Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Knitting during the credit crunch

Very happy with today's post, for this morning these little beauties arrived from Bendigo Woollen Mill:

Which, in due time, will enable me to make this ultra sweet cardigan from And So To Bed by Lucinda Guy. Seriously, how adorable are the illustrations in that book? It has to be The Greatest Children's Knitting Book Of All Time. Really! I dare you to nominate a challenger. Betcha can't. Nothing can beat those gorgeous illos. Nothing!

Also very well pleased with my yarn substitions. Rowan is a wee bit out of my price range just now, and the BWM was cheap at a quarter of the price and machine washable, which really is a must for a child as grotty as Grumbles. Don't get me wrong, the tiger sure is cute, but she can spill food down her front with the best of them. And since we are about to embark on a time of nasty financial gloom, one must watch the pennies, oui? Particularly with:

- petrol going up due to oil concerns
- food going up due to increased transport costs (otherwise known as oil concerns) PLUS the impact of the drought
- electricity/gas costing more due to all sorts of energy concerns, plus again the impact of the drought on the hydroelectric schemes
- interest rates going up due to inflation AND world economic concerns

Sigh. The ol' dollar doesn't stretch quite as far as it used to, that's for sure. Is anybody else feeling the pinch?

5 comments:

  1. I hear ya, Ms Jorth. Thanks for the BWM reminder. I have also been searching for a Rowan (ouch!) alternative for the winter cardies. And the pinch sure is getting pinchy.

    xx

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  2. totally feeling the pinch - it sucks! your cardi looks ace!

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  3. Anonymous12:26 pm

    Hi Ms Jorth
    love the cardi - it will look great. I think an grownup girls version would be nice too. I'd wear it!
    Oh yeah, the pinch. I have been telling myself to stop buying CDs and books for ages now... it's almost worked... just bought a few CDs though. I think it's austerity time for me. The bank just sent another rate increase letter. Sigh. This might sound dorky, but I think tightening the belt while still being able to afford to eat will be like camping - it can be fun for a while, right? More trips to the library, more looking around for free things. When my medico friends go to harry connick, I'll be at home with the CD from the librareeee!
    Thanks for the BWM tip. I love rowan colours but they are pricey wools... I made a cardi in a 10-12 ply patons wool last year (can't remember the name of it tho.. for reasons set out later) and tho' it's a gorgeous blue... it looks like the cat dragged me in. So it's going to be unravelled and made into something else. I'm not allowing myself to buy any more wool until I've finished what I've got.
    Oh, and I just had my gall bladder out. Ouch. And my brain is still a bit fuzzy.
    Hope you are well
    Jenny

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  4. I love Lucinda Guy's 2 books, arent they fantastic. I love that pattern too, and thanks for the tip about subbing the yarn. I really do like Bendigo's prices and their yarns are always good. I even like using their cottons too. Our family is feeling the pinch too, and mtge rises are very stressful. Even the price of bread is ridiculous at the moment. I think perhaps I will have to start using my bread machine instead. Cant wait to see how beautiful the cardigan turns out.

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  5. Anonymous7:10 am

    In asnwer to your question, um, YES. I love that book, too--the pics are so clever, the way she has the cartoonish bodies wearing the knit items.

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