Ready for a New Project

So awhile ago, I remember reading a blog doing a super mario quilt-along.  I recently saw it again and thought "why didn't I do that?"  Kevin has decided he definetly needs that quilt, so I'm going to do it.

The wash away interfacing used for the quilt costs almost a hundred dollars, even on sale- that would be a huge chunk of change.  Instead, I am using Pellon 44F Fusible interfacing, it costs 99 cents a yard, and I got it half off! 

This is the sample I made with it to make sure it would be okay to quilt and not too stiff once it was washed.  It is a little thick, but it still drapes okay. (And really with all those seams so close together, I think no matter what it would be thick.)  The quilting on it was difficult- it won't be easy to do, but it is manageable.

Not totally perfectly, but man- the precision on this piecing is way better than I would have ever done without the interfacing method.

So now I just need to get together all the fabrics, and then I have a big project ahead of me!

(Other big project: snowflake quilt.  Just a few left, but I ran out of motivation and interest in that one....  it will get done eventually.)

So Joann was coupon commotion so I was able to get some  good 50% off deals:
15 yards Pellon 44F: $7.43
10 yards Wonder Under: $14.95
45MM Rotary Cutter (a new ergonomic one): $8
Cheapo 4-scissor pack: $3  (figured these won't last long, but seemed worth trying)


Since I have 3,888 squares to cut out for the Mario quilt, I'm excited about the new rotary cutter!

Fabric Splurge...

So Fabric Mart http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif is known for their fabric bundles. Usually the 10-yard bundles are $15, or sometimes they are free with a $75 purchase. Even though I spent $50 on this order (with shipping- they charge $8 flate rate), $75 is sometimes kind of hard to hit there, because they have such a weird selection- you just never know what might be in stock.

But one day on facebook, I saw their bundles were half price! 10 yards of who knows what for only $7.50? I'm in!

Now, with $8 shipping, I can't just buy bundles- because I might not get anything useable. So I threw in a few other things.

Here are my purchases:


25-invisible zipper bundle ($15)
I got 10 large zippers, 8 medium, and 9 small. That's 27 zippers! Bonus.
Lucky I just got an invisible zipper foot for my machine. Per zipper, this is a great deal. Especially since I got lots of long ones- they can always be cut if I end up needing smaller ones.

I also ordered 2 fabric yardages-
First, 2 yards Marc Jacobs (ooh- designer!) flannel. I'm wondering how this will wash, because right now, it just doesn't really feel like flannel. The plan was pajama pants for Kevin, but it feels like a warm winter shirt from Nordstroms, not pajama pants. I can't use it for a shirt though because 1) I'm not that good and 2) did you see the colors? Kevin will never wear it. Even if I tell him it is Marc Jacobs. It was $3.99 a yard. I've found it on other sites for $15 a yard!

The second yardage is 3 yards striped stretch poly/cotton for $1.99/yd. I want to use it to make a Lisette t-shirt dress. I'm a bit nervous because 1)I've never used stripes and 2)the dress does not call for stretch fabric. I'm hoping this means I can just cut it a little smaller, and not that the dress will stretch and sag out on me.

And then come the bundles. Holy crap. 10 yards is a lot of fabric. And for the most part, I have no idea what this stuff is, or what I could do with it. The good news is I got a lot of stretch stuff- that can easily turn into tops. I can get $15 worth of useable stuff out of this no problem.


So up first, bundle #1. Keep in mind, this all cost $7.50.

-1 yd brown leaf print - selvage says "Ascher Studio Inc (c)1995 Design 1057" Seems to thin to be quilting cotton. Couldn't find anything about this one.
-1.5 yd blue quilting cotton selvage identifies it as Free Spirit by Westminster Fabrics "Sis Boom Basics". Similar fabric on Fabric Mart sells for $5.99/yd, other website $10.50/yd. This is a keeper for sure! Great quilting cotton
-1.25 yd plaid shirting It's nice. A button up style shirt? Can you do that with this little?
-1 5/8 (not marked, I guessed) yd of this. It says it is quilting cotton, but it is thin and silky- apparently this fabric is called Voile. I like the floral print, but don't know what to use it for- lots of websites show little kid clothes. The selvage says "Little folks (c) 2009 Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Westminster Fibers #VAH 05 Little Honey" which made it easy to find exactly what it is. I found one website selling it for $14.95/yd!!! Good deal! (Similar things on Fabric Mart are $5.99/yd)
-1 3/8 yd striped stretch suiting. Not the same consistency as the stretch cotton I got, more fluid, but probably a similar thing, maybe more manmade fibers. This could work for a skirt. Don't think there is enough for pants, though I am quite short...
- 1.25 of some awful purple stuff. No idea what this is. Some sort of manmade fiber. It is a teeny bit stretchy and has some sort of blocky weave to it, might call it pique, but I'm not sure. This will likely go in the donation bag.
- 1.25 of BRIGHT yellow something. Very stretchy, 4-way, but quite firm, like compression fabric (but thicker than most compression garments). Man-made fibers, but not awful, could have been a good fabric, but the color is too much for me. Maybe I could use it for accents if I ever make my skate leggings. It would be good for the ankles...
-1.25 yd of something gray. This might be considered a stretch suiting slight 2-way stretch. Maybe a skirt? Or a jacket? I'll hang onto this, but who knows.

Overall rating of the grab bag: only 1 awful fabric and 1 icky color. Might not know what to do with the stuff, but I'm pretty happy here!


And the second grab bag:

-0.5 yd of a butterfly border print knit. I think this is called ITY. It has a lot of stretch in one direction and a tiny bit in another. This should be just enough to make a sleeveless top. I love it.
-1 yd of something Navy. It's a woven with a balanced weave. Maybe this could be a skirt?
-3/4 yd of a super stretchy pink. I think I have a RTW shirt in this exact material from years ago. It has some damage (looks like glue) on the selvage, but a keeper for sure.
-1 yd of a white embroidered cotton. Could be a cute peasant blouse. Do I wear cute peasant blouses?
-1 yd lilac chiffon. I have almost this exact color in my stash from Hobby Lobby. It will join it.
- 1.5 yd baby blue houndstooth suiting. If this wasn't baby blue I'd be using it for sure. I love houndstooth. But this will go in the donation bag. Why even make this in baby blue? Makes no sense. I wonder if I dyed it if the blue and white would still retain the value difference? I wonder what you dye this with... It doesn't really feel like wool, but I have wool dye...
1 yd- super stretchy gray. Not sure what I'd use this for. But in high school I had a floor length skirt and also a dress made out of similar but shinier material. Unfortunately, I don't have the body I had in high school. See...
-5/8 yd of some navy blue stuff with a circular texture pattern. No idea what I'd do with this. It's stretchy. I don't see it as a shirt. Maybe a skirt with lining? But then the stretch is kind of negated. Probably donate it.
-5/8 yd of a polka dot ITY. Could make a cute top. Maybe a wrap top to wear over a tank top, since it is sheer.
-5/8 yd of pink wool (I think) in a herringbone pattern. The edge of it reminds me of the chanel jackets. Actually this one and the next two would make a cute jacket but there isn't enough of it. Not sure if I can do anything with less than a yard of this type of fabric.
-1 yd blue crazy weave has 5 rows of herringbone, then a weird pattern. Lots of different colors sprinkled into the weave. Again, not sure what to make of this.
-3/4 yd of gray wool (?) This is odd- it is a chevron weave, but in the middle has a decorative detail with a satin stitch and then loose threads kind of like bows (but not bows). Don't think there is enough of this to do anything, but it could be cool. Maybe use for a formal handbag? Do I need a handbag?

Overall, this bag isn't as good as the last, the wool cuts were too small to do anything with. But the stretch fabrics make up for it, and I more than go my money's worth.


So here's the question- when will my wrist be strong enough to use scissors again? I can operate the sewing machine now, but if it isn't already cut, I'm stuck.

A trip for trims...

I've been hanging out on Pattern Review a lot, since i'm wanting to get back into garment sewing. After the PR weekend, there were a few blog posts about the Austin weekend- and that made me spot a fabric shop I wanted to visit next time I went down there: TexStyles

Turns out it is only minutes from Kevin's parents house, so we were able to make a quick trip over there.

I'm actually on a "fabric fast" until the end of January (possibly to be extended) so I wasn't sure what I'd be doing in a fabric shop, but my Craftsy class "Stupdenous Stitching" has me needing a bunch of trims, and they fit the bill nicely.

I got three different velvet trims- two different blues and a brown, some metallic gold trim, two sequin trims (the pink and the blue), and a bright pink rick rack.

The men who own the shop had just finished a trip to LA and had bags and bags filled with trims and fabric, they were more than happy to let you dig through them, or offered to pour them out. Nothing was priced, so when I had my handful, I went over (a little worried I'd have to put stuff back) and asked: everything was under $1.75 per yard (most around $1.25, rick rack was 75 cents) and the prices were followed with a "does that sound good?" They say they don't mark prices on trim because the stock revolves too fast, so they are open for negotiation.

I'm almost glad I couldn't buy fabric, because it was too overwhelming. Everything is hung- by color. The store is BEAUTIFUL! I would have needed a lot of help to identify what the types of fabric were, and what would work for certain projects- but I have no doubt the owners would have helped me, they were just delightful! Super friendly and very chatty.

I will definetly be back on my next visit. (As for the trim- I'm in love. I think I was supposed to get more rounded trim for my stupendous stitching project, but these were all just so beautiful...)

Happy New Year!

We are back from our trip to Texas- with lots to write about. I'm not sure where to start, so I'm going to start with something I did BEFORE our trip, and that has nothing to do with Christmas.

When I got back from Texas I was greeted with quite a few packages on the doorstep. I got a few textbooks, but also a pretty red box marked "Julep". Ooh! My Julep Maven package got here fast.

Inside- 4 gorgeous nail polishes!

You see, just before I left I saw an ad on the internet for a $5 intro code to a nail polish a month subscription. So I bite (the code was maven5, if it still works- I also later saw some 99 cent codes! You'll have to google for those). This $5 even included shipping!

So the deal was, you took a quiz and it gave you your style profile. Mine told me I was "boho glam" but the website lets you look at all the profiles, and even though I did like the boho glam colors, I loved the "it girl" ones more (I am so NOT an 'it girl') so I switched.

In my box I had these 4 colors, a purply/pink (it changes with the light), a deep dark red glittery polish, a gunmetal silver, and a fast dry top code.

I'm wearing the pink, and it applies really nicely, though it needs two coats. It is very matte- so a top coat is needed for shine. I need to clean up around my fingers still, but that's my fault, not the polish's!


Rather than canceling right away (which you totally could do) I am staying on for one more month- I really liked next month's "it girl" colors. They will be $20 including shipping, and while the nail polish bottles are about half the normal size, I think it is worth it. The polish is way nicer than drug-store stuff. I also like that they let you see it before it ships, and you decide if you want your style box ('it girl') or a different one, or you can skip it entirely!

(There is a referral program, so if you try it- will you use my link? Click here for awesome polish)

Fabric Mart Order

I got my Fabric Mart order in (I actually started this post a week ago... but never got the picture uploaded). I have to say, I’m disappointed. More than I’ve been with any other online fabric order. Perhaps it is because I branched out to try new things… Before I’ve always stuck with quilting cotton and stretch knits. I am thinking about joining their swatch club. Maybe it would be a good idea just to learn what fabrics ARE. More than anything, I was surprised by that!

The good thing is Fabric Mart is really inexpensive. Not cheap- most people rave about the quality (and quality isn’t really what I have a problem with). So it was a good lesson, and while I might not buy from Fabric Mart again in the near future, I will likely sew with at least some of what I bought.
Here is the run down. I got 2 yards of everything, except the last thing.I paid $8 in shipping.
Stretch Poplin (Brown) $1.49/yard Stretch Poplin (Purple) $0.74/yard I didn’t really know what Poplin was, but a pattern recommended it for shorts. I got the purple (cheap) for a muslin and the brown (well, still cheap) for the actual shorts. This material is really thin. Not sure how these are going to look. I expect something a little heftier. I’m kind of disappointed.
Trendy Cotton Bold Paisley $2.25/yard In the picture this looked like a cute print. In real life it looks like a grandmother’s couch. YUCK. Muslin material for sure. It also has the hand of quilting cotton, not something I think of for clothes.
Flocked and checks cotton $2.63/yard I underestimated the “checks” of this fabric. It looked nearly solid in one of the photos, and was the fabric I was most excited about. In real life, it looks like gingham and feels like quilters cotton. Not sure if I’ll get a nice skirt out of this or not. Major bummer.
Polyester Charmeuse $1.88/yard So I guess I didn’t know what Charmeuse is, but I didn’t expect it to just look like lining… Maybe this will make a nice blouse, but I’m not sure. It sure is shiny!
Crinkle Chiffon $1.49/yd This is a sheer material, and I hope to use it to make a peasant blouse to wear over a tank top. This one is good.
Polyester Lining $1.49/yd (2 colors, so 4 yards total) Yep, this is poly lining. I’m happy with this.
Trendy Knit Animal Print $1.49/yd. This material is exactly what I wanted- 4-way stretch, nice hand. Problem is, I ordered the wrong thing. This is an ugly as sin multi-animal print. I meant to get solid black. Oops. BUT I am going to use this to make a muslin of a wrap dress I’ve wanted to use expensive fabric I got a few years ago, but have been scared to try. So really, it works out fine.
Quilting Cotton $1.49/yd I saw this and thought “I got orange? I thought I got pink…” But sure enough, I did get orange. This will be just fine for a quilt back. That’s why I got 3 yards. I’m quite happy here.

Connecting Threads!

My Cyber-Sunday order FINALLY arrived! (I'm spoiled by Amazon shipping. I guess 1 week really isn't that bad- remember the days of 6 to 8 weeks?)

I got 4 sets of 12 fat quarters each, 1 10" stack of 24 Christmas fabrics, and then 2 packs of thread for quilting.

I am in love! The fat quarters I got are fabulous. Kevin picked out which ones will be his Kindle cover, and I have some for my Mom's. (Need to get on that! Christmas approaches!)

I embroidered my Dad's Christmas gift today. I need to get going on the things for everyone else. Oh, and do my Stat. project...

Also- internet karma has circled back to me :) Recently, I sent off an envelope of selvages to a blogger making a selvage quilt, sent a book about serging to a woman on ravelry, and mailed off some of my unloved stash yarn to some people on ravelry. Well- I was posting on pattern review asking questions about the Bernina Invisible Zipper foot. A woman offered to mail me hers to "try out"! She said if I liked it I can pay half retail and keep it. Wow! That is really nice.

Black Friday...

So, did you wake up at o'dark thirty this morning? I did, but not for shopping- to watch figure skating! I was up a little before 5:00 a.m. to watch the Rostlecom Cup ladies competition. I skipped pairs (will watch it recorded later) and took a nap, and woke up for the 8:00 men's competition. Both were well worth the lost sleep, but man have I been tired today.

To do my part for the economy I went up to North Liberty to Common Threads Quilt Shop (I refuse to write Shoppe- I hate that, it almost makes me not want to shop there) where she was having a 20% off sale. I wanted a Quilting Celebrations magazine, but she was already all out. I ended up getting Patrick Lose's "Poster Quilts", which was an expensive book, and I'm kind of thinking I shouldn't have gotten it, but I hate leaving a little store like that empty handed. I also bought a kindle cover pattern. I have so many Christmas gifts to sew now!

On the way home, I went to Walmart. It was DESERTED. No one to be seen. I bought some towels and pillowcases to embroider.

I also stopped at Hobby Lobby (there were more people there then Walmart, but not by much) and got a Fons and Porter Half and Quarter triangle ruler. I'm excited!

I haven't placed the order yet, but I plan on taking advantage of Planet Applique's awesome sale too. 70 cent appliques and $3.40 alphabets!


Why in the world do stores open so late at night? Is it so we can get our shopping done in time to watch football games? I drove by the mall last night, just to see the line, and the line for best buy circled all the way around outside almost to the Children's Museum (that means nothing to you if you haven't seen our mall...). Whatever deal they have- there is no way 3/4 of those people were getting what they were hoping for! Heck, even if everyone just wanted 1 DVD I doubt they have enough! Target also had an insane line. What's the point?

This year, I skipped Joann's flannel sale. Skating was just more important, and I am looking forward to Connecting Threads and Fabric.com's Cyber Monday sale (CT's starts Sunday...) I promised Kevin new pajama pants though. I have some "regal" purple flannel from last year, and he said that was okay. It's not manly, but he isn't wearing them outside the house.

Right now I'm quilting guild charity quilts. When I finish this one up it is time to start Christmas gifts! Oh, and do a little more homework...

Kevin does the grocery shopping...

So yesterday, I went to Hyvee. This was my grocery list:

4 things of coke ($11, plus deposit)
A gallon of milk (about $3)
15 powerades ($10)
2 cans diced tomatoes (about $3)
Frozen Corn ($2.50)
Peppers (70 cents)
Onion (70 cents)

And yet, my bill came to about $100.

This is why I should not grocery shop. I also got:
3 packages of frozen stir fry vegetables
Pasta sauce
Nutella
Fruit Roll Ups
2 cans Tomato Sauce
6 kool aid packages
Pasta Shells
Raisins
Cereal
Oreos
Tikki Masala Sauce
Popcorn
Mango Salsa
Tositos
2 cans of Wolf Chili
Apples
Croutons

These things were not on my list. But all very yummy. And really, only the Nutella and croutons were things I shouldn't have bought...

Quilt for Andi's baby...

Andi, who I've been friends with since middle school is expecting her first baby. As soon as I heard, I knew she'd need a rainbow quilt. This one certainly isn't perfect, but I'm mostly happy with it. I always hope the lack of perfection will mean my quilts get used, and not tucked away for safe keeping.
I quilted the baby's initials into the design. If they end up naming her something else (not M), I'm safe, as her last name is W, so it can be looked at from either side. Otherwise, I don't think I'd ever do this, because there is just too much chance for change.
And, of course, the back of the quilt, to show the quilting. I'm not too happy with it- my machine was having major tension problems. I do like how the rainbow thread looks on the black background.
Now I need to make a quilt for my best friend since I was 2- who is expecting her first, also very soon (I'll probably be late). I feel bad about the friends whose births I've missed- everyone is having babies at the same time! (My twin nephews didn't get quilts- but that was because their Mom said, that while they would love quilts, blankets were over running the house.)

As bad as I am at it (there are always puckers) I really like baby quilts- because I can get a finished project. I have a finished full size quilt top from college, and I don't know what to do with it. Quilting it will run $100, plus probably another $25ish in shipping (and I need to buy backing fabric!) and the quilt isn't exactly perfect, so it doesn't seem worth the expense. Not to mention, I don't even have a full size bed anymore. Baby quilts, as long as I keep them to 5' or 6' square I can shove through my regular machine and quilt just fine. I like the vintage "wrinkly" look, so you have to quilt fairly closely, just tying doesn't work.

In other news, my feet are not good in shoes. I've been wearing size 4 kids shoes from Lands End for a few years now (since after college, when Merrells starting looking expensive with my Dad not paying...) they usually run me under $15, but I can't fit into the adult sizes. The problem is the kids sizes have no arch support at all. After spending a fortune in time and money on physical therapy, I've decided to go back to Merrells, which have good support. Problem is- apparently no size fits me! Both the 5 and the 5.5 feel good in the length, and my heels slip in the back. I decided to stick with the 5.5, since my big toe touches the front of the 5, but it's definitely too big. It's just like skates- I need split widths. Stupid stupid shoes.

A crafty round up! (oops, it's a novel)

I finished another "pair" of socks- well, sort of.

The blueish socks I finished awhile ago, and I actually only started them because the stripey looking socks I had taken to work and needed something to work at while I was at home.

Well the blueish socks are "Pointelle" from Knit. Sock. Love and they practically knit themselves. Plus, they have a diagonal pattern across the foot, and I am just a sucker for that.

The stripey socks are "Wedge" also from Knit. Sock. Love. They are a really clever design- a regular variagated yarn is turned into an interesting patterning yarn by using short rows to create garter stitch wedges that cause the pooling/striping pattern of the yarn to break up into a new pattern. Look closely (or enlarge the picture, if you can) and you should be able to see garter stitch bands and stockinette bands. This also marks my first short row toe. I don't love it, but it is really neat how it makes a little pocket for your toes.

So what else crafty happened? I made a stocking for my niece (picture soon- the name on it is drying, then I'll spend a week trying to get glitter out of the fleece top.)

I also made a quilt top for my friend Andi, who is having a baby in January. I need to figure out if my friend Sarah also wants one. I didn't make one for Shanna (and wish I had)- but bought her a registry gift, it's possible Sarah would rather have a "thing", I don't know. (Andi has always been more quirky, so I figured she'd rather have a homemade gift...)

I also went to Joann's- twice. I did the black friday thing, and on after thought probably didn't have to. I didn't do the super cheap flannel, so everything I wanted was still there the next day. Still, the knits I got weren't back on the shelf- so is that because I bought them and they weren't restocked, or because someone else did? And one of the butterick patterns I wanted wasn't available- so maybe if I had waited, I wouldn't have found even more.

I also met a group of ladies who do sewing and knitting for "The Premie Project"- they make blankets, kicking bags, and sadly bereavement gowns for all the premies at UIHC. Their website says they make 900 blankets a year- and based on the probably $2,000 of flannel they bought, I believe it. (They had 3 baskets stacked 6 feet tall with bolts of fabric, and bought the entire bolt of each one!) I filled out a form to volunteer by sewing for them. Totally worth the 6:00 a.m. trip.

So what did I get a Joann's?

10 Butterick patterns (2 are the same- in two different sizes. OF COURSE, I fall between the size range)

Red rick-rack for Rylee's stocking

A fabric yo-yo maker (stupid, but I've always wanted one and it was half off)

2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver to knit more monsters (Luke green and Brody blue!)

2 yds Black cotton fabric for the back of the quilt for Andi

2 yds Denim to make skirt

2 yds each of 2 different Jersey fabrics- a dark flora and a bright green geometric print

1 yd Daisy patterned fleece

2 yds Sports ball patterned fleece

1.5 yd White fleece (annoying! It was "anti-pill" not "blizzard" so not on sale! But I needed a teeny bit for the stocking)

1.5 yd Baseball print fleece

1.5 yd of home decor fabric for a purse.

So what am I going to do with all the fleece? Well, I don't know yet, but I tried to get mostly boy prints in case a nephew project comes up (the Daisy was with Rylee in mind), and it was really cheap (2.99 a yard!) Fleece is what I use for purse linings, so it will get used eventually.

All this stuff, I "saved" $270.85. Sure I did- that's counting patterns at full price, and no one buys them at full price. But even still, I saved a ton. The who purchase was only $71 with tax.

And then I went again today- to pick up a rotary cutter refill. Well, a few other things fell into my basket...but everything was half off. Plus, like yesterday I had a 20% off everything coupon)

Rainbow Batiks fat quarter bundle (I love batiks)

The rotary blade I went for (those suckers are expensive... thank goodness it was on sale)

A diamond grid quilting template (for falling block quilts!! fancy!)

A square grid quilting template (Linda used one at my house and it seemed so neat- I need to figure out how to use the angle guides in the middle...)

2 spools of thread

Yellow top quilting pins (so weird- they have the exact same pins with a different label on the notions wall, those weren't on sale- just the "quilting" ones.)

Today, I only saved $35.58 (those patterns REALLY add up)... and spent $26.

So $100 isn't too bad for black friday weekend shopping.

What I haven't done yet: personal statement for my grad school application. MUST DO for tomorrow

The urge to spend

Why is it that so many hobbies revolve around buying things for the hobby? Are there any out there at all that aren't like that?

Knitters want yarn, patterns, needles, stitch markers, and more more more
Quilters want fabric. Lots and lots of fabric. Can you ever have enough fabric?
Stamping- omg, don't get me started.

Even my sports hobbies are easy to spend on- skating is a money pit, yoga classes are expensive, and it's just not the same at home. Plus all the cute clothes.

Why is there always an urge to buy?
This morning (and last weekend) I didn't buy more Wollmeise. I'm proud of myself for this, but I have a longing to get more. Why do I need more? I have so much yarn to knit up still. But I have project after project that I really want to do "next". The list of "next" goes on forever... but always there is something new to buy.

Yesterday I cast on for a pair of socks (Mirror Mirror pattern) in Wollmeise 100%. I haven't used this for socks and am a bit worried it won't hold up as well as the 80/20, but my other 100% merino socks seem to be doing fine. I love this fuschia color. I had tried to do "Hearts Afire" in it, but I hated every second of knitting that pattern, and decided to frog after I put the heel on just a little too late and they were too long. I'm on the heel of MM now, hopefully it's in the right position. I hate toe up- it's so hard to tell when to start the heel. Additionally, I'm giving this a go on 2 circs, and it is NOT for me. I keep switching to DPNs for awhile to give myself a break from wrestling the octopus of needles and cords. But I wanted to learn a new technique, so then I go back to 2 circs. I cannot believe people prefer this. Casting on with DPNs is ackward- but the knitting process here is crazy.

Oops...

I needed new reeds to refill one of my diffuser bottles. It's tough to find the reeds on their own- all the shops just sell them with bottles. But I don't need a new bottle, I found that water and essential oil mixed together is just fine to make a good smelling mixture- but after a few uses the reeds don't diffuse the scent anymore.

I found a store in Cedar Rapids that sells candle and soap supplies- they have reeds! $3 for 10 of them. That doesn't seem too bad.

But then I remembered that Brambleberry(.com) sold them too. So I checked their price- $6 for 100! WOW- that's MUCH better.

So $60 later... I have super cheap reeds.
And a kit to make solid lotion bars, 2 new diffuser bottles (yeah, I said I didn't need a new bottle- but that was for the bathroom- these ones will be for the bedroom and at work...), the proper base for diffuser solution (water isn't exactly the thing you're supposed to use), and an ounce of Chipotle Caramel fragrance. How great does that sound. I'm thinking I'm going to want to eat it.

As much as I'm excited about getting the reeds- I'm really excited about the kit for the lotion bars. I love the lotion bars I've used before, so it will be fun to learn how to customize them.

And while my cheap reeds cost $60 (with shipping)- I used the price lists online at the local stuff, and it would have been at least $50 more to buy it locally (likely more since I gave them the "equal" price if they didn't have it listed.)