Type Drawer

Those large, shallow drawers are amazing to play with.  All those little nitches are perfect for storing all manner of treasures - it's just a matter of deciding which treasures and how best to display them.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to the old, brown typedrawer:

 

This one had been painted a flat brown when I got it.  I decided I'd go with a cream color for the update.

(The creative process: I had leftover cream colored paint.) 

My first thought had been to make it a jewelry holder, but the horizontal dividers are very thin and brittle, so I opted not to try to install hooks.

The way we were...

 One of the clippings tucked into my mom's favorite cookbook is this yummy and easy recipe for candies made with Nestle's Morsels and an array of optional additions - peanuts, coconut, Cheerios, raisins.  Nom.

It's a super fast and simple recipe.  I just made it today, for my sweetie - and also to share with the lovely neighbors who brought us a tray of Christmas goodies when I was too sick to reciprocate. 

The page was torn from a 1955 edition of Seventeen magazine.  I have no idea where my mom acquired this - in 1955, she was not in the age bracket to be a likely reader of Seventeen.  But it's one awesomely delicious recipe.   Boy is it ever.

Except...if you turn the page over, after you've made the candy and eaten...some...or half of it...or whatever...you find a full page ad for the new Playtex girdle.  It gives you that French Look and the Freedom you love.  The small print says that after you've handwashed your lovely girdle, it dries so fast you can watch it. 

Wow.  For those days when you don't have any paint to watch dry, I suppose.  Whatcha doin?  Watchin' my new Playtex French Look girdle that gives me the Freedom I love as it dries.  And eatin' some candy...

 

 

 

The recipe

 

Melt 8 oz of chocolate (or other flavors if you desire) chips in a double boiler.  Add 3 Tablespoons of light Karo and 1 cup of the addition of your choice.  Salted peanuts are good, raisins, coconut, all excellent choices.  If you prefer to add cereal flakes or little oaty-os,  add 1/4 cup of Karo and proceed as directed.  Drop the candy mixture by spoonfuls onto a sheet of waxed paper and chill.  If you've been foresightful enough to first put the wax paper over a cookie sheet, it makes lifting the candy into the fridge a lot easier.  Makes between 24 and 30 candies.  It depends on how anal you are about having the candies look the same size, what additives you've used, and other factors I feel no desire to go into.  Final steps - eat, and then see if you can find one of those girdles anywhere, cuz Spanx won't do what you need after you eat all the candy.

 







Shrugging

Miss Girl's shrug is a total success.  It fits her to a tee, and she loves it.   She's already requested a white one, and is debating color options for the one after that.  I may have to teach her how to knit her own.  For the next shrug, I think I'll do a bit narrower sleeve, increasing the width of the shrug for good shoulder coverage.  Miss Girl is one of those people who run cold, so a shrug is a perfect thing for her, winter or summer.  And it's a great accessory for allowing the horse design on her tee to show.  Horses are her favorite animal ever. 

 

 

 

Kitchen Meme

Bold the ones you have and use at least once a year, underline the ones you have but use less often, italicize the ones you have and don’t use,
strike through the ones you have had but got rid of.

I've had a blog all this time and have never done a meme.  Wow.  Oversight.  Must correct.

I wonder how many pasta machines*,
breadmakers,juicers, blenders,
deep fat fryersegg boilers, melon ballers, sandwich makers, pastry brushes,
cheese boards, cheese kniveselectric woks, salad spinners, griddle pans, jam funnels, meat thermometers, filleting knives, egg poachers, cake stands, garlic crushers, martini glasses, tea strainers,
bamboo steamerspizza stones, coffee grinders, milk frothers, piping bags, banana stands, fluted pastry wheels, tagine dishes, conical strainers, rice cookers, steam cookers, crock pots,
pressure cookersslow cookers, spaetzle makers, cookie presses, gravy strainers, double boilers (bains marie), sukiyaki stoves,
ice cream makersfondue sets,
healthy-grillshome smokers, tempura sets, waffle makers,  tortilla presses*, electric whisks, cherry stoners, candy thermometers, food processors

bacon presses, bacon slicers, mouli mills, cake testers, pestle-and-mortars, and sets of kebab skewers languish dustily at the back of the nation’s cupboards.

* Denotes stuff I make by hand.  Really, if you don't have your hands in some things, you have not made them.

I'm so depressed

I've been knitting along on the mermaid colored Liesl that won the 'finish me first' UFO competition, and the more I knit, the less sure I am that this thing actually fits. .  This isn't good. 

The sleeves seem as if they'd be very tight if the sweater was worn over a shirt that had sleeves.  Solution: redo the sleeves to add a pattern repeat in the section of bound off stitches.  (Can't fudge with the live stitches held on waste yarn.) 

And that worked out perfectly. 

It's complete!  It turned out really well, if I do say so myself - and clearly, I do.
The additional pattern repeat makes all the difference.  The pattern shows people wearing the sweater over camis and summer frocks, but I wanted to be able to wear it over whatever I wanted to wear it over.   And now, I can. 

Oh - Julie - you're so right about waste yarn.  It's a horrible name.  They could say 'scrap yarn.'  They SHOULD say scrap yarn.  Let's lobby!

Previously...

Previously on  Cozy's blog, there was voting for which project she should do. Liesl took the lead.  I tried it on.  It was good.   The only thing better would be to actually complete it.

To get things properly stowed, I gathered them up the other projects and put them into project bags.  

The multi-mini-skein projects went into baskets.

So now  the decks are somewhat cleared. 

It's time to complete the sweater so that one might (gasp) WEAR it.

 

What shall I finish next?

Do you have project monogamy issues?  If you don't, may as well find a new blog to read today, as my topic du jour will be incomprehensible to you.  I do commend you for your maturity and dedication - but if you have the fortitude to start one thing and completely compete it before you start a new thing, then we may have  dialogue issues.  Because I can't do that.  At all.

If you're like me and have an attention span shorter than that of the average May fly, read on.  (I have no data about the attention span of a May fly, but as they only live a day or so, it can't be all that impressive.)  I have a lot of items that are in varing stages of doneness and they need to be completed.  But which to do first? It's a big decision.  And you need to help me.

In no particular order - we have:

1. My 'Psycho-deli' shawl.  It's very organic, growing from the bottom point up from sock yarn scraps.  All the stringers you see hanging off will eventually be woven in, as I am no longer a huge fan of fringe. 

 

2. A little shawlette/scarf made with 2 of my hand-dyed yarns.  The pattern name is 'High Speed Knitting,' which I'm sure it is for people who actually finish the item before starting 12 more projects.  

 

 3.  A lovely Liesl, made with a wool/bamboo blend yarn.  I stalled out on this after completeing one sleeve, just to see how they went.
They go good.  So why am I not knitting the heck outta this?  I do not know.

4.  A linen stitch cowl made of sock yarn scraps.  This has been hanging around since March.  It's fun.  I like the idea of it.  I need to finish it.

5.  A cute little super simple wrap called 'Just Knit It'.  Which literally is pretty much what you do.  It's garter stitch.  I am further along on it than this photo  indicates, but not THAT much further.  It's a light fingering weight yarn I dyed my own self.

Comment to cast a vote.  There are no prizes other than the warm glow of knowing you've helped me along the road to decision making.  (Yeah, bummer, I know.)