Perhaps That Should Have Read "Idiot"

I sat down to write the Friday post and next thing I knew Blogger posted that odd thing below. Hmmm, maybe I hit the enter button by mistake?
Anyway...What's new? I see Amy is having cat problems (best wishes to Dennis Quaid), Julie is making winter extravaganza gifts already, Reesie has caught the pod-cast bug, Franklin is almost up to 1000 knitters, Stephanie is spinning in place (Maillot Jaune one hopes), and here I am not having done much at all this week.
YSS is visiting us for a week or so and she and I have cleaned the "water feature" out back, scrubbed down all the outside furniture with bleach, gotten our nails done (all 20 and after the scrubfest) and had a Lia Sophia party. That's about it folks. Not much on the knitting front, a little cooking (wonderful lemon cake from Kosher by Design, and chevre quiches), no travel (as I type The Husband is taking his afternoon nap on the couch), no quilting, painting, or decorating. I guess I'll have to do better next week.
Off to visit with friend Kermit, who is down from the frozen north. See you next week.

iot

Felting On Purpose

I have felted quite a few things over the years, lately three pairs of socks. People ask me how I do this, "Don't you know better than to put wool socks in the washer?" Sure, I do, but I usually knit socks with superwash. Now and then I am seduced by colorful hand dyed yarn and shrinkage ensues. Today I give you felting on purpose: a princess hat. Does this put me ahead in the holiday knitting contest? Though really this is for a January birthday, so it may not count. I will be gifting this hat with The Paper Bag Princess. Now, can anyone reccommend a book for a five-year-old boy about aliens?

In other knitting news, I am still working on the ribbon vest. I have the front and back above the armholes to finish and then 10 buttons to sew on. Maybe by next week. YSS is coming for a visit and we have some events planned for the girls. (Oh, I've gone girly in my old age!

A post or two ago I offered to share my paper organizing method. For what it is worth: Whenever I print out a pattern from the net, I hole punch it and put it in one of three binders (at least one of three knitting binders...there's more than knitting I look up....) Baby Patterns, Adult Patterns, and Information (when Julie writes about color and yarn dying, for example). Every couple of months I sit down and rip apart the general interest magazines I get and file the interesting stuff. Mostly I save things from MS Living and Family Fun. Martha is just fun and FF is great for finding new ways to teach old stuff. I have four of those accordian file holders, one for Sunday School, one for regular school, one for interesting stuff and inspiration (home decorating, "good things", family ideas, etc.) and one with the months of the year for special ideas relating to what you should be doing to keep your house in shape every month and needlework ideas for special holidays (sometimes I find a card that really relates to someone just after their birthday or anniversary and that goes in this file, too). Oh, I forgot, I also have two accordian files for recipes, one for regular cooking and one for Jewish cooking by the holidays.
Mind you, I don't often check these files because there are too many other piles of "stuff" around the house, but it does sometimes come in handy. Cygnet once asked of anyone had the knit Viking Hat becuase she had mislaid the last page in a move. I found it right away and sent it off. Yay, me! She was in luck, that probably won't happen very often.

Thanks to Youngest Niece I am signed up on Ravelry. Look for me under Needletart. I haven't done much yet because it is just to hot to spend hours on the computer. See you next week.

No More Pain!! Whee!!

Warning: medical content ahead. I am not a doctor, read if you are interested, but check with your own doctor before changing meds. If you are not interested, skip to the Red line.
For the last two years or so I have been on medication for acid reflux. Recently I mentioned to my Doctor that the meds she had given me weren't working so well. Naturally, being an American trained doctor she gave me something different and stronger. After a week that hadn't worked either. During that week, however, I read the People's Pharmacy in the Sunday paper. Someone wrote in that for another stomach problem, they had tried ginger candy and it really worked. Now, I had been especially miserable for six weeks or so and the new meds weren't working. The Husband happens to enjoy the taste of ginger so he had some Ginger Chews laying around. I figured I didn't have anything to lose so I ate one. The relief was immediate!! The first day (Sunday) I ate one of the candies whenever I noticed the acid climbing my throat. That was four times. Today (what? Five days later?) I needed one. One I tell you! As I sit here at 11:00 at night there is no acid perceptible and I feel great! Apparently the ginger rebooted my stomach. BTW, I stopped the stomach meds, after calling the Doctor. Don't try to stop these meds without your doctor's advice, from the reading I have done if you are on some of these meds and you stop suddenly the acid rebounds and will make you even more miserable. Keep taking the meds, try the ginger and call your doctor.
This is for Amy, who is having some foot pain. Last week the People's Pharm recommended a natural treatment for plantar faciaitus. May it help you as much as the ginger helped me.
On the knitting front, Youngest Niece has really been hooked by the knitting universe. Last week she sent me a killer present (you'll have to wait until I get organized and use it to see pictures. 'It's awesome!!) and when I called to tell her that I had posted a thank you on her blog, she said, "I don't use that much any more, I'm on Ravelry" the student has outpaced the master. Let's see her knit lace.
I felted my first piece, well, my first on-purpose felting. As soon as I get the fabric finish attached, I will take a picture and post. Otherwise I am knitting away on the ribbon vest. I counted all the slipped stitches to figure out where the buttons will go, now there's just the knitting.
In quilting, I am still working on Eldest Niece's quilt. It has been languishing in the corner for way too long, but I think I've figured out my problem with it. The background for the applique border is just too dark. Today I bought some new background fabric and we'll see if that's the ticket.
In other venues, I organized all the clippings I have piled near the knitting chair and will let you in on my organizing methods when I can load pictures. This evening my friend's children came for dinner. The son (Let's call him Aaron shall we?)is getting ready for his Bar Mitzvah and we chose some fabrics for his prayer shawl. The daughter (hereafter known as Greta) helped me clean out the "water feature" on the back patio. Seems the fish can swim in black water. Who knew the algae would grow that quickly? Good times.
See you next week.

He's Home

For those just catching up, The Husband's contract was canceled and he is home for the foreseeable future. Now, not that I don't love the man and am glad to have him home, but dude! I'm practicing the piano and he's sitting right behind me tearing out coupons. I need to sneeze and I run for the tissue box and he's moved it! And the trash can. While he was gone I spent a lot of time sitting in the quiet and reading. All day long he plays music and all night long, he snores. I'm amazed by how much I miss the silence. I guess we both have some re-adjusting to do.
Otherwise, I spent the morning doing some gardening. No matter what you have read, digging your nails into a bar of soap does not keep the dirt from under your nails. The only thing that has worked for me is a double layer of gloves. Thin plastic ones under heavy leather garden gloves. As I have lately started getting professional manicures (these are not cheap), I want to preserve my nails as long as I can.
On the knitting front, I am still working on the ribbon vest. I got one whole side knitted and the shoulders didn't line up. As long as I was ripping, I figured that I should make a swatch (yes, I made one before I started for gauge) to test the button holes and the decreases. The instructions have you K2Tog for every decrease and I wondered if SSK would look better and make paired decreases. Good I tested the button holes. If I had followed the instructions I would have to use 1/8 inch buttons. Rather that knit through the back loop on the second row of 2-row button holes I just knit plain and I can use a 3/4 inch button. Much more in keeping with the look of the vest (and more likely to stay buttoned!).
Happy Fourth!

Did You Know....

that you're supposed to peel the banana before you freeze it for a smoothie? Sigh.