2 things from my making pile

Happy weekend everyone! It has been a crazy week - lots of appointments, errands and general running around. I'm am really looking forward to lazing around for a day or two.

I want to share two of my current work-in-progress (WIP) projects with you today. I originally wrote this post on Thursday but have been waiting for some decent light to take pics. It hasn't happened yet so I've tried to capture the colours the best I can. Hopefully, when I'm ready to show you the finished products I'll get a day of sunshine to work with!

A couple of my current WIPs

Interruption to rave about Ravelry: If you do any crocheting or knitting and haven't heard of Ravelry, I strongly suggest you check it out. There are TONS of free (and paid) patterns, as well as discussion boards, project logs, techniques, etc... It's the site I use most often for finding patterns so most of my pattern links will take you there. You will need to have an account to view the patterns and pics on the site. Don't worry - it's free and super easy! The End. 

Back in January, I started work on a blanket large shawl to wear at my work desk in the morning. I get to work a little before 7AM and it's quite chilly in our work space until the heat really kicks in. I wanted something fairly simple and not too lacy. After all, the whole point is to feel cocooned and cozy. I went with the "Penelope Shawl".

I'm loving this pattern. Simple, easy and quick - perfect work for the bus!

Part way through, I ran out of wool and then discovered that not only had the colour been discontinued but the entire line of wool seems to have been discontinued! Internet to the rescue - I found some online and since it was 60% off I made sure to order plenty of extra. The yarn I was using is Red Heart with Wool which is a wool/acrylic blend. I'm a little bit sad that's it's been discontinued because I only just discovered it and have really enjoyed working with it. Plus it comes in so many super bright colours!

I should be able to make the kids a hat set or two....

Since I am so impatient productive, I couldn't take a break while waiting for my order. And since I didn’t have anything else on the go (lies! lies!), I started work on a random baby blanket in nice, rich fall colours using this Daisies Blanket pattern. I really love this pattern, it's another one that is simple but beautiful. Once my shawl wool came in the mail, as much as I wanted to finish it, I did not want to let my beautiful little baby blanket sit and rot in my WIP basket. For once, I actually stuck to it and cast it off before jumping back to my crochet. (Actually, that may also be a bit of a fib. I mean, I am done knitting the blanket, but I still need to crochet and embroider some little flowers for it. At least it's not attached to needles anymore, right??) 

Sneak peak of my Autumn Daisies Blanket.

I was off work Wednesday to go to a few appointments and take care of a couple of errands. This meant lots of time on the bus, which meant lots of time for uninterrupted hooky :) I really made a ton of progress on the shawl and finished the last non-border row - all 359 stitches of it!

My stripey penelope shawl waiting for some finishing touches and good blocking!

Now it's decision time. I'm not sure if I want to use the border design from the pattern. It's nice and well written but a little more showy than what I had in mind. Plus I'm afriad of the lacy edge getting caught on things around the office. You may think that sounds crazy but you would be amazed how many things I have snagged clothes and wraps on in my cubicle. Admittedly, this is likely my own fault and not my cubicle's... No matter where the fault lay, this necessitates a plain and simple finishing touch - maybe a few small stripes of the blues and then a picot stitch like the one below from Craftsy. I've been looking at edgings and nothing seems to have clicked. At almost 400 stitches a row, I'm hesitant to take a gamble and ending up with something I don't love. I've frogged enough projects now to know that I should just take my time. I'll know when I find "it".

Picot edging from Craftsy

Any advice from my crafty friends? Do you have any go-to border stitches for your blankets or shawls? Send me pictures and links!

Up next: Miss N and I went and checked out Seedy Saturday this morning. I'll fill you in on our adventures. I've also got a few more projects to show you and would like to do a post about our camping goals for this year. Anyone else planning their summer camping (or other vacations) yet?