Distractions

You know . . . I've sat down at the keyboard several times over the course of the last month thinking about what I should say here.  Whenever I sit down with the intention to write a blog entry, my mind draws a blank.  I start to type something and hope that it comes across as witty and clever, but I reread it only to find that it sounds bland and flat.  I know that it doesn't serve as an acceptable excuse, but I have been thinking about the blog.  As I go on a run or make the hundredth small Chocolate Extreme Blizzard with vanilla ice cream at the Dairy Queen, I think of the perfect things to say.  Yet, when I sit down at the computer, nothing comes.  Maybe it's just the inactivity of the summer, or maybe it's the heat (yes, we have air conditioning, but no it's not on . . . please don't ask me for the answer to that riddle).  Honestly, I can't really say.

However, I can say that I love planning for projects, especially when they're knitting projects and especially when I'm going patternless.  It just feels like this great adventure where I've got to apply all the knowledge I have about that craft.  Or having to learn new skills for the completion of the project.  There are always the rough spots, where nothing that I do seems to be working.  But if you think about it in the grand scheme of the project, those rough patches only make the finished project mean that much more. I've been working on some knitted jewelry designs for an Etsy shop that I'm hoping to open next spring.  Stay tuned for more!

The Call to be Frugal

In the May 2010 edition of The Reader's Digest, they feature an article highlighting some of the most frugal people in the United States and the difference between being frugal and being a cheapskate.  This made me think about myself and where I would fit on this scale of frugality.  I've been raised by parents who shop the sales and the thrift shops and my mother's prowess with the art of sale shopping is unparalleled.

Now, as you all probably know, I'm a college student.  I need every spare penny I can get.  I save change and look for the highest possible re-selling price on my used textbooks.  When it comes to knitting, is it wrong of me to go for the free patterns?  I save the links of patterns too pretty to be lost, but too expensive to be bought in addition to the already expensive yarn.  In the end, I always go for the free pattern that may not be exactly what I wanted, but close enough.  It's not for a lack of desire to support designers.  If I won a million dollars, I'd probably run to the yarn store after I finished paying for college, a car, and some savings.  (and for the record, the car would still be cheap.  I still need money for yarn!)

On a somewhat-related note, I'm almost done the lace part of my second sweater sleeve.  Hopefully, I'll have pictures soon.  We're moving into the warm-weather season where no one wants to be anywhere near worsted-weight wool.  I'm also planning to embark on several smaller projects.  I've realized that I really don't have any fun accessories for those rare days when I want to dress up.  More on that later, though.