More Norwegian Christmas Stockings

House and Julefugler Christmas stockings from Arne and Carlos.

I have made another Norwegian Christmas stocking from Arne and Carlos. I don’t know why the second one with the birds is bigger because I used the same exact knitting needles and the same yarn and I did the toe the exact same way and both of the stockings have the same number of stitches, so I don’t know why that one is bigger than the other, but I guess it doesn’t really matter.

In my previous post about the house stocking, I was saying that I did not like the toe nor did I like the heel, but it is growing on me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do the same toe but it is in the instructions and I don’t want to veer away from that. So I just did the same thing with the birds and I’m working on their latest stocking which is a mystery stocking that they’re doing every day for November, from November 1st until November 25th, 2024. They’re giving you six rows a day, and when the stocking is finished, they will add the full pattern to their blog for free, and then in December it will go into their shop and you will have to pay for it. Most of their stocking patterns are $7, so I assume it will also be $7.

You can find them at http://arnecarlos.com and also you can find their YouTube channel with lots of knitting instructions.

I did buy a bunch of stockings on their website when they were on sale for $2.80, so I bought pretty much every stocking pattern that they have. There was one stocking that I did not buy because it had cars on it and I just don’t see myself making that for anyone.

There is enough yarn from one skein of each color to make these two stockings, and there’s still enough that I’m working on making a third stocking. So these stockings are actually a lot cheaper than I thought they would be to make. I like the green color that I’ve chosen as opposed to a darker green because I just feel like this lighter green gives it more of a vintage look.

The yarn was $5 each skein, and so far I have enough for three stockings, so that’s about $5 a stocking. The first stocking took me I believe 3 days to make and the second stocking took me a little longer because I had other things that I had to take care of. The stocking that I’m making now is going to take longer because they’re only releasing six rows at a time every day this month, but otherwise I’m sure it would have only taken me a couple days to make.

Because of this project that I’ve chosen to do at this very moment in time, I decided that I was going to also resume knitting my socks. I started making this pair of socks, I don’t even know how many years ago, and I didn’t finish it because the other two pairs of socks that I had made had holes in the bottoms and I started thinking what a waste of time that was making socks for them just to get holes in them. I told my aunt that and she said you know you can fix those and they are really easy to fix, so I thought well if I can fix them then I guess it’s not a waste of time. So I decided to continue making the socks. And since I finished making this pair, I started making the next design which I’ve already started and you can see in the left side of the image.

The sock yarn is called Premier sock yarn. It is really thin and they have so many different designs and I bought 8 different designs, and so far have made 3 pairs of socks. The top left, middle left and bottom middle are the ones I’ve made. Now I am making the top middle.

I decided that I will make the socks, but I won’t wear them unless it is a special occasion. This sock yarn cost me $8 a pair to make. They are $3.99 for just 1 skein which only makes 1 sock. That is a very good reason to only wear them on special occasions, because they are so expensive.

I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with the stockings, but I’m sure I will figure it out. I think it would be nice to just hang them by the fireplace this Christmas just as decoration.

I Bought a Bread Slicer

bread slicer

The bread machine that I bought at the thrift store seems to be the best thing ever, you could even say since sliced bread.  Pun well intended.  The bread machine is awesome, but there is only 1 issue that I have, and that is slicing the bread.  I have a long bread slicer knife, but the bread slices are uneven.  Sometimes they are too thick on one side, and paper-thin on the other, or some are too thick while some are too thin or some are just lopsided lol.  It’s very difficult to slice bread, so I have been researching bread slicers.

I wanted a wood bread slicer because wood is way better than plastic when it comes to something like this, but they are way too expensive.  I decided to buy this particular bread slicer on eBay because it was only $7.99 with free shipping.  Although, today it is $6.99, but I still feel like a got a good deal, so I’m fine with what I paid.

What I really want is to cut thin slices like you see in this picture.  I want thin slices because the bread that I make with my bread machine is really… and I’m not sure I’m using the proper term… dense.  It’s not fluffy like the bread you buy in the store, you know like Wonder Bread or Sara Lee bread.  It’s harder like the really expensive wide breads that you buy.  I like the airy or fluffy bread, but the problem with those is they rip to shreds when you spread peanut butter on it, but this bread doesn’t have that problem which is why I love it so much.  I think the thinner the slices are, the better the sandwich will taste and the less calories it will have.

I see from this picture that you can slice the bread at any size you wish, like the slices laying down are thinly sliced, but the one they are slicing in the bread slicer is double the thickness.  That is perfect if you want to make French toast.  If you are making pumpkin bread or banana nut bread then the thicker slices are better, so at least I have that option.

I really hope this bread slicer isn’t a piece of crap that will break as soon as I start slicing the bread.  That’s another reason I wanted wood, because plastic is crap and it breaks, wood is sturdy and will literally last a lifetime.

My new plastic bread slicer will be here next week.  I hope it was worth it.