Made this Moebius cowl three weeks ago but it's been on my head so much photography hasn't happend. Quickly snapped this on the front porch in the fog this morning.
It's 100g of handspun bought from Boorowool at the Great Southern Merino Show in January. Glorious autumnal russets and olives. Not my usual colours, but I love it.
I made a moebius cowl last year out of a a really springy 12ply crepe and it almost strangled me. I friend with a smaller neck claimed and it's been to Japan, New Zealand and South America in the last 12 months.
This thick and thin handspun is knitted much looser (roughly 8ply yarn on a 6mm needle) and it drapes beautifully. I forgot to alternate knit and purl rows, though, and ended up with half in stocking, half in reverse stocking stitch. I don't mind so much, but I'd do garter or a lace next time. There will be a next time for this technique.
It's a vital piece of excercise equipment. I wear my hair up and this protects the "do" from the wind and my ears and neck from the cold when I'm out walking.
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Georgie commented that she's genetically programmed to stockpile, too.
I was thinking about this yesterday when I bought the extra shirt for my brother to put away for Christmas. Was buying it in the spirit of the challenge? What's so wrong with snapping things up on special anyway?
Well, nothing is wrong with buying a lot of something at a good price. My problem is that I don't use the stuff as much as I should. For example, I have 30 or so small tins of tuna in my larder. I bought them when they were on a super special of about 50c at tin. Good buy - I'd do it again. But now I'm hoarding them rather than using them. This challenge is about using some of the stuff.
At the beginning of the year, a year in which I challenged myself to live more simply, I worked out on a spreadsheet how much of the larder staples I would need for a year so I could buy a reasonable amount at a reduced price and maybe in larger bags to cut back on packaging etc.
When the coffee I love was on special from $20 to $16 for a kilo, I bought a year's worth. It doesn't go off and no little tins or little bags for 250g, I just decant a kilo into Tupperware containers and freeze.
The problem: I bought beans rather than ready ground. I do have a grinder but it's small and messy and the noise is hideous. It's designed to do small amounts occasionally. It does not like doing a week's worth to take to work in one session, for example, and it's electric - surely an unneccesary use of electricity. So the bags of coffee sit in the larder and when the coffee came on special again recently I bought 2k of the ready ground variety. That's hoarding and lazy. It's what I'm trying to stop.
4 comments:
Hm, I might just be the opposite of that. I could live from the cupboard for approximately a day and a half. We shop small and often!
Your moebius looks great. It's a technique that I would love to try. Plus one to the to-do list!
SOunds like you need to put it out to the universe that you need a hand grinder. My parents used to have one and it was excellent exercise - I remember getting quite hot after grinding a batch of beans for them.
As for tuna at 50 cents - I'm in awe! I get excited at 99 cents (this week's Coles flier has the 95g tins on special again, just as I've run out) and almost hyperventilate at 86 cents a tine.
But I was thinking I should buy the (also on special) 425g tins ($2.99), make up larger batches of food andfreeze the extras. Much better for the environment, right?
I love the cowl, Taph, and I bet the colours look wonderful on you. Where is the pattern from?
Good on you battling the stockpile - sounds like it's time for a few tuna sandwiches for lunch ;)
We have a coffee grinder which you're welcome to borrow for a week or two, it would grind about 1/2 cup of coffee beans at a time. Spidey's boy gave it to us last year. Electric, fast, efficient, fairly quiet (the grinder, that is, not the boy ;)
That's one problem I have with stockpiling, (as you so nicely put it Taph!) - it seems like *such* a good idea at the time! And I get all twitchy if I think I don't have enough of something (usually pasta, tinned tomatoes or beans now I think about it) so I often go a bit overboard. *sigh*
Love the moebius too, am adding it to my to do list as well!
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