I’ve started knitting. Yes. Seriously.
I just about gave myself an ulcer with my very first attempts –some say its relaxing; I must have been approaching it all wrong. You just have to let go. Don’t fuss. Don’t obsess, freak out when you drop a stitch, yank on the yarn –pretend to relax and create a limp noodle gauge –like I did.
My first project was a scarf. It’s now a cat blanket.
You see –I didn’t seem to catch on so quick to the knitting in a strait line thing. I began creating a kinda warped rectangle –and it was waaaaay to wide for a scarf anyhow. So Winston likes to sleep on it and that makes me happy enough. Thats him sniffing scarf #2 above -the one on the bottom-left.
Scarf#2 and then a Poncho!
This one turned out much better. I went to a trendy yarn store in the Beach area of Toronto (The Naked Sheep) and looked around at all the pretty colours. I also decided to buy a book. I was looking for clear and concise. I have little patients and get bored quickly. I needed someting simple and still full of cool patterns not granny squares. So I bought: Teen Knitting Club: Chill Out and Knit
I think Kids would love picking this hobby up! What I mean is there sure are a lot more cool patterns around now –than when I was a kid. Cool books filled with nifty projects and the YARN; the yarn is just amazing these days.
So –the scarf –it’s red and knitted up real fast using a Drop Stich. Then I made a nice poncho. Both are from the book I’ve mentioned. Both took less that a week each.
Oh ya –I also made a hat. Well.. ummm –ok it was supposed to be a “clutch” –you know a purse. God knows why I wanted to embark on a purse project, but I did and I messed up. The long and short –this being the short: It’s now a hat. Yes, I turned it upside down and now I wear it on my head and no one is the wiser (this is what I tell myself –so shhhhhh).
Links:
Knitting seems to be exploding. Everyone I know seems to be taking it up. But exploding also is the moth infestation that has taken over my apartment. Every nook cranny and cupboard is habouring the devils. I am at a loss at what to do. No matter what i do they remain. I believe if less people knitted then maybe they would move on… Any suggestions for a holey sweater reader.
This gives me an excellent opportunity to spout off about the wonders of Lavender. Specifically –the essential oil of lavender, or commonly called lavender oil. Hippocrates recognized as far back as the 4th century BC that certain aromatic scents warded off infectious diseases. Well today we know scientifically that many essential plant oils do just that.
However, they also do more. Lavender is a polychrest of oils; it is a remedy for many things. The plant is used often because of its pleasing aroma as we all know, but the essential oils of the lavender plant are also antibacterial, antiseptic, antidepressant, immune stimulating, sedative (when used in small amounts) and insect repellent! I use it when I have a cold in a bath or diffuse it in a room when myself or a kitty is sick. Animals benefit from this too. If one is feeling under the weather, sure as rain that cat will curl up in the room with the lavender and snooze away.
Moths:
Personally I think Lavender has a much more pleasant aroma than moth balls. Here’s what you can do:
Place 2-3 drops of essential oil of lavender on a cotton ball. Place several of these in the drawers with your wool clothing.
Other Lavender uses:
Linins and Bedding
3-5 drops into the rinse water of your wash when you do your bedding. Not only does this make it smell wonderful, but it is an excellent, gentile sedative and antibacterial.
In your Bath
5-10 drops in the path water make a wonderful calming soak.
Migraines and headaches, insomnia, flu, colds
5 drops in 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil –massage all over. This is a small amount, but it spreads. Use one more teaspoon with 5 drops if necessary. Then climb into a warm bath with 4 drops of lavender and soak.
Or if you don’t have the time for that simply inhale the aroma from a handkerchief with 2-3 drops infused in it. Keep a stash of these in a tin with some lavender oil on each to infuse them so they are ready. You can easily place an infused handkerchief on your pillow at night when you have trouble relaxing or you have a cold.
Will lavender fix my sweaters.
Sadly -no. But you may be in a better mood now when you look at the holes :)
I had a friend who had moth problems in her closet.
What she did was take every piece of clothing in her closet and washed it in very HOT water. This will kill the little buggers off.
Then she dumped a bunch of moth balls into the closet, closed the door and waited a week..before opening it again. And lo and behold..they were all gone! :)
I hear cedar blocks work too..smells way better then moth balls.