Knit Outs, Bargains, and Budgets
Gryphon and I are planning to go to the Boston Knit Out 2005. We can't afford most festivals of any sort right now, but this one is free to attend, and only an hour or two's drive from home on the Boston Common. It will be my first major knitting gathering, and there will be a spot for knitting bloggers to sign in - I'm hoping to meet some of you there!
Gryphon doesn't have much personal interest in this, of course, but he is the one with the experience driving in places like Boston. So he gets to be chauffeur. If there's some volunteer activity for him to do while I cruise the festival, he may help out. Otherwise, he's likely to have a good time just seeing the sights in the vicinity, or relaxing in the Common. He's mellow that way. Plus, having cell phones means we can connect whenever we need to.
With any luck, a friend of mine will be coming, too. It all depends on how that Sunday shapes up for her.
Money for crafting supplies has been tight, and of course, there will be vendors at the Knit Out. We're hard pressed to say I can officially have any specific sum to spend that day, but we've come up with a plan. Actually, it's even a bit of a challenging game for me.
This week, and next, we'll give me the maximum we can allot for household expenses (groceries, toilet paper, etc.) Whatever I can manage not to spend on household - while not depriving us of something we actually need - I can have to spend at the Knit Out. So keep your fingers crossed for me as I work my way through the grocery shopping the next two weeks, okay?
The first challenge this week was figuring out how much we'd have to spend to fix the washing machine. You may recall I posted the other day that it made an alarming noise the last time we ran it. Depending on the cost of the part Gryphon would need to replace, this could severely impact the household budget for this week, and thus, my yarn budget for the Knit Out.
Well, yesterday Gryphon took apart the machine, and inspected the parts. And he found the source of the noise. It seems that inside the pump, there was a connector end from some sort of terminal wire (Gryphon, love, please correct me in comments if that's not quite right). Gryphon says that it's not uncommon for there to be stray bits like this inside washing machines, sometimes for years, without causing any particular problem. So this may have been in the machine since the day it was built. It's only now that it worked its way to a place where it made its presence known.
The good news - no parts to replace! Nothing to fix! The machine actually runs more smoothly now because Gryphon also tightened up the case and cleaned various parts while he was in there. But there's nothing we have to buy, and the budget is safe!
Hooray for handy husbands!
As to my plans for a Knit Out spending spree - well, I gotta say, house brand Mac&Cheese mix is looking awfully good right now, LOL! Funny what you're willing to do when the choice is food or yarn, isn't it?
In spite of trying to save the money for the KnitOut, I did spend a little on a knitting item at Target today. For a while, they've had these beginner knitting kits there - yarn for one project with a pattern, knitting needles, tapestry needle, and a learn-to-knit DVD. Most of the projects are things aimed at the younger knitting set, like bikinis and exercise mat totes. Nothing that really appealed to me, especially at the $14.99 price point.
A few weeks ago, they started hitting the clearance shelves, and I've been watching them ever since. After all, if they got cheap enough, it'd be worthwhile just for the yarn, maybe the pattern, and the knitting needles. On today's visit to Target, I looked, and BAM! found this cute little baby kit for only $3.74. I decided it was worth spending a little of my KnitOut funds to be able to keep this in reserve for possible baby gift occasions.
Finally the Right Price
A Closer Look at the Project
This is actually a cute design. Of course, I have yet to see if the pattern is actually workable, and how the finished product comes out in real life. But I think there's potential here.
I pulled out the contents of the kit. The yarn looks to be a basic cotton worsted, in a nice pink color. In fact, I think it may match a cone of Sugar'n'Cream that I have in the stash. I also have a cone of the same in baby blue, so I am equipped for doing a bunny set for a boy if I need to - yay, stash!
Yeah, That's the Right Price for This Little Pile
The knitting needles are very generic-looking gray plastic, in a size 7. Still, they'll be useful back-up or emergency needles, or a handy give-away if I teach someone. The little striped booklet on the left is the general instructions for knitting - casting on, seaming, etc. - and the little black thing on top of it is a tapestry needle and a small spool of the thread for stitching the bunny faces. Under the knitting needles is the Learn-To-Knit DVD - I'll probably save that to pass on some day. The pattern itself is the xeroxed piece of paper on the right.
Not sure when I'll do this, though I may get started soon - I haven't had any friends report a pregnancy to me, but I've been having a feeling I needed to get a baby gift ready. Given my track record with the Wearable Hugs, I'm inclined to believe that feeling.
Work progresses on Gryphon's sweater vest. I managed to knit the back all the way up to the point where the pattern says to start the shoulder shaping.
Getting There
Rather than assume the pattern would fit right, of course, I had Gryphon do a fitting. He reports that the body fits comfortably, and the ribbing comes down to the right place just below his waist. I measured the back against him, and decided that I'm going to do another half an inch before starting the shoulder shaping.
Things are looking good for the vest. I love it when a plan comes together!
Edit: A Festival without vendors? Judy in NH points out that the exhibitors at the Knit Out aren't allowed to sell anything, only to hand out information. That's certainly a disappointment, and there wasn't anything at the Boston Knit Out website that mentioned that - a serious oversight, if you ask me. Lacking information to the contrary, I saw a list of shops as exhibitors, and made a not-unreasonable assumption.
Judy does mention the names of a couple of yarn shops worth visiting - Windsor Button or Newbury Yarn. Hopefully I'll find some treasures worthy of the day there.
Thanks for the heads' up, Judy.
Gryphon doesn't have much personal interest in this, of course, but he is the one with the experience driving in places like Boston. So he gets to be chauffeur. If there's some volunteer activity for him to do while I cruise the festival, he may help out. Otherwise, he's likely to have a good time just seeing the sights in the vicinity, or relaxing in the Common. He's mellow that way. Plus, having cell phones means we can connect whenever we need to.
With any luck, a friend of mine will be coming, too. It all depends on how that Sunday shapes up for her.
Money for crafting supplies has been tight, and of course, there will be vendors at the Knit Out. We're hard pressed to say I can officially have any specific sum to spend that day, but we've come up with a plan. Actually, it's even a bit of a challenging game for me.
This week, and next, we'll give me the maximum we can allot for household expenses (groceries, toilet paper, etc.) Whatever I can manage not to spend on household - while not depriving us of something we actually need - I can have to spend at the Knit Out. So keep your fingers crossed for me as I work my way through the grocery shopping the next two weeks, okay?
The first challenge this week was figuring out how much we'd have to spend to fix the washing machine. You may recall I posted the other day that it made an alarming noise the last time we ran it. Depending on the cost of the part Gryphon would need to replace, this could severely impact the household budget for this week, and thus, my yarn budget for the Knit Out.
Well, yesterday Gryphon took apart the machine, and inspected the parts. And he found the source of the noise. It seems that inside the pump, there was a connector end from some sort of terminal wire (Gryphon, love, please correct me in comments if that's not quite right). Gryphon says that it's not uncommon for there to be stray bits like this inside washing machines, sometimes for years, without causing any particular problem. So this may have been in the machine since the day it was built. It's only now that it worked its way to a place where it made its presence known.
The good news - no parts to replace! Nothing to fix! The machine actually runs more smoothly now because Gryphon also tightened up the case and cleaned various parts while he was in there. But there's nothing we have to buy, and the budget is safe!
Hooray for handy husbands!
As to my plans for a Knit Out spending spree - well, I gotta say, house brand Mac&Cheese mix is looking awfully good right now, LOL! Funny what you're willing to do when the choice is food or yarn, isn't it?
In spite of trying to save the money for the KnitOut, I did spend a little on a knitting item at Target today. For a while, they've had these beginner knitting kits there - yarn for one project with a pattern, knitting needles, tapestry needle, and a learn-to-knit DVD. Most of the projects are things aimed at the younger knitting set, like bikinis and exercise mat totes. Nothing that really appealed to me, especially at the $14.99 price point.
A few weeks ago, they started hitting the clearance shelves, and I've been watching them ever since. After all, if they got cheap enough, it'd be worthwhile just for the yarn, maybe the pattern, and the knitting needles. On today's visit to Target, I looked, and BAM! found this cute little baby kit for only $3.74. I decided it was worth spending a little of my KnitOut funds to be able to keep this in reserve for possible baby gift occasions.
Finally the Right Price
A Closer Look at the Project
This is actually a cute design. Of course, I have yet to see if the pattern is actually workable, and how the finished product comes out in real life. But I think there's potential here.
I pulled out the contents of the kit. The yarn looks to be a basic cotton worsted, in a nice pink color. In fact, I think it may match a cone of Sugar'n'Cream that I have in the stash. I also have a cone of the same in baby blue, so I am equipped for doing a bunny set for a boy if I need to - yay, stash!
Yeah, That's the Right Price for This Little Pile
The knitting needles are very generic-looking gray plastic, in a size 7. Still, they'll be useful back-up or emergency needles, or a handy give-away if I teach someone. The little striped booklet on the left is the general instructions for knitting - casting on, seaming, etc. - and the little black thing on top of it is a tapestry needle and a small spool of the thread for stitching the bunny faces. Under the knitting needles is the Learn-To-Knit DVD - I'll probably save that to pass on some day. The pattern itself is the xeroxed piece of paper on the right.
Not sure when I'll do this, though I may get started soon - I haven't had any friends report a pregnancy to me, but I've been having a feeling I needed to get a baby gift ready. Given my track record with the Wearable Hugs, I'm inclined to believe that feeling.
Work progresses on Gryphon's sweater vest. I managed to knit the back all the way up to the point where the pattern says to start the shoulder shaping.
Getting There
Rather than assume the pattern would fit right, of course, I had Gryphon do a fitting. He reports that the body fits comfortably, and the ribbing comes down to the right place just below his waist. I measured the back against him, and decided that I'm going to do another half an inch before starting the shoulder shaping.
Things are looking good for the vest. I love it when a plan comes together!
Edit: A Festival without vendors? Judy in NH points out that the exhibitors at the Knit Out aren't allowed to sell anything, only to hand out information. That's certainly a disappointment, and there wasn't anything at the Boston Knit Out website that mentioned that - a serious oversight, if you ask me. Lacking information to the contrary, I saw a list of shops as exhibitors, and made a not-unreasonable assumption.
Judy does mention the names of a couple of yarn shops worth visiting - Windsor Button or Newbury Yarn. Hopefully I'll find some treasures worthy of the day there.
Thanks for the heads' up, Judy.
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