Second Finished Prayer Shawl

I finally finished that blue prayer shawl I started a while back. I'm happy with how it turned out. I used Mighty Stitch bulky from Knit Picks and size 11 needles, so it worked up pretty quickly.

I think I'm done with charity knitting for the rest of the year. I've done stuff for Afghans for Afghans, Christmas at Sea, and this church prayer shawl ministry. I may do a couple of Christmas gifts for family members, but other than that, the rest of my knitting and crocheting this year will be for myself. I need some more wool socks before winter, too.

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Fest

Today I went to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival for the first time. It was raining when we arrived, but it cleared up and the day ended up being gorgeous. We got to see lots of sheep (and a few goats and rabbits). We also got to watch some border collies compete in sheep-herding. And of course, we went shopping.

I went over budget, but I don't care. I found some gorgeous stuff and can't wait to use it.

A Few More Crocheted Items and Another Prayer Shawl

I've been practicing crochet off and on and have managed to make three more dish cloths. This one is just plain single crochet with a chain border.

This shell one turned out much better than I expected.

This modified granny square one got a little weird in the final rounds. However, I'm feeling more confident and think I'm ready to tackle a real (but simple) project, like a scarf.

I also started another prayer shawl.

I love how that knit 3, purl 3 pattern looks in stripes. I bought various blues, purples, and greens and am going to switch colors as I run out, just to add a little more interest.

What are you knitting as summer winds down? Are you already starting on cold-weather items?

Finished Prayer Shawl

Last night I finished the prayer shawl. Tomorrow I'll take it to church and hand it off to the woman who is collecting the shawls and spearheading this ministry.

I kinda wish I had reversed the brown and burgundy yarns, but overall I'm pleased with it. I used Knit Picks Cot-Lin yarn, which is a 70% cotton and 30% linen blend. I used this yarn before to make an afghan for myself and had 10 balls left over. I doubled it up and used size 11 needles and a K3, P3 pattern over 57 stitches.

Now I'm not sure what to do next. Maybe I'll try to finish that crochet project I abandoned a while back.

Baby Socks for Afghans for Afghans

I mailed these 3 pairs of baby socks to Afghans for Afghans today. I think they're pretty adorable.

In other news, I wonder where the cat went.... ;-)

Hope you're keeping cool in this heat. I've already got another project under way and will post photos when it's done.

Baby Socks

Just a short sweet post to show what I'm knitting now. I'm making wee baby socks for the latest Afghans for Afghans campaign.

The yarn is just some leftover sock yarn I had in the stash. I lost the ball band ages ago, so I can't tell you the brand. I'm almost done with a second pair, and by next week I should have a third pair done, so I'll post pictures of them next week.

Christmas at Sea

As I've done in years past, I've made a scarf for the Christmas at Sea program sponsored by the Seaman's Church Institute. My church's knitting group makes scarves for this program every year. I used washable wool yarn left over from other projects to make it. 

I'm very happy with how it turned out. The colors all work well together and are balanced.

In other news, I'm done with the scarf I made with the Rifton yarn but I haven't blocked it yet. That's one of my projects for this long weekend. Once I get it on the blocking wires, I'll take a photo of it.

Hope you're enjoying the long weekend. Happy Independence Day!