Top Just Piddlin' Blogposts of 2014

We’re getting ready to close out another year.  2014 brought more books, travel, cooking, and crafts while raising kids. Shuffling from here to there. Keeping up with homework. Cheering at basketball games, tennis matches, and swim meets. Grocery shopping and cooking meals.  A lot of sorority and PTA meetings.  Trying to squeeze in a little bit of time for my own stuff.  And yes, despite the happy Facebook posts, there were some bad days, but as the old spiritual says, they were outweighed by the good days, so I won’t complain (too much.)

Over the year, these were the readers' favorite posts.  Is your's on the list?

Travel

• Whenin Texas... Finding the Perfect Cowboy Boots - p.s. I love my cowboy boots and ready for a return trip for another pair
• Takingthe Sweet Road - Our Ice Cream Tour - I love ice cream. This was this tasting thru New England
• PackYour Bags: Conferences - the essentials for your next conference

Books & Music

• WhereDoes My African-American Child See Herself in Books?  This one was also very popular on the BlogHer website.
• Books I'm Carrying Around: The Supadupa Kid
• Books I'm Carrying Around: 12 Years a Slave, James McBride, Sue Monk Kidd
• #ColorMyShelf- Diverse Books for All Kids
• MaryJ Blige Heads to London for #TheLondonSessions

For the Kids

• 5 Lessons from Rubber-band Bracelets
• 10 Ways to Avoid an "I'm Bored!" Snow Day
• 10 Things to Do on the Longest Days of the Summer
• Youth Financial Literacy & Entrepreneurship: Watching Seeds Grow

For the Home: Cooking & Crafts

• #WIP- #DIY Decorated Clipboards
• Crockpot Cooking Without a Recipe - Perfect for your next busy day to have dinner ready when you (finally) get home.

Thanks for Just Piddlin' with me.  Come on back and join me for piddlin' in 2015!

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#DIY Upcycling: Sweaters

Continuing on in my decluttering and reducing efforts, I'm moving on to sweaters.  Kid sweaters, my sweaters (I don't really mess with hubby's clothes, but there's probably a few that I could get rid of on his side of the closet, too.)

You know when sweaters are done. They get all pill-y; and sure, you could shave and pick off all those little bits of worn yarn, but at some point, it's just too much.  They get too small, either lengthwise, widthwise, or you washed or dried it in too hot a temperature.  You get tired of that same old sweater that you've had for 5 years.  Your kid never really liked it anyway, but you did and its still a really good sweater.  All sweaters come to an end. Or at least their end as that original sweater.

Now with my pile of sweaters, I came up with a few ideas to re-use, up-cycle, and of course, donate.  These are simple, not a lot of sewing, no pattern necessary type stuff, because really who has time for all of that?  You can get really fancy, but if you're like me, anything too intensive will end up in the "to do one day" pile, further adding to your clutter.  These can all probably be done in less than a half hour while you're watching TV, then you'll happily say "ta-da!" and can go enjoy your new thing.

Make a cool new cowl.  For that sweater that you love the color or the stitch design, but just have fallen out of love with it as a sweater.  My such sweater was a cozy fuchsia, which I've had a couple winters.  It was getting pill-y, and I was in denial, only to be reminded every time I put it on.  Before reconsidering again, I cut off the bottom, ran a quick hem around the cut edge so it wouldn't unravel, and ta-da - a cozy new cowl in a great color.

Very little sewing - cut off the bottom of a sweater for a new cowl.

Make cozies for your coffee cup.  Save the environment, have a cool little coffee cup, save yourself the $5 these things cost in the trendy boutiques.  Cut off a sweater sleeve, about 3-5" in length.  Hem it so it doesn't unravel, embellish if you wish.  Ta-da. The envy of all your coffee-drinking friends.

Cut the sleeve off an old sweater for a cute coffee cup cozy.

Embellish and make it new again.  Being the practical mom, I bought my daughters basic, good quality cardigans from Lands End. Being the stylish, cool girls, they thought the sweaters looked like school uniforms and shoved them in the back of the closet, but then complained that they didn't have any sweaters.

I found a dress in their closet that one had outgrown and the other would by the time it came in season again with pretty little ruffles on it.  So I carefully cut off the ruffles, then sewed them onto the hem and sleeves of the sweater.  Ta-da! Cute new, ruffly sweater!

Find embellishments from other too-small clothes to dress up a plain sweater.

This requires the most sewing of all these projects.  I did it on a machine, but you could easily do it by hand while sitting at [whatever] practice waiting on the kids.  You could also add flowers or bows or other pretty things, also from other worn out or too-small clothes.  There's a belt on the dress that I think would be cute worn with the sweater, too in that Michelle Obama belt & sweater look that I can't quite pull off, but my daughter probably could.

Of course, there are many other ideas out there on Pinterest. Check out my favorites on my Reuse * Recycle *Upcycle *DIY board.

What are some of your best ideas for re-using a sweater?

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It's Cold: The Case for Fingerless Gloves (or Mittens)

Why wear gloves without fingers when it's cold outside?  

This was my thought when I first came across this concept of fingerless gloves a few years ago.  (And as an aside, I'm not sure why they are considered gloves, rather than mittens; since they are fingerless, how do you know which they are?  Something to think about over coffee.)  It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but since I found a pretty easy pattern for a pair and I could use some practice in making things in the round, I gave it a try.  And now, as it's getting cold, I'm making another pair (probably my 3rd or 4th.)

As for the yarn - don't you just love this natural color?  It's the actual color of the sheep that is was shorn from.  I bought these skeins last year in a little needlepoint shop in Middleburg, Virginia when I went out there for dinner at Salamander Inn (oh, you didn't know I can find a yarn shop anywhere, anytime?)  Gum Tree Farm is located nearby.

So, back to the gloves - why fingerless?

Because gloves with fingers are great, but sometimes they get in the way of doing stuff.  You have to stop, pull them off to push buttons on the ATM, sign the little credit card screen, count on your money, dial the phone.

When you go inside somewhere - the store, the school, the library - you look like a bank robber if you keep your gloves on, as if you are being careful not to leave fingerprints.  But with fingerless gloves, nobody cares.

Sometimes it's cold inside, too.  I was at school all last week and my hands were freezing. I don't know how the teachers and kids can stand it.  I wanted to put on another layer of socks and cursed the days I forgot my gloves.  But I was working the book fair, so I did need access to my fingers to write, ring up books, count money.  In my own home office space, sometimes its cold, too, 'til the heat kicks in.

There's a theory that you only need to keep your wrists warm to keep your whole hands warm.  Something about keeping that pulse point in your wrist covered, keeps the blood going to your fingers warm.  I'm not sure I agree with that yet, but I'll throw it on the list for now, in case it works for someone.

And most important for a crocheter or knitter - they are quick and easy to make!  There's gazillion patterns out there and you can make them as simple or as fancy as you want.  Simply - it's a long tube with a hole for your thumb.  If you are an experienced crocheter/knitter, you might be able to figure this out on your own.  If you need help, of course you can check Ravelry and Pinterest for ideas.

(Note, I also have a pair of toeless socks for the primary purpose of getting a pedicure in the winter, not messing up my nail polish, but keeping the rest of my feet warm.)

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