Friday, January 29, 2010

Knitting

I started knitting a couple of years ago and I cannot begin to tell you how much of an addiction it has become. It is like therapy for me. And since I figure the laying-on-a-couch- kind of therapy is a bit expensive - I reason that the money I spend on knitting is in all reality, actually a savings.



My husband says if I save him any more money he is going to go broke.



Anyway, as I was saying, knitting is what I love to do lately. It's the perfect way to de-stress at the end of the day. I tend to love smaller projects (think instant gratification) and I find myself knitting things mostly for my grandbabies. I especially love the books by Susan B. Anderson, Itty Bitty Hats, Itty Bitty Nursery and Itty Bitty Toys. I highly recommend them to any knitter - new or experienced. Even if I'm not knitting I love to just browse through the books. I also love her blog and I am always thrilled when she posts a free pattern as she so often does.



My knitting to-do list has grown. A lot.



This morning I was thrilled to see she finally finished her pattern for these guys:



The pattern is called The Three Brrrr's - isn't that perfect? I love them! They are all one pattern using different needle size and yarn weight to achieve the different sizes. They look so snuggly and fun. My fingers are just itching to knit them.

I am going to have three grandbabies by this Christmas and I could just see it - the big bear for Tyler, the middle sized bear for sweet Ava Claire and the baby bear for the baby. Perfect!

I happily went online to buy the pattern and the yarns and was totally blown away when I saw what it would cost.

$229 ! But not to worry - the shipping is free.

I feel so much better now.

Apparently I need to rethink my philosphy on the laying-on-the-couch type of therapy.

Obviously I didn't place my order but I am the kind of person who likes to follow a pattern TO-THE-TEE which includes using the exact same kind of yarn the pattern calls for. (And by telling you that I completely realize that I just exposed my slight CDO tendancies, which other people call OCD but I prefer CDO because that's in alphabetical order as it should be.)

I'm going to have to think outside of the box on this one. Because no matter how I try to figure it - $229 for knit polar bears for my grandbabies for Christmas

just

doesn't

compute.

Not even I can bear to save my husband that much money.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

hahaha, oh you are so right. You husband and mine thing exactly alike. And I am with you. Never would I pay that much for 3 Brrrrs, even for beautiful grandchildren.

Unknown said...

Do you have the Itty Bitty Toys book? It is on my list for when I get a job and am allowed to spend money again :)

Karen said...

This is such a funny post! I love your "CDO". Thanks for the laughs!

Oh, I enlarged the picture and those bears are TOO cute. I'm amazed that anyone can hand knit something like that. That alone is worth the $229.

Robin said...

Becky- Yes I do have the Itty Bitty Toys book - I got it for my birthday last year. I love it!

Robin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bev said...

I have all three of her books too - hurrah Sarah gave me her newest for Christmas - her teaching section of every one is excellent. I did a project through my knitting store along with another friend who had a pretty limited budget. I was shocked when she was done - hers was beautiful, and cost a very small fraction of what mine did because I used the yarn the shop owner directed me to. My friend bought what she could afford and it made no difference at all in the final product. I've learned not to ask for a lot of direction in the store because they tend to direct me to the more expensive yarns! The last time I asked for an 'inexpensive yarn' they showed me something that was close to $20 - compared to Michaels or Joanns $20 is not inexpensive. Hope you can find a yarn that will make you happy and turn out lovely little bears.

Anonymous said...

Love this post! It made me laugh out loud. :)

Anonymous said...

A few weeks ago I was going through something very difficult and was seriously in need of some 'therapy' so I went shopping for funky socks -- not socks to wear but to make little critters with. I told my husband that it cost less than a therapy session and I did feel better when I got home. And I feel very happy while I am making my sock critters so I really do think it was money well spent. There are some picture of my creations on my blog and more to come soon if you are interested : )

Kathy Schwanke said...

I just love visiting this nest where I find light hearted humor! You are the best!
I love those bears too!!!
Happy Knitting!

SMHart said...

"My husband says if I save him any more money he is going to go broke."

Hah! Too funny!