A Little Woodworking

This knitter has been doing a little woodworking - and when I say "little", I do mean it. Last night, after the kids were off to bed, and dear hubbie was busy at work in his office, I whipped out the kid's pencil sharpener, a long wooden dowel, a sharp knife and some sandpaper. I'll bet you'll never guess what I was up to. Nope, not a second Noah's Ark. Better, at least unless the recent rains around here don't let up soon (then, I may have to rethink that ark idea). I made a set of 5 double-pointed 4 mm needles. More useful than the ark around my house, at least. Okay, so they aren't all exactly the same length (but only because I really didn't care to take exact measurements), and I may need to sharpen the points a little more after I try them out a bit, but these "design details" are what make them unique. And, really, if they work, who cares? They're pretty, too - or, at least to their mommy they are.

They're in the middle of a trial run, knitting up a headband to keep my hair under some amount of control at night. After my most recent haircut, I can't get it to stay out of my face when I lie down without clipping it back with hair-devouring metal barrettes. Solution: knit headband. After all, when a knitting solution exists, it is always the best solution to go with, right? If only I could felt us a new toilet seat after the last one broke - those suckers aren't cheap! But, alas, not everything can be knit, so when it's possible, of course, it must be done. The headband doesn't actually require dpn's, but I do need to try them out, and the size is right. They may not be perfect, but they work, and for the approximate dollar it cost me to make them, I think they're great, not to mention the fact that sets of 5 dpns are not easy to find around here. So, I'll be making them in a few other sizes as well. And, let me say that if you haven't tried making your own needles, and you enjoy detailed knitting, you'll love this, I swear. And, it's a relatively quick fix compared to dyeing or spinning (you'll want to keep the vacuum handy, though).

In non-knitting news (for those who actually care), the home organizing frenzy continues on, though at a less frenzied pace. I'm proudest of recently conquering the buffet in our kitchen. A very badly treated antique that we acquired with our temporary home, it's in need of much love, some sandpaper and a lick or two of something to revive it. But who has time for that? So, I did the next best thing in attempting to organize it. The marble section is often hidden beneath homeless odds and ends, as is the fate of most flat surfaces in our home. Armed with a couple boxes of ceramic plates and doodads from Spain I found in our storage stuff, I cleaned that sucker up and decorated it. Despite the fact that my husband despises these kitchie objects, my hope is that their presence will deter the pile-up of other objects that we all agree are less attractive. As any good husband should, he has kept his mouth mostly closed about the matter. I've even added some badly needed extra shelf space with those hanging wire basket-shelves. Not antique, for sure, but more organized is definitely better. Next thing to do is clean up the glass doors and put them back on it. By golly, by the time we get ready to move, we'll have made ourselves a real home here!