Sunday YOP update time!

It's that time again..............
     I have 3 to 4 projects going at any one time and probably more if you count the ones I've put aside and haven't worked on, but those days are over!  I have accountability now since I am participating in the YOP!
I do not have a finished project but I do have a finished wash cloth/towel in a set of 3 project........
This was my third try at this cloth.  I started out great,  thinking I knew what I was doing and was almost done when I realized I had done stockinette stitch instead of garter.  Why do I ALWAYS make things harder than they have to be?  So..I finally got my act together and "got her done" but I am not pleased with my results.  The yarn was wonderful, it was all my faulty knitting.  There were several areas....1) I had cast on "several" times before I got the right count on my first knitted row...don't ask me why.  Anyway, my cast on edge is bumpy and uneven so maybe the yarn was just "tired" by that time.  The other problem was it looked nice and I even had good luck with binding off but when I went to weave in the red yarns there wasn't many places to weave in without it being really noticeable.  Plus, this project said dish towels but I would call them wash cloths.  They are a  rectangle not a square but I wouldn't call them a dish towel size yet they're a might big for a dish cloth. It said I need to block them....really?  I don't understand as wouldn't it destroy the blocking the minute you get them wet or dry your hands on them?  When do you block and when don't you and how?  I think I understand the concept, pins, dampen project,  shape and pin so it dries the shape you want but when it gets wet again doesn't that destroy the blocking effort?  Where do you block your things?  On a floor, a board,  a special blocking tool?  I need a book on finishing I think.  I do well weaving in the ends on the same colored background but with skinny stripes of color is there a trick to it or technique?  I can see I have much to learn yet! 

 one side...............

 and the other side...........

I'm about 50% done with my granny stripe table runner...........

 

And although this is neither knitting or crochet it is one of my WIP's listed on my YOP! LOL!

I'm almost done with this wool applique block which will be #10 of 12 with the big center block being done already along with 9 others finished but then after the 12 surrounding blocks there is an appliqued border on all 4 sides.  I use wool from old clothing mostly for the applique and I wash it and felt it and dye most of my own colors too.  The black background is purchased wool felt.  Once I have all the wool pieces blanket stitched in place (by hand) then there is additional embroidery stitches that are done. You can tell what I still need to stitch where you see the little white headed applique pins.

Those are the things that I actually worked on this week but there's plenty more where they came from! LOL!  I couldn't get in to Ravelry.  That has happened several times.  I think it's a popular place!  I'll post this whenever I finally get in.