A few weeks ago, I came across the Stocking Advent Calendar instructions on BurdaStyle.com and decided to make some of my own.

If you know me, you can probably guess at the difficulty I had in actually creating 24 little stockings (24!) and finishing the project, but shockingly, I did finish it. (Knitters talk about the “2nd sock syndrome”… try the 23rd sock!)

I pretty much followed the instructions from BurdaStyle.com, with a few exceptions:

• I used a different pattern for the stockings [download the pattern (but ignore the instructions on it!)]—it’s rough but I liked the shape better. If you use it, know that I added a ½” seam allowance. If you’re better at sewing than me, you could reduce this and eliminate the seam allowance trimming step.
• I cut out the numbers and applied them applique-style (new to me, and I really like the effect, though I might recommend starting out with a smaller project for the first attempt!). If you’re interested, here’s the pattern for two styles of numbers, ready to print backwards for tracing.
• I used different ribbon for the bows than for the top edge.

I’ve uploaded photos of the whole process to Flickr, so if you’re interested in seeing it pretty much step-by-step, start there. If you have questions, ask them in the photo comments or leave a comment on this post and I’ll do my best to clarify.

As a side-note, this was my first project on my new sewing machine and I love it.

photo credit: xfuture911

I’ve heard lots of discussions about renting vs. buying big items, and I pretty much sum up the best advice this way: Rent things you use less than a couple times a year; buy things you use more.

Very straightforward. (Of course, there are probably some exceptions, but it’s a good rule of thumb.)

One piece of advice I read about when to rent caught my eye, though, just because I hadn’t seen it before: when possible, rent the car you’re going to buy for a few days before purchasing it. You’ll get a much better feel for it than on a quick test drive.

This assumes two things:

1. You’re going to buy a new car. That’s not usually a good financial move, given the instant depreciation and the fact that you can typically buy a slightly used model for thousands less, but some people will ignore that and buy new anyway.
2. You’re buying a car that rental places rent. Not all cars, and particularly not all packages, will be available for rental.

However, if those two things are true, and you’re at all picky about the car you drive (I’m not; we bought our last vehicle off of eBay because we spotted a great bargain), it makes a lot of sense to invest a little upfront to make sure the big investment is one you’ll be happy with.