Have You Treated Yourself Since Christmas?

Today I went and bought a sandwich toaster. I'm a bit bored with just having crackers and cheese for lunch. A toastie will fill the gap nicely. I also bought a pair of warm-lined leggings to wear under trousers. I hope they will keep my legs cosy as I have peripheral neuropathy which makes them constantly cold. Were these purchases 'treats'? Maybe not the leggings which are more like a necessity, but the toaster certainly is a treat.

I've just ordered a teacosy!

Potentially!
I paid a deposit for a special mind of holiday, butI won’t know for a few days whether I have got a place or not.

I bought a beautiful half price Christmas jug from Sophie Alport, a bowl from Emma Bridgewater and a much reduced spring/summer dress from Toast. At the same time I took quite a few things to a Charity shop.

I bought a new kettle today. One third off in a sale. My old one was ancient so I'm very pleased with my new light up one.

I bought a dress in Oliver Bonas sale . I liked it , but thought it a rather expensive pre - Christmas purchase .

A blast from the past for be too! My Mum was an avid knitter and I remember her beehive yarn holder - it was red. I just treated myself to a new jumper today in M and S sale . I love a bargain!

My treat will be getting my hairdresser to call. I’m in need of a small trim to get me ready for my holiday in February woohoo sea and sunshine.

The other day when it was so cold with an arctic wind, I nipped into M&S while waiting to meet a friend, and bought myself a 2-pack of light thermal base layers. Then nipped straight into the fitting room and put one on. 🙂

I like the idea of a yarn bowl, but most of my knitting ATM is done with 2 strands of DK. And the Dk is all 100g balls.

Yes, I have bought an air fryer. I am enjoying trying all the foods I used to do in my Remoska. The only failure so far is a toad in the hole. The batter was brown and risen on top but like a lump of putty underneath!

Not a 'thing' but I have finally sorted out my sewing basket and am delighted that it is now neat and tidy. Setting aside the time to do it uninterrupted was a treat!

No, essentials only, I don’t need anything, I’d be buying for the sake of it.

Only a calendar, as they are cheaper now and it's needed but was pretty enough to be a treat. Win win.

I bought myself a monthly magazine: History of The Occult by Future Publishing Ltd.

Panic not! I don't practice it but I've got a life-long interest in such things!

Also bought myself thecatgallery.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/38738298-3DF2-462F-AD8B-128CD864B2AC_300x.jpg?v=1698927515 this from The Cat Gallery. £59.00 well spent!

Absolutely beautiful!

I've bought an air fryer as over the Christmas period I saw how easy they are. I also found a bread maker in a charity shop for very little. I'll experiment and if it's not for me I'll hand it back. I know two people who use them all the time and the bread is great.
I've also signed up for the gym on a monthly payment.

Are these treats? Well the gym is a good gift to my health and I'm enjoying it.

Not for myself but bought two pieces of China that my daughter collects in a really good sale offer. I’ve put them away to give her as presents later in the year.

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SueDonim

Wow, Fairycakes I’ve been enlightened! I have terrible problems with tension in crochet (but not knitting) so a ring might be just the ticket. Thank you for introducing them to me.

Primrose the gauge on the right, are they Mabel Lucy Atwell children? They’re beautiful.

Yes, Mabel Lucy Attwell children. It is so cute. I had a few but sold some. They now fetch high prices but I used to get them really cheap.

Here are some of my bell shaped gauges and a few odd ones in plastic.

The oldest ones are Victorian and the needles sizes go as far as size 28 which is incredibly fine. So the greater number of needle sizes the older the gauge. These are mostly nickel on brass. As fine work became less popular so the gauges had less holes. They were available (sometimes free) from yarn manufacturers and the later plastic ones were free with knitting magazines or by door to door sellers.

I used to collect the plastic or casein knitting boxes which had holes in the top to check your needle size but I sold them all as they were rather bulky to store.

I’ve just succumbed and treated myself to a rather nice leather tote bag, 60% off in the Clarks sale.

Though technically DH treated me. Having insisted for weeks that there’s nothing I need or want for my looming birthday, I’ve now let him know what he’s bought me and where and when he can collect it.

When my parents died, I inherited their Wedding China dinner set -Corona Ware pattern Madrid (my sister chose their T set). It lay in a box until last Christmas when I used it for a family get together and since then I have been using it every day. No breakages so far and it is so lovely that every meal is a treat.

I still have all of my own wedding China intact. It was given to me by my sister/bridesmaid and she has an almost identical set which I gave to her when she married. When we together hosted a coffee morning for a Cancer Charity, the lovely matching China was much admired.

What is the point of having lovely things which are kept out of sight in a box?

I have been a prudent spender all my life ,first through necessity then because it became a way of life.
Now in the second half of my 80’s I treat myself all the time if I want something.
My family will spend their inheritance as they want so I am getting my fun while I can.

Primrose, I love your collection of guages - especially the bell one with the pictures of children. I looked up the bell guages and found some selling on ebay, but they are quite dear. It will have to go on next year's Christmas list. Thank you for sharing 😊

Fairycakes - I never knew about tension rings until I read your post! What a brilliant idea! Thank you! 😊 Off to see what I can find online…

Squiffy

Fairycakes - I never knew about tension rings until I read your post! What a brilliant idea! Thank you! 😊 Off to see what I can find online…

They do take a bit of getting used to. I have a couple but to be honest I have been crocheting so long that my tension is pretty consistent so usually I don’t bother.