Thriftism

As promised, these are the mittens I made to match the baby hat I posted about previously. I actually made these the same week I finished the hat, but life has gotten busier and busier so this is just getting posted now. With these I followed the sizing and decreases from The MuckyMacBook , but changed the rest of the pattern to get the look I wanted. These were really easy and made the pair when I was sitting around one Saturday morning.  These mittens were sized to match the hat, meaning both are for the 0-3 month range.  Materials Used: Black Acrylic Yarn (A) White Acrylic Yarn (B) Tapestry Needle Size 6 Knitting Needles CO 28 with A 1-12) K1, P1 in Rib Stitch for 12 rows using color A. 13) K1, M1L, K26, M1L, K1 14) Switch to color B and purl entire row. 15) K1, M1L, K28, M1L, K1 16)Purl 17)K1, M1L, K30, M1L, K1 18) Switch to color A and purl 19) K1, M1L, K 32, M1L, K1 20) Purl 21)Knit 22)Switch to color B and purl 23) Knit 24) Purl 25) Knit...

It seems like lately everybody is pregnant, recently had a baby, or is looking at starting a family in the near future. While I am nowhere near catching the baby fever that seems to be going around, I have caught the love of knitting tiny things for those adorable babies. Besides the fact that I love to knit, making my own gifts for showers is a great money saver and adds that nice touch of personalization to your gift. Anyone can go out and buy toys or clothes or diapers, but how many people hand make their presents these days? Anyway yarn is one of the cheapest things you can buy. Granted your time counts for something, but if you're like me, it's a fun hobby anyway so you're not really giving up time that you'd be using elsewhere. Plus, knitting during movies/tv shows will keep you from snacking and I know this has really helped me reduce my calorie consumption. Back to my baby projects… I decided to start simple and work my way up to things like toys, cl...

Months ago I began knitting a towel, but I lost focus about halfway through. In fact I knitted a pair of mittens for a friend's newborn, made soap, and basically forgot about this project. Good news is that I found it again and finally finished it. I missed Valentine's Day, but it will be ready to go for next year.  This was a trying project for me as I made up the pattern as I went and I hadn't ever done that before. Turns out not to be as hard as I expected, but one tip I figured out- don't watch tv or talk on the phone while you're doing the first couple rows of a pattern you created. J I ended up pulling out several rows and reknitting and after all the trouble, I got a towel covered in hearts.  It's actually very easy once I got going and paid a little attention to stitch counts and stopped dropping stiches. I used size 7 needles ( gauge doesn't really matter, make it whatever size and however tight/loose you want) and Rose Pink Sugar and Cre...

Supposedly Monday (January 20) was the most depressing day of the year and I guess that means this is also the most depressing week of the year. I choose not to believe that and am going out of my way to beat the wintertime blues. Here's a list of what seems to work for me. 1. Avoid fatty comfort foods. Whenever it's cold I get the worst cravings for everything that is unhealthy, whether it is chocolate or chips or fast food. I basically crave carbs, fat, and sugar.  This year I have been trying really hard to substitute fruit or vegetables in place of the less healthy options of snacks. I've also made a huge effort to only eat if I'm actually hungry. I'm usually guilty of eating out of boredom, stress, or because I happened to be passing through the kitchen. The first couple weeks were rough. I had my boyfriend kindly remind me that I probably didn't really want to eat whatever it was I thought I wanted. (I asked him to do this and it ...

Finally finished my hand towel. I haven't been putting much time into knitting lately as I've been more worried about working out and to be honest a lot lazier after working out. But I think it turned out fairly well. I liked it enough to start a second one. I haven't decided yet if I should make it to hang over the oven handle like the last one or to just make a square hand towel that could be used in the kitchen or in the bathroom. For the second one I made up my own pattern and I'm skipping over Christmas since I was hoping to give this as a gift. I am going straight to Valentine's day. I came up with a pattern that varied between rows of 4 and 3 hearts across the whole towel. I have the first two rows done. Making a pattern is fairly easy. What you need: An Idea Graph Pattern Pencil I wouldn't say making a pattern for clothing or something you've never made is easy. I am adding different designs to things I've already made or adding design...