Recently I was cruising through a blog site and saw an easy pattern for some really warm mittens. Everyone knows, when you live in Alaska, you really need warm mittens. They were made on a Knifty Knitter loom that I didn't have, but have been wanting for awhile. Those mittens pushed me off the fence and I started shopping for the loom. First, I looked for used ones on eBay, but with shipping it was expensive and they didn't include the loom hook or instructions. I switched my search over to Amazon and found a pack of 4 different sizes for less of a cost than one used one. Can you say temptation?
In fairness, I zoomed on to the pictures and tried my best to find the "Made In" area. I even googled it, but to no avail, I could not positively figure out where the looms were made in. With trepidation, I ordered them, saying to myself that, just maybe, they were made in the Philippines or Vietnam. NOPE, I opened the box, and after a minute of hunting, in tiny print, mixed in with the french instructions there it was, Fabrique in China. Uggghhh!
By now, you have figured out that I kept the looms. Buying used ones just didn't make financial sense to me. I'm trying to justify it and I can make some good arguments with myself but it is still a fail.
My first project - not the mitten pattern that caused me to buy the looms, an easier pattern for my first go at it. I made the pair in about 2 hours and spent $3.99 on the yarn. If one bought the yarn on sale, or used a coupon, the cost would by half. In an Alaskan store, you could easily spend over $10 for a pair like this.
Looming isn't new to me. I've been looming socks for about a year now and find it the easiest of crafts to do. I think the new looms will be easy for Stormy to one day learn on.
Here is a pair of wool socks I'm making on the KB sock loom. These are for Stormy to wear under her rubber boots, once spring breakup hits up here. A pair of socks takes me about a month to make and the cost of the wool is expensive, around $6.99. I could probably buy her cheaper socks but I love being able to custom make them.
I have already picked out my next project. A hooded cowl that I think is just brilliant. I have many jackets that do not have a hood and this is a perfect solution. I can also see it as another layer while hiking and foraging this spring and fall. I expect this project to take a couple of days and cost me roughly $7 in yarn.
As far as my challenge goes, I'm going to keep with it and try to keep my China dollars under $20 for the year.
Lovin' Life with warm mitts on my hands and disappointment in my heart.
The China Challenge
Total Days China Free - 0
Total spent - $15.84
No comments:
Post a Comment