Turning Old Socks into Gloves

A couple days ago my daughter was wearing some old socks on her hands. She had cut off the foot part of the sock and cut a hole for the thumb and had some instant fingerless gloves and It put the idea into my noggin that I might be able to re-purpose old socks this way. So yesterday I came across some old socks that my son had given me. They were some that a friend had given us a year ago and they were 100% wool, but had been washed and had shrank. They were also felted, but not on purpose, so they were really thick and too small for anyone in the house to wear. I don't know why I hung onto them, but they were definitely ready to be remade into something useful!
First, I cut off the bottom of the sock to just above the heel increases and then cut a hole for my thumb. 
Next, I pulled up stitches with my size 5.0 mm double pointed needles, using some worsted weight yarn. I evenly spaced the stitches around the glove, but didn't need to count them. I knit the first round in stockinette and then did four more rounds using k1,p1 ribbing. Then I bound them off.
Then I used the same worsted weight yarn and a size "H" crochet hook and crocheted one time around the thumb hole in single crochets. I weaved in the ends and I had a fingerless glove! Here's a picture of the finished item!

A Lull in my Blog

I've had a bit of a lull going on lately. Not because my financial life has changed any, I'm still on my tiny fixed income, but because I've been seeking ways to make it grow a little. I opened up my online store again and I've been attempting to get a business going and it's been all consuming. I started by putting a few of my knitting patterns on Ravelry and then decided I should sell the items I've made in order to write the patterns. The problem is that I shared my work on facebook and was inundated with people making orders. I ended up with so many that I ended up closing my Etsy store, just so I could concentrate on the private orders. I'm still playing catch up and had to take a day off today in order to keep my sanity.

I have made a goal that I will not buy any more clothing from a store, with the exception of shoes (I have diabetes and can't afford to take a chance on rubbing a sore on my feet). I bought a pattern to make bras and have found a couple online to make my underclothes. I have a ton of extra fabric that I can use to make my cloths and I'm a notions pirate (I steal things off old cloths to use for new ones; buttons, zippers, etc). I have a working, though not perfect, sewing machine and two old Singers that I keep threatening to fix up. I believe that our society has become too dependent on industry to make our clothing, grow and cook our food, and give us the things we need to clean and maintain our homes. It's time to bring some balance back by doing everything we can to take care of those needs for ourselves.

By the end of this year I hope to be growing and providing some of my own food, making all of my own clothing, and providing all of my own cleaners and cosmetics.

Here is my basic sock patter in case anyone likes to knit and wants to start making their own socks:
Basic knit cuff down socks