The Garage

Today I managed to empty and sort 3 more boxes from the garage. I ran out of steam for box number 4 filled with knitting magazines. Considering that they have been in the garage since we remodeled the bathroom I might not have a use for them. I have a lot for Goodwill that I am hoping will leave the house this week. Instead of looking at the pile going of my goodness, I am instead think of just one box at a time. My goal this weekend was 2 boxes so getting 3 boxes done is fantastic in my humble opinion.

I found a whole whole lot of sewing projects and a sweater pattern that I have been looking for. So my plan going forward, is to get a few boxes done each day in the morning at the peak of my energy level for the day. In the afternoon body permitting I will get some sewing or craft projects done. I am trying to do this without an afternoon caffeine boost so there might just be more napping than crafting in the afternoons.

My my hope is to turn Teri's old bedroom into an electric workshop for John for the holidays. Although I think I will leave building the work bench to John. I really need to save my hand time for knitting, weaving, spinning and sewing.

A Ganga*

Well if you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I have been going through a long term lifestyle change. These changes have resulted in a healthier me. This has also resulted in my clothes mysteriously growing in my closet. It can't be me though because the scale has been steady for a few months. Today I did Teri style shopping when I found a pair of pants that I liked, I bought all four pairs that they had. Even better they were a full size smaller than the same pants I bought last year. As if it could not get any better than 4 new pairs of pants and a smaller size, they were 70% off. So that was 4 pair of everyday pants for less than $60.00 plus local tax. Thats right 4 pair of pants for less than $60.00 total dollars. Just $14.83 for each pair of pants. They also asked if I needed any hangers and threw in 10 at no additional cost. I do love a good clearance sale.

I might have to start tagging and bagging my charity hats and scarfs because the pile is getting a bit unsteady. So look for the million row challenge row counter to jump in the near future.

I also plan on sending John on a Goodwill run sometime this weekend. De cluttering has hit the garage. With any luck I should have inside the house and garage done by December even with the hiccups life has been throwing us this year.

*A Ganga is Tucson speak for a fantastic deal

A Replacement

I did the unthinkable a few weeks back and destroyed my favorite Le Creuset pan I know I voided the life time warranty when I burnt dinner so badly that a small fire started in the bottom of my favorite pan. I managed to burn off some of the enamel. So this week I bought a replacement pan, it arrived today. The old pan will probably be turned into a very expensive dye pot because I can't use it for cooking anymore.

The new new pan has a slightly different shape and different style of lid. I am sure that it will become a new standard pan for my kitchen and cooking dinner.

A Contest

I was out grocery shopping today and ran across a new product. It claimed to be "Homemade" yet the second ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. Because this is such a bad labeling offense, I really should share the name of the company, but I also don't have deep pockets. I will tell you that it is a new summertime treat in the frozen food aisle. Read the labels before you buy. This leads me to the question of who really buys and stocks high fructose corn syrup for your kitchen at home? If this is something that you keep in your kitchen at home, I really want to know why and what you use I for.

Food labeling and mass marketing are so full of hyperbole, it is just as bad as it was in the 1960's. When sun tans were healthy. If you were pale like me, you were considered sickly. We now know that fabulous tan came with a high price, skin cancer and premature aging. When smoking was cool, yet ever spokesman for the product died of lung cancer. When sweet treats replaced fruit in school lunches. Is it even a wonder why, my generation and our kids and grand kids have weight issues. Even the European sewing machine company who's salespeople and management claim that everything they make is made in Europe, but has a label on the bottom of my sewing machine that says it is made in Thailand. I was under the impression that Thailand was an independent nation in southeast Asia and not a European city. Do the marketing firms believe that we are so under educated that all of this is fine?

What are some of the bad labeling offenses that you have seen? There will be a prize of my choice for the funniest one or two. Please feel free to comment.

A Slow Saturday

The reorganization of the yarn last weekend has has a positive effect. I have found a lot of UFO's that are now back in progress. Some of the projects are so old that I no longer have the outfit that I was making the hand knit item for. For these I will finish them and put them in the box to be sold for the Taglit fundraiser later this year.

I also finished 2 more hand knit hats today and cast on 2 more hats. One hat is in cotton and the other is wool. Below is a picture of the pile of hats, 19 hats and still standing. The hemming of the 5 skirts also got started today. No deep cleaning was done, I took a nap instead.

My Spinning Chair

I have found only one downside to losing weight. You have to promise not to laugh though. It involves spinning more specifically my spinning chair. As the weight has come off I have lost a lot of my padding and this makes it hard to sit for more than an hour or two.  The spinning chair will need a pad to make it more comfortable. Time to get out the sewing machine.

It's Done

The big yarn sort was finished this afternoon. 100 gallons of yarn has left the house. No, I did not count the skeins of yarn leaving. I need you to use your imagination to think how many skins of yarn that is. Everything has been rearranged by weight. Some empty project bags will also be leaving tomorrow. The project shelf space is full of things that I will knit. My closet has a lot more space so I am very pleased with the results.

My next project is to knit up a pattern that a friend has had to tink several times now. I started the pattern tonight and am keeping copious notes as I go. I am pretty sure that there is a problem with the pattern and will make corrections to give to my friend and the pattern designer.

After that I might do a small project or 2 before I tackle the next big deep cleaning project. I might even try to come up with a better system for my circular knitting needles. Any suggestions for circular knitting needle storage would be welcome.