penny pincher

only 5 days left until we leave for the west coast for the tots to see my side of the family. dh observed that i must really be getting excited. i admit that what is keeping me restrained in that department is the dread of the actual flying part with the three kids and no hubby along to help bear the brunt of it all. my very capable 16 year old niece will be traveling with us to help out in exchange for french tutoring from my mother and i. once we are there though, i will be on cloud nine. the beautiful northwest with my darling children and their swell uncles, cousins, and papet and meme all around them, what could be better? I just can't wait.

with the two sweaters winding up, and a trip on the horizon, i find myself at a loss for what to do next. i think i will do a couple of small projects like some kitty hats and lil' devil hats for the family to wear this fall. also i would like to make the fiesta tea set from interweave knits. after i gather the materials, i may join the knitalong for that one if i'm not too late.

my big dream is to knit something for myself, which i have never done. i think it's too late to bother with a shell or tank, not to mention that i would like to find something that would camouflage my post partum pudge as much as possible. the two contenders are gigi from chicknits and tricot from magnits these also have knitalongs that i am probably too late to join, i'll have to investigate.

so, i've been pricing needles and yarn for these projects. i have some left over cotton from guernsey style sweater that may work for the fiesta tea set. this prompted me to peruse elann for other supplies. i jam-packed a shopping cart full of stuff but decided i couldn't wait for it to arrive in the mail as it may be in time for my trip. so, it was off to fabricplace to get enough items to get me started... i just couldn't bring myself to spend an extra 2 dollars per pair of dpn. i did spend the extra thirty cents on yarn finishing needles. the stupid part is that i bought a magazine which was easily equal in price to the extra amount for the dpn. i didn't have time to really think things all the way through as i arrived with only twenty minutes till store closing, plus i brought bea with me and she was getting hungry and grumpy. not conducive to a very productive shopping trip.

this experience has shown me that elann does indeed have good deals and even with s&h i think they are worthwhile, especially since it's difficult to find time to shop without the kidlets and even worse to try and shop with them. all this for a few cents here and there... can you tell i'm a sahmom with budget on her mind?