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