Knitting Portfolio I

I thought I'd share a selection of photographs of a few of projects I've knitted over the past several years. The Items shown are:
1) a pair of cotton socks I knit for my husband featuring a combination of two texture patterns on the leg; an all-over ribbing, and a narrow, acorn-like pattern in a row up the calf,
2) a large green wrap/scarf with a nubbly texture pattern (moss stitch, if I recall correctly) which I knit for myself, and
3) a color pattern sweater completely of my own design which I knit my husband while we were engaged. I am particularly proud of this project; from the complicated colorwork on the front and sleeves to the ribbing and various cables of my own invention on the back, this sweater took untold hours to complete. Despite coming up with most of the color patterns while knitting (and not writing any of it down while I did it), I gave this sweater two symmetrically patterned sleeves, and echoed several motifs between the sleeves and body to create a more coherent garment.

A Nature Walk

On Thursday, Little Girl (now that she's over a year old I'll have to stop referring to her as "Baby Girl") and I dropped the car off for new tires, and went and did other errands on foot. Here are pictures of some of the wildflowers we passed while walking.

My Best Bathroom Tips

1. Always keep the toilet closed. It keeps the bathroom looking (and, depending on the plumbing, sometimes smelling) cleaner, it eliminates the seat up vs. seat down debate, and if you drop something it's nearly impossible for it to land in the toilet bowl.

2. When hanging a towel bar, check it with a real towel. When we replaced a hand towel bar between our toilet and shower with a bath towel bar, we hung it in the same spot to cover the old holes. Because we didn't check first, it was only when we started using it that we noticed the larger towel hangs all the way down to the toilet paper holder. If a damp bath towel is resting on your toilet paper, the paper is not going to stay dry. (needless to say, something had to be moved; follow my advise and save yourself the trouble.)

3. Brush your hair before bathing. We all loose hairs all the time, but if you brush first, those hairs end up in the brush rather than in the shower or tub, gradually clogging your drain.

4. If you aren't particular about the brand of your shampoo or shower gel, note down the per unit price where you usually buy it, and then check your local dollar store. There's one near me where they sell 10 oz. bottles of shower gel for $1; that's ten cents per ounce, way better than at the grocery store.

5. If mixing liquid soap (or adding the end of a bar of soap and some water to a pump bottle of liquid soap) keep in mind that the colors and scents will also be mixing. I didn't used to think about that, until the time I ended up with a pump full of brown soap that looked dirty when you washed your hands with it.