Enviro-Napkins

For Christmas, my little sister made us a set of cloth napkins. At first, I didn't think we would use them very much. I mean, look how pretty they are.



As it turns out, we use them all the time. And they wash really well. In fact, we've pretty much stopped buying paper napkins and paper towels. That's a lot of environmental savings. The only problem? We need more!!!

It started with these.



Purchased from Purl. Perfect for napkin edging, I thought!

I did go to Joann's and picked up 3 yards of super cheap muslin for the main panel. A lot of cutting, some edging using Alicia's brilliant tutorial, and a few hours later... Voila!!!



Reusable napkins- 6 green and 6 red. I'm still working on my binding skills. I figure these will get so much use and so many washings that they don't have to be PERFECT. They were really good practice for future quilt binding projects.



Lots of handy cloths to have around the house.

A Little Indulgence

So far, October hasn't been the best month at Control the Clutter. I decided I'd done so well in September that I could make a little Knit Picks purchase. And well, they had a great book sale going and there's been some yarn I've been looking at... you know the rest.



Imagination Sock Yarn- Lost Boys



Imagination Sock Yarn- Frog Prince



Imagination Sock Yarn- Wicked Witch

This yarn is 50% Superwash Merino, 25% Alpaca, and 25% Nylon. It's very, very soft! And I really dig the fairytale names they're using. At $4.99 a skein, it's a steal.

More on the books and my most recent projects later this week.

Today is my first day on pm shift. That's 3-11 this evening. I'm currently watching the new Indiana Jones while Brian makes breakfast. Much better than my 4:45 am wake up call yesterday. I have a feeling this sleeping later thing is going to work out just fine!

One Month Down

Today is the 1 month mark for Control the Clutter. It really hasn't been easy. And I didn't do as well as I had hoped. But there are definitely times I put things back on the shelves because I knew I shouldn't buy them.

There were non-need purchases. A new alarm clock, bottle of perfume, and books. All of those were purchased on gift cards from work. So very little money was spent. The books will go up on PBS when I'm done. But still, I didn't need them. No extra chap sticks have been purchased. And no yarn. (Sock clubs and already purchased but not yet received yarn excluded.) I'm finding Netflix and PBS a huge help with this endeavor. Entertainment that doesn't cause clutter and doesn't cost any more than what I've already budgeted makes it easier to say no to that shiny magazine at the grocery checkout.

But I can do better. So I'm going to extend this another month. Although, there may be a 1 hour reprieve today because there's a huge book sale at KnitPicks. I'm not made out of wood, you know!

Just so there's no post without a picture. Check out Brian and his brother as kids.



Pretty cute, huh? That's Brian on the left. What a ham!

The Sewing Bug

I've caught it. My little $55, Post-Thanksgiving sewing machine is seeing a lot of action lately. I'm slowly learning and working on improving my sewing skills. This has me wanting a new, fancier machine. But that will have to wait. No extra wants around here!

The immensely talented Heather Bailey had put out a new line of fabric. And it's GORGEOUS!!!!



This will be a Barcelona Skirt by Amy Butler. I made a basic A-line skirt last September and I love it. I'm trying to push myself into dressing more girlie. Plus people are so impressed when you tell them you made the skirt yourself. (no matter how simple it is!)

I'm also starting to pull together fabrics for a queen sized quilt.



More Heather Bailey in brights.



Heather Bailey pastels.

I'm thinking a little brown will set off these perfectly. But who knows...

All of these were purchased pre-CTC. And just because I'm not buying more things at the moment doesn't mean you can't!

Foggy Tesseraes

When I went to Boston this Spring, these socks were the runner up for the "which socks should I knit on vacay" contest. Well, they had to be knit sooner or later, right?



Pattern: Tesserae from KnitSpot
Yarn: Yarn Pirate BFL in Fog
Needles: Size 1 dpn's. I broke about 6 needles knitting these socks- 1 set of ebony and 1/2 a set of bamboo. Did I mention I'm a tight knitter!?!??!
Date Started: 6/27/08
Date Finished: 9/14/08
Mods: None- except I had to knit the XL size due to my gauge. Oof!!! I know my feet are big but....



Close up of the pattern. I think these turned out beautifully. The YP BFL is very thin and a little splitty. But I loved it anyway. It's so, so, SO soft. And super warm. But maybe BFL is better saved for scarves or cowls. Hmmm...

Also, the new Yarn Pirate Booty Club shipment came yesterday. Click here for a spoiler. Perfect for Fall.

What's next???? Well, as I'm diving into my stash, I reached for the Knit Picks Sock Blank that I dyed at Scout's Fabby Dyeing class. Here it is in the "blank" form...



And here's how it's coming together when knitted...



Pretty cool, huh? We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for being patient with me while it takes me a week to comment and post. I'm still working on balancing the computer time with laundry and talking to my husband time!

And a Control The Clutter update... I'm doing really well when it comes to stuff. Not so well when it comes to eating out. So that's my goal for this week. Try not to buy food EVERY DAY! So unnecessary! Although I didn't bring in more stuff, I still spent too much money this week on food... Try, try again!

Did I mention I finished the first 2 Twilight books?!?!? They are AMAZING!!! I love them. And yes, I'm a little ashamed to be so into teen books. I'm borrowing the next 2 from a friend at Stitch and Bitch on Tuesday. Kind of pathetic. But I love it!

31 Days of Need Not Want

In the spirit of Crazy Aunt Pearl's commitment to not buying extraneous items, I wanted to give it a go. So today (to start my 31st year) I'm pledging 31 days of not buying anything I don't NEED. This is going to be tough for me. I'm the girl who throws an extra chapstick into every grocery order. It is a very bad habit. Time to break that one...

The Rules of Control the Clutter...
1. Every single time I lay out money for ANYTHING I will ask, do I NEED this. If the answer is no, there will be no purchase.
2. Food is OK. But candy is not. And "extras" like Starbucks, Jamba, and eating out will be seriously examined.
3. No cosmetics, clothes, or office supplies.
4. Especially... NO YARN!!!
5. Use what I have. No need to buy more just because of nice packaging, pretty colors, or any other marketing trick.

This lasts at least until October 8. I promise to fess up if I mess up. But I'm committed to giving this an honest try. Want in????