In this episode Suzee talks about a recent Ollie's Bargain Outlet Knit Book Haul. For those of you who aren't familiar with Ollie's Bargain Outlet, it is a American retailer with a chain of over 300 stores located in twenty-three states. Ollie's sells surplus merchandise at deeply discounted prices that it obtains from suppliers through stock over-runs, buy-outs, bankruptcy, etc.
Ollie's carries all sorts of items including both hard and softcover craft books (crochet, knit, quilting, scrap booking and sewing). Many of these books still have the tags from the original retailers. I have bought discounted books from Ollie's that came from Walmart and Sam's Club. It wouldn't surprise me if some of their books also came from larger book sellers such as Barnes and Nobles. Some of the great books I have found at Ollie's have been from: Gooseberry Patch, Taste of Home, and Mollie Makes series, etc. Every time I visit Ollie's I check their books to see what is available--their supply depends upon what they have been able to acquire.
Ollie sells these books which previously retailed for $20 and up, for $1.99 - $4.99. The average price is usually around $2.99. If you have an Ollie's Bargain Outlet near you, check out their books! It's a great way to expand your craft book library at an extremely affordable price. It's also a great source for cookbooks, biographies, Bibles, fiction, non-fiction, puzzle books, kids books, etc.
In addition to books, Ollie's also has supplies of various Lion Brand closeout yarn. These Lion Brand closeout yarns generally run $1.99 - $2.99 per skein. I have purchased Vanna's Compliment and Glamour, Hometown USA, and Wool-Ease (Chunky & Thick and Quick). While the colors are bit limited; there are still enough to choose from to make these useful and a GREAT bargain, too!
Disclaimer: I am is in no way compensated or affiliated with either of the books I reviewed in this episode. I bought these books with my own money and these reviews are my own uncompensated honest opinions. - Suzee
The first book featured on this episode was "Complete Knitting Skills" by Debbie Tomkies,
This book was $3.99 and originally retailed for $24.99 in the US and $28.50 in Canada. It was published in 2013. At first glance, I hesitated buying this book as it seemed slanted more towards beginning knitters. However after flipping through this book, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it also had a lot of information that would also be useful to all levels of knitters.
This book features video-clips of 27 topics contained in the book with links for viewing them on a computer or android device. This is a wonderful supplement as you can see a technique performed rather than trying to do it just from written instructions.
This book is divided into seven chapters:
Chapter 1 - Equipment and Yarn
Chapter 2 - Getting Started
Chapter 3 - Finishing
Chapter 4 - Taking it to the next level
Chapter 5 - Advanced Knitting Techniques
Chapter 6 - Knitting SOS
Chapter 7 - The Knitting Community
Following Chapter 7 is Reference Information along with an Index
I highly recommend this book as it would be an indispensable addition to any knitters reference library. I cannot understand why this book ended up at Ollie's as a closeout or surplus item, as it is one of the best knitting reference books I have ever read.
This book was published in 2015 and originally retailed for $29.95 in the US and $34.95 in Canada. I bought this at Ollie's for $3.99.
The book's primary focus is providing information to ensure hand-knitted garments fit the recipient as intended. This would be a great reference book for fledgling designers, as it goes into great detail on fit factors. Knitters who don't want to get into such detail concerning fit, would find this book pretty heavy going. That's probably why this book didn't sell that great and ended up at Ollie's as a close out item.
BUT, this book really deserves a second glance as it has some hidden Gems, namely the patterns that were included along with the fit information. There are 23 marvelous patterns contained in this book, which unfortunately were relegated to secondary status to the fitting information. These patterns were: 1 wrap, 10 cardigans, 8 pullovers, 2 skirts, and 2 pair shorts. All these patterns are very creative and stylishly designed. In my opinion, they should have used these patterns as the primary focus of this book and referred to the fit aspect as it related to the patterns. I think they tried to do this, but somehow it go confused in the execution. Anyway; that's my opinion.
This book is more than worth the Ollie's purchase price for the great patterns alone. I will be making several of the cardigan patterns from this book. If you can find this book, snap it up as it will be a great addition to your knit book library.
Finished Object
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| My Modification to Lion Brand Independence Day Scarf |
I showed one finished object during this episode; My variation of the Lion Brand -- Independence Day Scarf that I got from the JoAnn Fabric website.
My modification consisted of using two strands of "1" weight yarn with US 10.5 size needles to open up the stitches and greatly enhance the drape of this fabric. Go to my Ravelry project page to see more detail on my simple modifications to this pattern. It's listed on my Ravelry Project Page as two different projects: Kerchief-Modified and Kerchief. Kerchief-Modified was made with my changes to the pattern and "Kerchief" was made following the pattern exactly.
Polar Vortex
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| Snow & Ice - 2019 Southern Michigan Polar Vortex |
This episode features a still picture and a short video of the snow/ice from the recent polar vortex experienced in Southern Michigan in late January - early February 2019. The lowest temperature ever recorded here was during this recent polar vortex, -22 degrees Fahrenheit.
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