Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Yarn Along: Felted Hearts and "In Bitter Chill"

Yarn Along is a weekly link-up hosted by Ginny at the Small Things blog about two of the best things in life -- reading and knitting.

yarn along feb 3

Reading: I took this photo yesterday afternoon, not realizing that I'd end up blowing through the rest of "In Bitter Chill," a murder mystery set in England. It was a super-fast read, though the writing wasn't fantastic so I only rated it 3.5 stars. Last night I started "The Widow" by Fiona Barton, an advance-read book I got from work. It's supposed to be a psychological thriller akin to "Gone Girl" and "The Girl on the Train," but I'm trying not to get my hopes up because "What She Knew," which I read last month, claimed the same and I was wildly disappointed in it.

Knitting: I finished the felted hearts (pattern) I mentioned in last week's Yarn Along, which sat half-finished in a coffee table drawer for two years, and I'm trying to decide what to do with them. When I started the project I intended to string them in a garland to adorn the fireplace mantel for Valentine's Day, but since we're about to move to Hawaii and will definitely not have a fireplace, I'm not sure a garland is the way to go. I've thought about making them into a door hanger, or a wreath, or just putting them in a jar. Or maybe attaching ribbons to the tops and hanging them from branches arranged in a vase (suggested by my mom). For now, they're just sitting on a side table, looking festive.

I'm itching to cast on for a new project, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to knit. I bought some gorgeous teal Malabrigo for a sweater right before we found out we were moving to Hawaii, and that's what I would be working on now, but I'm debating whether to use that beautiful yarn on something I won't get much use out of in the next three years or find a different project for it. And I certainly don't need any more winter gear for myself. I've been tossing around the idea of whipping up a hat and mailing it off to a friend or relative as a surprise. I have tons of stuff on our DVR to watch and only two months to watch it before we move, and I really like to knit while I watch TV. I'm not used to idle hands!

In any case, here's another picture of the felted Valentine's hearts! I think they came out pretty well, despite the fact that I totally overstuffed them before felting. Mid-felt I had to pull them out of the washer and use tweezers to yank stuffing out of the pesky holes that refused to close up because of the fiberfill. There are still a couple holes here and there that didn't fully felt together, but they're not too noticeable.

yarn along feb 3_2


20 comments:

  1. pretty hearts, it is a great month for hearts!!!!

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  2. I just love those hearts. I think I would make garland out of it. Moving to Hawaii? How awesome! I look forward to seeing some nice pictures on the blog.

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    1. Thanks, Donna! I will definitely be posting plenty of Hawaii pictures here. :)

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  3. I'm totally loving those felted knitted hearts!

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  4. I love the hearts. Perfect for Valentines Day!

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  5. Awesome hearts! I like the vase idea but also a friend recently moved to Hawaii and she had a cherished christmas garland her kids made so with no fireplace she hung it across a doorway and it was super cute!

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  6. I could not find Girl on the Train. I could have cared less what happened to the characters. So I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about The Widow. I can't watch TV without knitting either. Sometimes I crochet if I need something mindless.

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    1. could not STAND not find. I wonder where my mind was...

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    2. It was ok... definitely not as good as "The Girl on the Train" (which I did like) -- but if you didn't connect with those characters I doubt you'll care about the ones in "The Widow." I kept turning pages because I wanted to find out what happened, not because I had any investment in the characters.

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  7. I love these hearts! I would wait till you get to Hawaii and string them from a piece of driftwood with little bells from the points.

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    1. That's an awesome suggestion, Caroline! I actually have a pretty good collection of driftwood from when we lived there before. I'll have to dig it out and see if I like the way it looks with the hearts!

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  8. When I saw those little felted hearts on the thumbnail of the Linkup I immediately had to click as they are so gorgeous. What a predicament but I think Caroline's idea is just wonderful. Must check out the pattern and learn how to felt!

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    1. Thanks, Tania! Felting is super easy -- the washing machine does almost all the work!

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  9. I just adore those felted hearts!

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  10. I love these! Also, moving to Hawaii?! Amazing! I need to go back and read the posts I missed on that ;)

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    1. Hi Elise! My husband is in the Air Force and we'll be stationed in Hawaii for the next three years. :)

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