UFOs

Sometimes the best thing I can do to make myself feel better is pull out some UFOs and get some things done!  Today's project of choice is baby bibs. I have had these sitting around for months just waiting for velcro. 

But since I took so long to get my machine in for service, these have languished. About an hour of YouTube while crafting and...

19 bibs are now in my finished pile and in need of a home. If any of you are pregnant or would like a gift for a friend, let me know. I'll be happy to share some. No charge because I love babies. US only please.

Ribbons and Blessings

I am a terrible procrastinator. I seems to always be caught at the last minute when it comes to gifts. But I am also very good at coming up with something at the last minute and on a budget. With the extended unemployment this year, the budget was very low to almost non-existent and I got a last minute notice that friends were adopting twins and their church was throwing a shower. I absolutely love and adore the couple and I had to do something for them. They have been wanting children for years and this was just such an extreme blessing that I couldn’t miss out on it. I want to cry just writing about it now.
So, what do you do when you want to make an impactful contribution but you have absolutely no money? Here is how I did it.
During the Spring/Summer, I did some cleaning out around the house and took a lot of movies, books and my Kindle Fire to my local used book/movie/music seller and came out with a ton of credit. You can check out that post here. What better way to welcome little ones than with books? Actually, just about every gift I give includes a book.
I had no idea what kind of book to get and I thought about getting a couple of movies as well, but kids are so picky about movies once they get to a certain age. These boys are two and starting to recognize what they like so I’ll let the happy parents deal with that. But books are a little different in my opinion. Books are more universal and as long as the pictures are super pretty, the story could be about anything.

Well, if you want pretty pictures, you can’t go wrong with Doctor Seuss. I combed the Doctor Seuss section and picked no only titles that I know and love but some that I had never heard of. I didn’t know about the body part books.

And since these are all used, the prices are super affordable. But just to spread the reading love a little more and allow for some movie shopping as well, I asked the store to split my credit so I could give the boys credit to come back. I think I was able to give $50 and still have plenty of credit left over for myself.
So, that takes care of the gift. What about wrapping? For that, I went into my supply closet and pulled out my bucket-o-ribbon.

A gift bag would have been a little too impersonal so I pulled out a mix of ribbons in lengths long enough to wrap around the stack of book a couple of times. I mixed different fabrics, textures and colors. I wanted something that was fun to look at and fun to get in to.

I was thrilled with the result and mommy was too.

So what do you think? Any fast thinking gift giving you want to brag about?

Happy Mother's Day

I’m a day late but I hope all you mothers had a great day yesterday. I put together a fiber care package for my mother. She lives in a small city in Mississippi and is stuck with whatever the local Wal-Mart decides to sell. I don’t know if they sell felt-able yarns so I decided that’s what I should get her. I went to my local Michael’s and picked up at least one of each color of Paton’s Classic Wool. There were two colors (white and green) that were on clearance so I picked up three of each of those. I pretty much cleaned them out on this brand of yarn. They have signs posted that say they have a new yarn section coming this spring, but those signs have been up for a while and spring is almost over. I hope they restock soon--not that I need any more yarn.

My mother’s package also includes felted purse patterns from Pipp’s purses. I can’t wait to see what she does with them. I purposely put together one ball of each color to encourage her to stripe her bags. I threw in a couple of needles and a set of notions.

​

I was on the phone with her as she opened the box and she was absolutely thrilled. Maybe she’ll have cast on a bag by the time I go to Mississippi next week.

Enjoy all the gifts that you have received, especially the gift of family.

Knitting the Blues Away

First of all, thank you to all of you that have sent encouraging words regarding the job. I am still employed with my company but I'm trying to find a new job with the quickness. I'll be submitting on-line applications tonight for at least four jobs I've seen so far. My goal is to actively look in town before branching out to jobs that may require me to move.

So, to keep the stress down (as usual), I have been knitting. The local LYS had a 75% off sale on the clearance bins so I went and bought some yarn for a baby blanket and some yarn that looks like it might make a nice tank.

I cast on for the baby blanket immediately and finished it up in no time. I used a simple diagonal patten and I think it turned out quite lovely. It's 100% acrylic so it can be abused and washed but still feel quite lovely. Can you believe it on cost $9.06 pre-tax. Regular price would have been $36.25 pre-tax.

I also finished a really long scarf that I've been working on. It's the My So Called Scarf pattern that I found though Ravelry and it knits up quickly but make a mistake and you will pay dearly. I've still got to weave in the ends. I think I'm also going to line the back of it because this thing rolls like crazy. It is beautiful though and the yarn makes it extra special.But the biggest and best achievement of all is my sock!! This is my first adult sock. I did a pair for my nephew when he was a few months old but they were different sizes and not so good. So I wasn't too enthused going into the adult socks, but finally I GOT IT! I knit this toe up using the magic cast on and magic loop knitting. It took about a week of working off and on and that's mainly because I did make a few mistakes and need to tink a bit. But now that I've got it, the next one should go super fast. I'm going to cast on for it tomorrow. It's 100% Merino wool and it feels fantastic! I can't believe how warm they feel compared to the regular store bought socks that I have. Oh the joy of hand knit socks!

Gifts for My Sisters

So, I finally got birthday gifts done for my sisters. Both are January birthdays so at least they'll have their gifts in hand before the end of the month. HA!

Little will get her gift tomorrow. I got it over to Brown for shipping last week. She gets knitted washcloths and naturals soaps and a lovely body wash from Mary Kay. I started knitting these washcloths for myself, but I know little sis will love and appreciate them. So I'll have to order more yarn to make more for myself.


Big sis get a very lovely and much more expensive Schaefer scarf. It's 50% silk/50% wool and it feels really nice. The pattern is called the Open Wave Scarf and it knits up supper fast for a quick and easy gift. It's just hard to give away because of the cost of the yarn. I know she'll love it and I hope she cares for it accordingly. I'll have to send care instructions along with.


Now I'm off to knit something new. Maybe finish something for myself!