Well, another year has gone by and it's now 2024. While most of the world has gone back to "being normal", the pandemic is still on-going. There are still new variants cropping up and becoming the "dominant" variant more quickly now and most folks no longer care if they have a cold or if it's COVID. Many folks are getting sick and staying sick longer but hey ... they don't have to mask anymore so ... what's the big deal, right?? After all, "it's just a cold". Because of this, life (for us) has been the same as it was in 2021. Which means ... 2024 (pandemic) purchases! 😉😁🙌 🎉👍
Here's my 2024 (pandemic) Purchases:
In January, I purchased:
- I was blocking my Dala sweater and realized that if I were blocking a bigger sweater, I would need more Knit Blockers.😳 So, I decided to purchase these from Etsy:
I can't believe how expensive Knit Blockers are now (they were about $30.00 a set! They used to cost about $20.00 a set!) So, that's why I decided to buy both sets now before they became even more expensive!😳😱
UP-DATE: It was a good thing that I purchased both of these because when I went to block Hub's very first sweater, I nearly used all four (4)! of my Knit Blockers! 😱😳🤦 I'm very glad I had all 4 on hand!
The container
Here's how I actually store it
Here's what it looks like, in the container- As I was working in Hub's very first sweater, while my "jumbo" counter worked just fine, I thought it would be nice to have a couple of smaller counters. So, I reached out to schoonerlabs to see if Mark would be open to making me another set of custom counters. I'm so glad I reached out to him as I'm so happy with my new counters!😍🥰The colours are so cute and the top dial pointers are so much fun!🥰🥰🥰💕
UP-DATE: The double counter works fine; the single counters needs 2 hands to operate it so, it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. 😳😭😔🤦🤷
- And lastly, I heard that Della Q bags would be going up in price and I've been drooling over their Oh, Snap bags so, I took the plunge and ordered all the large, XL and XXL bags as well as a fun stuffed animal pattern book from Jimmy Beans:
REVIEW: The teal bags are made to stand up in their own but, I found zipper could be sturdier (they do not seem to be YKK zippers) as while the looked "zipped", it was not fully zipped as there was a hole in the zipper; however, when I ran the zipper to the other side, it seemed to self-heal and it seemed to zip close. The Iridescent bag is nice and L-A-R-G-E! It's as tall as the XL Teal bag and ~2" wider than it. The Black Splatter bag is ~2" shorter than the zippered portion of the XL Teal bag but it is about the same width of the XL Teal bag. The Hot Pink Knit bag felt tacky (like the print was really old and had a sticky feel) and is the smallest of the bags (& for a "large" bag, it seems quite small - more like a sock sized bag instead of a shawl or sweater sized bag). Because of the tacky feel, I reached out to Jimmy Beans and they allowed me to exchange it for their Valentine's heart bag:
I'm so happy that I reached out to them and asked for an exchange - the Hearts bag is just as big as the Black Splatter bag and it doesn't feel tacky/sticky like the original Hot Pink bag.
Overall, the use of the bags is good. So far, I'm using them to hold yarns for my projects (& pending projects in 'em); I've also used one for a sweater project where I was able to work out of it like I normally do; it works fine as a "home" bag (I left it open an unbuttoned while working on the project - it kept my project contained and didn't spillover) but I can see it being a hassle if you unbutton everything (to have it wide open) and need to button it up quickly to close it up (like at a doctor's office or on transportation). Overall, I do find that I like the mesh bags because it's does make it easy to identify what's in there and its relatively light weight.
As for the Mouche and Friends book ... It's amazingly f-u-n! I've made all but two (2) animals (I ran out of "body" yarn or didn't have the right/appropriate coloured body yarn for them) and they were each so much fun and interesting to make! It helped that I already had the skills to make them but using my skills in a different way to watch how the animals are shaped. I'm so glad I purchased this book and made as many animals as I did. Not only was I thoroughly entertained but I learned a lot too (plus, it allowed me to usd up a lot of my stash yarn!🙌🥳🎉🎊)! 🥰💕
In February, I managed to actually purchase almost nothing!!! 😱😳😁
- Remember those individual counters that I had purchased last month that wasn't working out? Well, to make it work better for me, I was able to order a front and back plate so that I could combine my individual counters to another double counter:
Now, I can use the counter on both sides if I want (I just need to flip the magnets over to it works on both sides!👍🎉🥳
- I also was able to finally try out my EEW Cone Winder and with a very small learning curve, I was able to wind some of my yarn onto cones now! 👍🎉🥳 This meant I needed yarn to "practice" on so, as I wanted to make a sock weight sweater for Hubs, it also meant that I needed to pick up this pattern as well: City Limits Light.
REVIEW: Using the yarn off the cones was also an "experience". I had been drooling over this yarn minder and struggling with pulling the coned yarn off of my yarn butler; so, Hubs, in his ever ingenious ways, found a way to make a yarn minder that let me use my coned yarn and made knitting so much easier! So, knitting off a cone was .. ok, although frankly, I'm not sure if I really like it.😶😔 Overall, I think it's also highly dependent on what I'm making that will depend on whether it should be coned or wound in a ball/cake. With a sweater, as long as I'm on the body portion, knitting off a cone was fine but when it came to the arms, I ended up unwinding my yarn off the cone and rewound it into a ball so that I could use both the inside and outside of the ball to make the arms at the same time (you can't knit using both ends of the yarn on the cone). Maybe if I was knitting something where I didn't need to use the other end of the yarn or I had enough yarn on multiple cones, it would be a better experience to knit off the cone(s) ... 🤔🤷
REVIEW: The City Limits Light pattern (apart from trying to figure out how much yarn I needed to save for the arms) was easy to follow and overall a quick knit. I would definitely use the pattern again (and maybe be lazy the next time by not making it a gradient sweater). What I liked most about it is the short-row neck to better balance out the sweater and that it's reversible.
- And while not knitting related, I also picked up these merino tops for both Hubs and I as well as bra pads:
REVIEW: As you know, I'm trying to move our wardrobe to more natural fibers (as well as to reduce our overall wardrobe) so as I find other brands to try to see if it works for us, we're slowing moving that route. I was really excited about the bra pads because my current ones are made of foam and nylon (at best) and I find that they end up smelling musty or the coating over the nylon is starting to peel away; also, something in me tells me that these bra inserts are simply not good for me or the environment. So, when I found these inserts, it was like a eureka moment!🎉🥳 They actually work quite well as "inserts" and have provided enough "highlight" coverage that I no longer feel the need to worry about which bra I'm wearing now. As for the shirts, they're really soft and comfortable. It's one of Hub's favorite shirts now. While I had hoped my shirt was more chocolaty (it's brownish with strong purple undertones), I really like that the sleeves are nearly elbow-length and it is really soft and comfortable (albeit a bit long in the body for me). Wear-wise, we've worn & washed it a few times already and it still looks brand new. I'm hoping that they come out with 3/4 sleeved shirts as I would totally purchase from this company again.
In March, I purchased:
- I had borrowed a very interesting Sweater "workshop" book from the library and in it, it gave a list of reference books (which I was able to also borrow most of them). After reviewing it all, I decided that I really wanted this book: Sweater Design in Plain English by Maggie Righetti. I have her Knitting in Plain English (it was one of my starting to knit books) and I had found it really helpful. Her Sweater Design book had a lot of information and more importantly, "class session" for various Sweater designs that I really wanted to try. I was initially going to scan the book (from the Library) but, Hubs, being the ever so loving and resourceful (BEST!) Hubs (ever!), found a copy of the book (at a reasonable price) for me on E-bay:
- Then, the Spring-Summer edition of Knitty.com came out and they were telling folks about Splash Fabrics' Roll-up bag. It's an eco-friendly dry bag so, of course, I had to get it:
REVIEW: The bag is very large! 😳🥳🎉🎊🙌 It rivals my XXL Teal Oh Snaps bag in height but isn't as wide as it (the Oh Snap bag is about 2" wider). But, it does hold a lot of yarn (I was able to put all the yarn I had in my Teal Oh Snap into this bag but there's no room to spare). It can also fold down quite small as well.
The bag itself has a very interesting almost plastic-like feeling to it and I can definitely see how it's waterproof and would protect anything in it from getting wet (short of submerging an overly stuffed bag I think it'd hold up pretty good if it got wet). The bag itself is thicker than ripstop nylon but not so thick that I couldn't sandwich my counter to it. There are 2 open outside pockets and while it could be convenient to put your phone or something in it (or to catch the "back" magnets of my counter!😵💫), depending what you put in it, it could fall out (y'all know that I'm not a huge fan of open bags/pockets; I'm a zipper girl through and through!😉). Overall, I like it (the print is pretty quirky but cute)!😁👍I can definitely see this being an outdoor picnic/beach knitting bag or even a large lunch bag although I'm not sure if I'd actually use it for travel as it is thicker & heavier than my JIB Press bag.
- Then, Knit Stars posted that they would allow folks to purchase bits of their segments and one of those segments were with Åsa Söderman's Ziggurat method which is a completely seamless top-down method of making sweaters! 😍🥰💕 I couldn't resist so, I also purchased this "class". I can't wait to have some time to deep dive into this class and apply her theories to all my sweater projects!😁🙌🎉🎊🥳
In April, I purchased:
- I purchased this book as I saw this pattern and knew that if I could learn the tricks of short-row colourwork, I could make that pattern amazing!
REVIEW: This book was so helpful in how to do short-row colorwork. I am really glad that I purchased this as it really helped me to figure out how to make a multi-coloured Emotional Support Chicken.🥰💕
REVIEW: This pattern is amazing and
SO MUCH FUN!
🥰💕 I had so much fun making this that I actually made
two (
2)! I'm even tempted to make a third one if I have enough yarn leftover!
In May, I managed to actually purchase .... nothing!!! 😱😳😁🙌🙂👍🎉🥳
In June, I purchased:
- I was stressing out at work and I had Jimmy Beans credits to use up this quarter so, I treated myself to this:
REVIEW: It's heavier than I expected but it does it's job. I managed to put a full skein of Caron Simply Soft yarn on it; it's not pretty like a cake but it works:
Because it's kinda heavy, I'm not sure if I'd actually take it out and about with me ... (yes, it's that heavy in which I would seriously consider if I really want to really haul it around.) But, for around the house, it does work and it's a bit easier to use than having my yarn butler out.
In July, I purchased:
- I saw this on Instagram and it really spoke to me so, I looked up what they were showing in the clip and decided to pick up a kit for myself. Since I've been feeling so burnt out, I've really been taking a very keen interest in self-care now.
REVIEW: The kit came with 2 small silicone balls (smaller than my green nubby ball) and 2 different "levels" of putty. I really like the silicone balls! 🥰💕 They're small enough to get between my tendons, joints and muscles in my hands and can provide more pressure in specific parts of my arms but, they work really well on my feet too! 🥰💕 The putty is taking some getting used to as I keep getting it under my finger nails. I was never a play doh girl so, maybe it's just something I need to learn how to use (aka don't use my fingernails and use the tips of my fingers to pull it apart). Overall, I think it was money well spent for finger/arm (& feet) health!👍🙌
- Remember back in May 2021, I had purchased a needle bag and cable organizer? Well, the plastic "sleeves" were starting to break at the slider/opening part (either the slider would completely slide off when I tried to close it or I couldn't get it back on to open the sleeve again). While the organizer "worked", it wasn't ideal for me and was actually quite bulky in my needle bag. So, it was time to find a better solution. Since I did like the concept of the pockets, what I really didn't like was the fact that they were sewn into the binder. I wanted something in which I could replace the pockets as they broke. Since I've been on a binder kick, I wondered if my Kokuyo Campus A5 Smart Binder would work ... 🤔... So, I took the plunge, bought another binder and 12 Maruman B7 Loose Leaf Zippered Pockets (from JetPens) and my "concept" is working out really well. I even found that I could take out the pockets in my original organizer and repurpose the material portion as a sleeve for my new binder to keep it closed (it makes it a tad bit narrower (think of it like a corset!) so I actually have more room now in my needle bag!)🙌🎉🎊🥳
I'm really happy that I decided to go this route rather than endlessly searching for the "perfect" made option. While it's still plastic zippered pockets, I can now replace them as it breaks instead of trashing the whole thing like my original cable organizer.
- I was perusing Instagram one day and I came across someone using this:
It was nearly like the same thing as this Korean branded one I had seen. Upon further investigation, I found
the website for this; it was from a place in Taiwan (and yes, the site was written entirely in Chinese). Since it was written entirely in Chinese (& I was skeptical about how well Google Translate was really
translating), I asked my Mom to investigate the site, "store" and to see if there were any reviews of this vendor. My mom said it was near the home of her friend that lives up there and that the site seemed legitimate but couldn't find any reviews of the shop itself nor for the item. I decided to take a chance and ordered it (it was cheaper, including shipping to get these 2 yarn holders rather than getting 1 from the Korean place I discovered).
REVIEW: This thing is ingenious! 😍There's a little button on the bottom to let you open it from the bottom to put your cake on. You'd think that it would catch in the cake but it doesn't at all. It comes with a magnetic loop (which is really strong) so, it spins really smoothly. I'm really glad that I took the plunge to get these leather yarn holders. I really like them a lot and it's significantly lighter than my lemonwood one; I can totally see me taking these on travel, especially because they pack so small.
- While not knitting related, remember that I picked up a set of water colours last year (in December)? Well, I found that Hubs also had a stash of water colours as well (it's in tubes). So to test out what he had, I purchased this to make more "tins" for myself (I found that I really like painting like this):
Yes, you see that right! I managed to recycle an Altoids Tin!🥰🙌
And this is what my side plate looks like inside the tin.I even have enough 1/2 pints to fill the rest of my Niji paint tin!
- Then I saw something on Instagram that inspired me to pick up this (plus a pure white water colour tin) from JetPens:
And I bought myself a book clip to help keep my books open when I'm looking/using them:
Then to top it off, I found that all of my new toys fit into my small Aloha Pineapple bag (brushes and all!🥰🙌🎉🎊🥳)! Now, I don't have to hunt and peck for all of my supplies!
Ok, this is a nicer looking picture when in reality, my brushes are usually at the bottom of my bag but, hey! How else was I supposed to show you how it all fits?! 😉🤭😁
REVIEW: I love my new book clip!🥰💕 It really helps to keep the book open while you're using it. I've also tried my new China White watercolour and it doesn't seem to be working as I had envisioned. Perhaps it was the medium that I was using it on (it seemed like it simply absorbed itself into the paper) so, I shall keep trying to find a better way to use it.
In August, I managed to actually purchase .... nothing!!! 😱😳😁🙌🙂👍🎉🥳In September, I managed to actually purchase .... nothing!!! 😱😳😁🙌🙂👍🎉🥳
In October, I managed to actually purchase .... nothing!!! 😱😳😁🙌🙂👍🎉🥳
In November, I purchased:
- While not knitting related, I did pick up this (from Amazon) to add to my watercolour repertoire:
It's supposed to help make my "regular"' watercolour paints shiny! :)
REVIEW: I used this on a holiday project and let me tell you ... it's S-P-A-R-K-L-Y!😁
🥳 I love it!🥰💕 But, it does take quite a bit so, I this might be used up a lot quicker than I expected.
- I also bought myself all natural bristle makeup brushes from Fude Beauty:
I got a lip brush, a brow brush and a foundation brush. The lip and brown brushes are so much better than the cheap ones I was previously using; they're so firm but yet gentle on my skin. I've never had a foundation brush (I used to use kabuki brushes unbeknownst to me what they were really for!😳😱🤭🤷♀️) So, I'll be learning how to use my new brush to ensure I'm spreading my face oil/lotions evenly across my face.😊
REVEIW: I L-O-V-E my new brushes!!!🥰💕 Where have they been all my life?! My skincare products feel more evenly spread over my face and my face overall has seen an improvement from using these new brushes.🥰💕
- I also purchased a few stationary items on Etsy:
I got three (3) super cool Kokuyo templates and a pen holder. I was hoping that I could stretch my pen holder vertically but, alas, it was simply too tight. However, it does it's job. The templates are amazing!🥰 Sturdy, firm but flexible enough and they have really cute icons on them!🥰❤️😍 It took forever for these item to come 😔🤦♀️but now that I finally have it, I'm glad I got them.
REVIEW: The templates are really useful and fun to use!🥰 I'm really glad I got them. The pen holder is ... ok ... it really makes me want a full blown book cover with pen pockets (which may be a project I undertake in the new year).
- I also splurged and bought myself two (2!) pairs of pajamas from Hanna Andersson:
I've been dying for a pair of pajamas (or two!), especially a pair of Christmas pajamas!🥰⛄️🎄 These were both on sale and that was enough incentive for me to just go for it!🥰🥳
REVIEW: My Christmas pajamas are flannel so, they can be a bit warm and may not be the all season pajamas I was hoping for (but possibly a 3-season pajamas). My Lemon pajamas are so damn cute! 🥰❤️😍 The only draw back is that I think I would've wanted to size up for the top (I got a XS and I'm wondering if a S would be more comfortable & looser and I can't exchange it for a larger size since it's no longer available😭🤦♀️) and if the bottoms were more of a jogger (with pockets), it would've been perfect. Otherwise, I do like it and it makes me so happy to wear it.🥰🥰
In December, I purchased:
- Three (3) sets of Yarn Bobbins/Keepers on Etsy:
I was working on a project and found that I needed more (larger) yarn bobbins. I have a lot of small yarn bobbins (perfect for small bits of sock weight yarn) but only a few medium and large bobbins (better for larger amounts of sock yarn and DK/Sport/Worseted weight yarns) so, after scouring the internet and Etsy, these were the cutest (& most reasonably priced) ones and I'm looking forward to giving them a try.
And, while not knitting related, I did picked up:
- from AliExpress: some binder covers and spines for my journaling (amongst other things) that I've been doing.
REVIEW: It does the job and seems to be able to hold a lot of sheets but the quality of the plastic covers (including the hole punches) was not nearly as good if it was a Japanese product. You definitely get what you pay for. Additionally, as there are two (2) pieces for the spine of the book, it's not as easy to open and close it if you constantly want to add/remove/move around your papers. It does the job if you just want to use it to store all of your completed documents but if you're planning to use it as a working binder, it can be cumbersome.
REVIEW: The fun/cute stuff was just that - fun and cute!🥰 I can't wait until the new year to start practicing my (very awful) calligraphy (even Asian/Japanese preschoolers have better handwriting than me!). As for my necessities, I got the wrong brand (or at the very least, that Liht brand doesn't work with my Kokuyo system) so, I returned it.😭
- Since I had to return some things to JetPens, I picked up these items in hopes that it would work out better for me:
A girl can't have too many pens!😉🤭😁
Year Five of the pandemic has nearly ended and it seems that everyone has literally gone back to their pre-COVID mode (despite the rise of other viruses that could plunge us back in another pandemic and folks just getting sick from back to back colds/flus/COVID); folks are simply sick of hearing about how they need/should be staying safe, literally. For us, nothing has changed and for the time being, it looks like nothing will be changing for us in the near future. While I do miss some things (seeing family freely, going on travel, etc.), I'm still quite happy with how our life has turned out (even though we're still in staying safe, staying home mode - life has been good).
As the years pass along, I've noticed that my purchasing habits are dwindling. It doesn't help that I have bought a lot of things over the last four years and now that we're going to be moving into a new phase of life, it's time for me to really use/enjoy them rather than simply buying more stuff (no matter how cool or neat it could be! 😉🤭😁). Nevertheless, it has been a stellar year in my knitting & accessory purchase buys again; being at home has allowed me to search the web and find things I would not normally come across, much less allowed myself to indulged in. 😲😍🎉 I have also thoroughly enjoyed all my purchases (both from prior years and my current purchases) and am quite grateful for some of the things I've purchased (they've come in really handy and have made my life so much better (as well as made things easier to do)!). I wonder what next year will bring and what else I will be buying next year ... 🤔😉😁🙌 🎉 Maybe I'll take a short hiatus on purchasing anything and set that as a goal for myself ...🤔🤔🤔
