I have been on a mission for the last few years to refresh my faux garland, but by the time I shop in December wherever I go they are completely sold out. This year I went early and bought this garland when they were putting it out--on Halloween! The guy was literally unboxing as I walked by, so I waited and tried not to look too eager, then took 4 boxes off his hands with a smile. He told me that this was really popular and it was their last box and would get no more in. This is on Halloween! I also found the deer and doe, (all of this happened at good old Target) and when I brought them home decided they would look pretty on my fall table, not just for Christmas, so they've been out all month. The garland is made of faux magnolia leaves with some of the leaves painted gold. It's really pretty, and since we have a huge magnolia in front of our house, I thought it would be perfect. 

It will be a busy weekend. After our family leaves on Thursday evening, my husband and I will finish the last of the clean up (doesn't it seem to take forever?) and prepare the turkey carcass because on Friday I'll be making turkey soup. I hope you'll join me again! While the stock is simmering away I'll begin decorating for Christmas. I give myself three lazy days to complete it and then we'll end the weekend with our downtown Christmas parade on Sunday night. Our little family will be meeting several other families--a long time tradition for over 40 years. It's very fun and a bit nostalgic with our now grown up children bringing their little children to the same parade. I hardly know what to say about the recent parade tragedy and all the looting and unrest happening here in the US. My head and heart cannot even comprehend what is happening. I leave in an hour to pick up my 4 year old grandson who will "help" me with the Thanksgiving prep work. I will hold him extra tightly and give him more kisses than usual I'm sure. If you live in America, I hope you have a restful and grateful Thanksgiving. Sending love from the bottom of my heart. xoxo Kristen

If you'd like to make a comment, please click here or scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end of my website. If you would like to receive Knitionary posts by email, please subscribe here.

I just finished the Don't Ask Again cardigan designed by German designer, Isabell Kraemer.  A plain vanilla cardigan is just what I needed in my sweater wardrobe, but no matter what color you choose, this sweater pattern will help you build a timeless sweater wardrobe or refresh an older one. As you're planning your knitting queue and thinking about what will be fun to knit and wear, don't forget to add the classics! Your wardrobe deserves at least several classic styles that don't go out of style; sweaters you'll want to wear again and again.

I could tell that much care was taken with the writing of this pattern. It's very easy to follow and uses a few technique twists on the basics--the sleeves use a modified contiguous set-in sleeve that creates a good fit that is easy to do. It is knit top down with faux seams up the sides and the back that you could eliminate if you chose to. I do love it, it fits well and looks equally good worn open or buttoned up. My fit has a little positive ease.

Even though I say the contiguous set-in sleeve technique a "new" twist, it's common now and in fact so common that I rarely see the separate set-in bell shaped sleeve of twenty or so years ago. Some pattern companies still write the separate bell sleeve into a pattern, but most designers now use either the short-row technique or contiguous technique for achieving the same bell shaped look but with a better fit which is easier to achieve. If I am following an older pattern, I always rewrite the sleeves to use either one of the above techniques for a more modern adaptation. But these newer techniques are not without their foes. One complaint of the contiguous sleeve is the lack of structure as it has no seams. I've never had a problem with that, but I'm guessing with a bulkier yarn it could be a problem, so if you want structure to stabilize the shoulder, you could use the short-row technique as that does add more structure. This particular pattern is a modified contiguous version as it has a saddle shoulder. FYI, here are my directions for how to knit a set-in top-down sleeve.

I made a few small modifications to this pattern which are on my Ravelry page for reference, but for those not on Ravelry, I include them here as well.

Modifications:

-The button bands are simple and charming. I added one mod to the bands by adding two extra knit rows on either side of the buttonhole row = 4 extra rows per band. Did the same for the button band.

-I also brought in my neck by decreasing 2 sts in each shoulder area of the neck trim--dec 4 sts per row X 3 rows = 12 sts dec total. This brought the neck in a bit as I like my neck a bit more fitted.  

 DAA by Isabell Kraemer

My Ravelry project page

I used Rowan Valley Tweed

If you'd like to make a comment, please click here or scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end of my website. If you would like to receive Knitionary posts by email, please subscribe here.

Hello there. This is not a knitting post, but a post about how I am learning to spend less money. If you would like to spend less this holiday season, I hope this post will help you, even if only in a small way. Every little bit counts!

I feel I'm a frugal person at heart, but I had gotten into the habit of being more careless than I like to be with money and it made me unhappy. There has to be a hundred reasons why we develop bad spending habits and I don't have the background to dig too deeply into this, but I didn't have to dig deeply at all to realize that my biggest problem was that I was being heavily influenced by what I saw. If I saw something pretty, I wanted it and didn't seem to have the tools to say no and ended up with purchases I regretted. But how on earth was I going to SEE less and how could I develop the tools to say no when I did see something I wanted?

First thing to do was figure out where and how I was being influenced. There's not only the TV/radio/print ads of old, but now we're bombarded online by ads in our inbox, ads in social media, ads every time we look at the computer or phone. So I wondered, if I actually saw fewer ads, would I could I spend less? The answer is yes, but I still had to develop a few skills. 

Besides being highly motivated and sincere in my quest to spend less, I took the following steps to help me from buying unnecessary things. Maybe they can help you too.

1. I unsubscribed from the store emails. I get zero emails from Nordstrom, Pottery Barn and the like, and gulp, I've unsubscribed from knitting sites too with the exception of my local yarn store and a few designers I'm devoted to. This eliminates over half of my temptations. Every few months I take the time to unsubscribe again from whomever finds me. It's an ongoing battle but worth it.

2. I unsubscribed from influencers. This was a tough one because I love to follow pretty blogs, but if a blogger emails me daily or their main goal is to sell me stuff or ads are popping up all over the place, they have lost this reader.  I understand that for many bloggers it is a full time job, often they have a team of contributors, and having ads and shopping links are how they make their money. I don't begrudge them that, but I need to take care of myself. 

3. I'm no longer on any social media. This was a terrible place for me in many ways, but one of the surprise benefits is that I spend less. I find I make fewer impulse buys as I simply don't see the ads and influencer talk on FB and Instagram so I have no idea what is blowing up the internet and what I need to be buying or doing. It's been a year and a half since I left and I do not miss social medial one bit.

4. I ignore sales. This was not an easy one. I used to be highly influenced by a sale price; buying something I didn't need (more yarn is just one example) just because it was on sale.  Now I know I actually save money by buying what I need at full price only when I need it and I waste money buying something on sale that I don't need, but think I will need one day. But that one day rarely comes and I'm usually stuck with something taking up space that I don't want/need. The exception is consumables we regularly use in our home.  

5. When I shop, I have a plan and a budget and try to stick to it. But even with that in mind, it doesn't stop me from number 6:

6. Impulse Buying: When I shop online or in person, I still have an impulse to put things in my cart. Before checking out I ask myself these questions:

-Do I really need it?

-How often will I use it?

-Can I borrow it? 

-Do I already own something similar?

-Is it worth the price?

-Is there an environmental impact that will make me crazy?

-This item will likely take managing; am I willing to give it the time and the space it needs to be managed?

-I have a strict one-in, one-out rule, so what will I remove from what I already own and is it worth the exchange?

After answering these questions, most often I remove the items from my cart and leave the site/store empty handed (except for what I went specifically for) and feeling pretty good about myself. 

Lastly, I find outside encouragement by reading these inspirational blogs:

This Evergreen Home

Becoming Minimalist

Balance Through Simplicity

Be More With Less

I also love reading self help books. These two books were most helpful to me when I was new with the process of wanting to own and spend less:

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta  Magnusson. Don't be put off by the title. It's a charming little book that makes sense.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. If you haven't read this yet, you should. 

Both books are available at the library and both are in audiobook form. They still inspire me and make me smile and I have reread them a few times. 

Now, zip to a new subject! I love the picture below; such concentration. We had our 4 year old grandson spend the night on the Saturday before Halloween. He was pretty sad to see Grammy and Papa's paltry Halloween decorations so we headed to the craft room to set that right. We created spiders, witches and jack o' lanterns and all were taped to the front windows to give our trick or treaters a good scare! We also made a play house!

BOOKS. I just finished this good murder mystery by the author of The Girl on the Train: A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins. Audiobook narrated by Rosamond Pike.