HO, HO, HO

Well, maybe just HO. =)

What have I done this week? Other than lots of OT for work, not a heck of a lot. I do have one HO (half-finished object):

The first of a pair of slippers for my friend. These are made with 3 strands of worsted weight yarn held together so they're quick... quick enough to actually be completed for Christmas morning. lol This is my second pair from this pattern - the first having been knit several years ago for my mom. This pair is being made from acrylic so they'll be easily washable, but and I can honestly say, I much prefer the wool version. I knit the first up Friday night after a long work day and plan to do #2 later tonight... plenty of time! =)
(yarn & pattern details on my Ravelry project page)

I did start a pair of fingerless mitts for her too, but the yarn choice was an unfortunate one. I'd picked up some inexpensive sport weight yarn from Big Lots (In the Loop) with the intention of make a few knitted Christmas ball ornaments. The deep red would have gone nicely with her off-white coat, but the yarn was crap. Not only did it knot up like that was it's job, but the yarn broke while I was trying to untangle it... then I discovered the yarn stained my bamboo needles after only a few rows. grr The yarn went back to the store. I swear, the more I've used it, the less I like any acrylic. I'm okay with acrylic blends, but straight acrylic? I'll be avoiding that in the future! Life is too short to knit with crap yarn. I'll be sticking to natural fibers from here out. I have a few acrylic skeins left in my stash, but no more will be coming in! :-/ Yep, I'm a yarn snob...

This past Tuesday, I was gifted a couple of patterns by designer Kimberly Gintar of The Giving Flower podcast in memory of podcaster Karrie Steinmetz who recently passed away. I received her Melting Snowman and Shawn the Shelf Elf. My friend collects snowmen and I plan to make the melting snowman for her once I have some actual free time again. lol I think I might need to make the elf for my sister's kids for next year though they might be getting too old for that. I picked up white and black fingering weight yarn and buttons yesterday for the snowman, but I wasn't able to find anything for the elf's skin. I might just end up with a really tanned elf! =) More likely though, I'll dye up a bit of my own...

Oh! My niece is officially "knit-worthy"!!!

I hear she LOVES her hat! No word on any of the others I sent, but at least one is being appropriately appreciated. =)

This OT hasn't been great for my knitting, but it has been great for the bank account! I had some OT on my last check and was happily able to make a double payment on my rv loan and even put some money in my savings account as well. =) The plan was to get my loan paid up at least through Spring when work tends to get a little (or a lot) slow and I'm now paid up until AUGUST! =D

save on shipping!

I tend to think everyone knows about this already, but I discovered this week that that isn't so. It's a little late for holiday shipping for this year, but good info to have for later!

If you go to the post office's official website, you can set up an account and print your own postage. The advantage? No lines! Oh, and you save some money too. =) I have a small digital scale and can weigh my packages, but if you use the flat rate priority boxes (free from the post office), you don't even need the scale. I used to keep a few boxes on hand when I had more space. I shipped 4 packages Monday and 3 of the 4 were cheaper to ship flat rate than by weight - it doesn't take much to add up! When printing the postage online, they give you a small discount (up to 15%) on shipping and they also give you free delivery confirmation (a savings of $.75 per package). The best part? You can also schedule a pick-up and you won't even have to go to the post office to drop them off no matter how big the package or how many you have. The only down side is that you can't print first class postage on the site. I have heard you can print these through PayPal's website though so if you're mailing lighter items, be sure and check that out!

The other alternative? If you're not making the gifts yourself, purchase gifts from companies that offer free shipping (gotta love Amazon!) and have the item sent directly to the recipient. No, you won't be able to wrap it yourself, but a lot of companies offer gift-wrapping services now. Amazon has been offering a lot of $5 credits lately too so keep an eye out for those! I purchased an item for $25, got free shipping and used my $5 credit so it only cost $20 + tax shipped. Not a bad deal!

getting a yarny (or other crafty) deal...

Yes, still knitting away, but I wanted to share something I've figured out recently...

Jo Ann Fabric has been putting out a lot of good coupons lately and it used to be, you were limited to using one 40% (or 50% or whatever) off coupon per purchase. Not anymore! Last time I was in there, I bought 4 items that were not on sale and got 50% off on each... just wish I'd figured this out when they had the 60% off coupon!

Here's how:

1. Use the paper coupon from the ad flyer.
2. Sign up for the emails from Jo Ann's and you'll get coupons in your inbox - print those.
3. Go back to that email and click "send to phone" - this will come as a text message and has a different number on it than the one you printed above.
4. Download the Jo Ann Fabric app on your smartphone and log in with your email then go to "coupons" and pull up the current coupon - this will have yet a different number on it.

Now you have four coupons - two digital, two on paper. Jo Ann's will let you use as many coupons as you have on the same order (one per non-sale-priced-item, of course) as long as they have different numbers below the scan bar. This is a great way to buy multiples of, say, yarn in the same dye lot that's not currently on sale or just multiple skeins of the same type of yarn for a colorwork project in just one trip. =) I got four skeins for a sweater, all at 50% off and saved about $22.

Now, you know too. =)

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