My non-nibbling sofa strategy

'Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without'

'Make do and mend'

I did something that is a first this week.  I unravelled a wrap top I’d knitted about ten (or even more) years ago and now I am knitting something else with it.  The image above is the original garment – this photo was taken in May 2006 (the boot cut jeans may have been a giveaway).

In remaking my garment into a different style, I feel a connection with those thrifty ladies of the past, in times of rationing when they had to remake clothing to have new things.

It’s not because I’m broke though, but there are a few difference reasons why I would choose to do this and not just donate the wrap top and buy some new wool.  Unravelling and re-knitting the wool into a difference pattern brings me feelings of:

• Being a good steward of the world’s resources
• Not being wasteful
• I really love the colour and was reluctant to give it up (but I wanted a different shaped garment)
• It’s good-quality pure New Zealand wool and in perfect condition
• It’s far less effort to unravel and re-knit than donate the top and find new wool somewhere
• It’s free of cost
• I feel crafty and thrifty
• It’s a fun challenge
• I’ve lost nothing if it doesn’t turn out well

I wore my wrap top quite a lot but just had become a bit tired of it, plus it had stretched out just a tiny bit.

The original top which is now a pile of round balls of wool (above, in the cat-proof box I have to lock it in, not kidding, there is a latch on this box which is necessary) actually has a really cool story.  In 2005 my husband and I went on a trip down to Marlborough wine country and did the rounds of the wineries.

We were at the Cloudy Bay Winery (famous world-wide for their Sauvignon Blanc) doing some tastings and I admired the wrap top the lady who was serving us was wearing.  Being a knitter, I always notice if something looks like it is a hand-knit.  She told me she had knitted it herself.  I gushed over it a bit more and she offered to loan me the pattern.  I said I didn’t live there, was just on holiday and she then said she would post it to me!

Sure enough, a couple of weeks later the pattern arrived in the post.  Knitters are such nice people.  So I knitted it and wore it quite a bit.

But it’s time for a change and I fancied a poncho to keep me snug on wintry days, so I went looking around for a pattern and found the lovely and simple one below which is free to download on the lovely lady's website).  It is simple enough even if you are a beginner.

Happily this pattern calls for the same weight of wool that I have and roughly the same amount needed so I cast on a couple of nights ago and I now have another tv project on the go.  I might even finish it before winter begins here in the southern hemisphere!

One thing that stops me nibbling on the sofa is having a project.  Whether I am watching a bit of a movie in the afternoon or a tv programme at night, if I’m knitting, I am happy.  It can’t be too complicated though because I don’t want to spend all my time looking down at the needles.

If I don’t have a project to work on, I have to file my nails.  I can’t do nothing.  Hmm, maybe I should consider learning meditation.  But actually, knitting feels like meditation to me.  It’s soothing.

Are you a knitter?  Crochet?  I’d love to crochet but I get tangled up and don’t know which loop to use.  I get lost after ‘Chain 20’ once the instructions ask me to make a treble crochet.  Into what???  I thought it was just me that was crochet-intolerant but my 86-year-old great aunt told me that she never got the hang of it either, and that was with a real live person trying to teach her.

Are you a crafter?  Sofa-nibbler?  What are your strategies for being able to stave off snacks on the sofa?  Sharing is caring :)

fiona

 

PS.  I was excited to be contacted by a reader on Instagram, to say that her book club was reading 'Financially Chic' together and loving it.  I was so happy!  As a writer, it makes my day to hear comments like this.

If you would like to change your relationship with money from fraught, stressed and resistant to fun, happy and excitable, I would love for you to read 'Financially Chic'.  In this book I go through all the different ways I deal with our finances, plus my mindset around money; which has allowed his to pay our house off early - within five years of buying it in fact.  We had a reasonable deposit (which we had saved) and no outside help or windfalls etc.  It was all down to our daily actions and how we handled our money (plus we had fun at the same time).  It can be done!

'Financially Chic: Live a luxurious life on a budget, learn to love managing money, and grow your wealth' is available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback here.  Your local library might also carry it.  Our library here in Auckland does.