In Progress: Knitting, & Knitting, & Knitting Some More

I think I must be the world's slowest knitter.  Seriously.  I'm trying to make a scarf for my husband and it is taking FOREVER.  How does anyone ever  accomplish a full on sweater?

I've been working on this since before Christmas (it was supposed to be a Christmas gift) and this is as far as I've gotten.  I guess I'll just keep plugging away.

New Boots: NOT a thrift store score

But I do love them

I used some Christmas money to invest in my first pair of Ugg boots.
And I see why they're called uggs - because UGH, I may never wear real shoes again.
They're like a cozy little nest for my feet!

Smashed

So this is what I've been dealing with the last couple of days.  Yeah, that's a big empty hole where the back window of my car should be.  And, in case you weren't already aware, don't try backing out of the garage with the rear gate up.  It doesn't work well.

30 Days For 30 Dollars: Day 16

Day 16:  For Baby

Is there anything cuter than chubby little baby legs????

Maybe chubby little baby legs wrapped in itty bitty leg warmers.

This is a super easy project.  I started with knee high socks from the dollar store ($1 per pair).

Chop the foot off, run a zig zag stitch across the raw edge, and done!

If you stretch the fabric as you sew, you'll get this lovely little ruffled edge (or technically, a lettuce stitch, I think).

This project comes via Calico and you can see more details plus in progress photos on her blog.  Oh, and she has pics of an adorable little baby wearing her diy leg warmers if you want to see what they look like on.  

Total spent:  $1.00 per pair

Day 1:  Pretty Hair Ties 1.00

Day 2:  Pin Cushion 1.00

Day 3:  Cowl 1.50

Day 4:  Apron 1.00

Day 5:  Baby Hat .75

Day 6:  Wine Charms 1.00

Day 7:  Pot Holders 0.00

Day 8:  Easy Tote  1.00

Day 9:  Lunch Sack 2.00

Day 10:  Peter Pan Collar Necklace 0.00

Day 11:  Patchwork Ornaments 1.00

Day 12:  DIY Cookie Tray 2.00

Day 13:  Recycled Gift Tags 1.00

Day 14:  Crochet Hoops 0.00

Day 15:  Crocheted Coffee Sleeves 0.00

Day 16:  Itty Bitty Leg Warmers 1.00

______________

14.25

An Organized Kids Closet

Oh how I wish I had taken a before picture of my son's closet.  But let me assure you, prior to this project, it was an awful, messy, inefficient, waste of space.

But, no more!

One of my New Year's goals was to get it organized and functional.

So with some Pinterest inspiration . . . 

via

via

. . . and some Closetmaid organizers from Target (which are assemble yourself but were SO EASY) . . . 

. . . we now have a well organized closet!

Ahh, I feel like I can breathe when I walk into the room.

Cozy Winter Dress Refashion

At the thrift store, this dress went into my cart, out of my cart, into my cart, out of my cart.  And finally into my cart one last time.  I knew I had an idea for this school marm-ish dress but whether or not I could actually get it to look like my vision was anything but certain.  Luckily it turned out pretty much how I had hoped.  

Here's what I did:  

1.  Detached the skirt from the bodice by unpicking the stitches 

2.  Took some length off of the botom of the skirt and added it to the waist  to bring the waist down to my natural waist (it was kind of empire to begin with).

3.  Added a few darts to the front for a fitted look

4.  Reattached the skirt to the bodice, adding a few extra gathers as I went to adjust for the new, smaller waist.

5.  Hem to desired length.

Needlepoint Clock Make-Over

I snagged this needlepoint clock at the thrift store for about $5.  Here's what it looked like when I brought it home:

Dull, brown frame, broken hand, and I'm pretty sure the clock mechanism probably didn't work (I didn't have the right type of battery to check it).

For barely more than the cost of a battery, I bought a new clock kit from Hobby Lobby, although I was able to re-use the hands.  Then the frame got a few coats of bright white paint.  

30 Days For 30 Dollars: Day 15

Day 15:  For the Starbucks Lover

If you're trying to encourage environmental-friendliness, re-usable cups are probably ideal.  But in the interest of convenience, these little coffee sleeves are easy to tuck in to a tote, pocket, or purse.  And at least you're saving the disposable paper sleeves.  (And they're way more fun than the paper sleeves!!)

I used this basic tutorial to make my sleeves.  The trick is to use a smaller hook for the chain row (and I did my first row with the smaller hook as well), then switch to a larger hook for the remainder.  This will give you a narrower bottom edge, just like a cup.  You can pretty much use this idea for any crochet stitch or pattern.  I also added a little cross stitch embellishment to a few.  

Note:  Depending on the type of yarn that you are using (I was just using scrappy bits), you may have to adjust the size hook and beginning chain number.

Total Spent:  Zero dollars 

(But if you have a bigger budget, it would be fun to tuck a Starbucks gift card in with these)

Day 1:  Pretty Hair Ties 1.00

Day 2:  Pin Cushion 1.00

Day 3:  Cowl 1.50

Day 4:  Apron 1.00

Day 5:  Baby Hat .75

Day 6:  Wine Charms 1.00

Day 7:  Pot Holders 0.00

Day 8:  Easy Tote  1.00

Day 9:  Lunch Sack 2.00

Day 10:  Peter Pan Collar Necklace 0.00

Day 11:  Patchwork Ornaments 1.00

Day 12:  DIY Cookie Tray 2.00

Day 13:  Recycled Gift Tags 1.00

Day 14:  Crochet Hoops 0.00

Day 15:  Crocheted Coffee Sleeves 0.00

______________

13.25

30 Days For 30 Dollars: Day 14

Day 14:  Gifts For Girls

Supplies:

1 pair of hoop-style earrings (from my jewelry box)

fine crochet thread (on hand)

a teeny tiny crochet hook (on hand)

I'm not sure of the number of this hook, but as you can see it is really tiny.

1.  Draw a loop up and onto the hoop.

2.  Single crochet around the hoop.  Crochet enough stitches to cover approximately half of the hoop.  Count your stitches and write this number down so that you can make the second  hoop the same.

3.  Turn and single crochet across.

4.  Turn.  For the final row:  sk 1, sc, sk 1, *5dc in next stitch, sk 1, sc, sk1*.

(You may have to make a few little adjustments to get it to come out even at the end.  Just skip an extra stitch or add one in - it won't be noticable.

5.  Weave in ends

6.  Repeat with second hoop.

7.  Optional:  Paint on some sugar water and let dry to stiffen the crochet a bit. (more info here)

Total Spent:  0.00

Day 1:  Pretty Hair Ties 1.00

Day 2:  Pin Cushion 1.00

Day 3:  Cowl 1.50

Day 4:  Apron 1.00

Day 5:  Baby Hat .75

Day 6:  Wine Charms 1.00

Day 7:  Pot Holders 0.00

Day 8:  Easy Tote  1.00

Day 9:  Lunch Sack 2.00

Day 10:  Peter Pan Collar Necklace 0.00

Day 11:  Patchwork Ornaments 1.00

Day 12:  DIY Cookie Tray 2.00

Day 13:  Recycled Gift Tags 1.00

Day 14:  Crochet Hoops 0.00

______________

13.25

Thrift Store Score: Vintage Kitchen

I'm kind of excited about these finds!  The cherry bowl is Fire King and the covered sunflower casserole is Pyrex.  They're both in awesome condition, especially the casserole which looks like it's never been used.

$5 each:  a definite score!

Books, books, books

image via

Are you a book lover?

Have you discovered Good Reads?

If not, try it out.  It is sooo fun!

The basic idea:  "Tell us what titles or genres you’ve enjoyed in the past, and we’ll give you surprisingly insightful recommendations".  You can also create "shelves" of books you've read, want to read, favorites, etc., explore book lists (check out this great list of Best Books of 2012), connect with friends, and more.  Between this site and Paperback Swap , I think I have 9 new books coming in the mail! 

A little peek at my To Read list:

Happy Belated New Year + 2013 Calendar Round-Up

image via

First up a big HAPPY 2013!

I know I've been kind of MIA around here lately (My last post was Dec. 18 - really??).  I can offer up a whole host of excuses:  holiday craziness, kids home from school, switching computers (learning new technology is always so fun!)  . . .   But if I'm being honest, it was just a case of the 'unmotivateds".  Just in a bit of a funk.  The creative juices weren't flowin'.  Does that ever happen to you?  Well, hopefully that little episode is over and we can all get back to normal.

So to start the new year off, here's a round-up of some beautiful, super creative,  FREE printable 2013 calendars:

from Skip To My Lou

from I Should Be Mopping The Floor

 from Hope and a Home

from ellinee

from The Twinery

the 2013 owl calendar from My Owl Barn (love, love, love this one!)

from The Tomkat Studio

Thanks so much to all of the creators for offering these up!!