ends" at Walmart that I sort of liked and decided to use that instead of the Lion Brand yarn. I got carried away and bought 3lbs of it. More than enough to make several small projects. I'll probably use quite a bit of it on this project.

Here's my gauge swatch:
















The pattern says "one size fits all", which we know isn't true. That one size usually fits those model types and not us eXtra Lovely (XL) ladies. I hope I adjusted the pattern enough to fit me. If it doesn't, I have a plan B.

Anyway, that's it for this week.