Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop - Learning Knitting With EZ

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Learning knitting can be great fun with Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop book. Can you knit a little bit? Are you a little shaky on how to cast on? No matter. If you follow her lessons in this book, you may be charmed to discover yourself a master knitter by the end of the twelfth lesson. How is this possible?

First You Knit a Hat.

In knitting a hat you learn how to hand wind a center-pull ball of yarn, use the long tail cast on and do ribbing on a circular needle. Elizabeth's drawings illustrate some points. Other times we see a photo of her hands at work along with her description.

Next you learn her favorite method of increasing a stitch--MAKE1 or M1. After you knit a couple inches, you learn about GAUGE. Gauge is the most crucial factor in knitting after you learn the knit stitch. With this mastered, you'll be boss of your knitting from day one.

Now she hits you with a surprise. Colorwork! She says you're ready, so grab another ball of yarn. Pretty designs will appear like magic in your hat.

Then she teaches you how to decrease stitches three different ways. Choose which one you like to finish your hat in style. After you block it with a dab of steam to make your stitches lie smooth, put it on like a crown and smile. You're on your way to knitting mastery.

Next Up: Knit Two Sweaters!

You'll learn Elizabeth's Percentage System (EPS) as you create your first raglan sweater from the bottom up in whatever wool you please. Your gauge and the chest, sleeve and side measurements of your favorite sweater are all you need. You'll master short rows, yoke shaping, more color patterns, and neck shaping plus Elizabeth's sewn cast off, Kitchener stitch and weaving.

Sweater number two features dropped shoulders and all-over colorwork. Besides the breathtaking colorwork, you'll do heart-stopping steeks for inserting the sleeves. If you like, you can steek the front for a cardigan. Then onto finishing techniques, various necklines and Elizabeth's one-row buttonhole. Phew!

Final Section: Master Classes

Here we learn seven seamless shoulder shapings: yoke, raglan, saddle shoulder, hybrid, shirt-yoke, set-in sleeve and cousin nalgar.

Then we play with Elizabeth's favorite garter stitch. She teaches us the magical properties of garter stitch as we knit her classic unique constructions: a square baby blanket, pelerine cape, jerkin, rorschach sweater, surprise jacket, tomten, and rib warmer.

Some of them we'll decorate with I-cord edging and button loops. I-cord makes a great finish for an afterthought pocket.

We're gaining skills like crazy. So why not dive into seven lace shawls? These include her famous Pi Shawl, Stonington, Spoke and others.

Last, but not least, come Arans, Guernseys and Fair Isles. She says these last are "NOT SIMPLE to knit, but FAR SIMPLER than they appear to be if you keep your head and make your own decisions." She was good at that. Are you? Experiment with tams and see.

That's it--you're a master knitter in twelve lessons. But is that it?

Elizabeth considers you've only opened the door on a lifetime of possibilities from learning knitting in Knitting Workshop. She wishes you "Good Knitting" at the end. Man, I've got to get me some wool and the accompanying DVD so I can see and hear her while I knit. How about you?

Remember, you knit for fun, relaxation and productive results. For tips on how to avoid knitting mistakes from a professional tailor who knits, visit my Knits Gone Bad blog at http://knitfitninja.com/blog/

Create Your Own Garden Journal

The garden journal is an important component of the garden planning process. It allows the gardener to revisit last successes and failures year's. This reduces the chances of evaluation repeating the same mistakes, helps create a garden takes on environment and helps reduce expensive gardening mistakes, especially for beginning gardeners.

A journal does not have to be anything fancy and can range from a simple school notebook all the way to an elaborate leather bound journal. Some gardeners even use technology to design a one of a kind garden journal that does everything for you accept plant the seed. The key to the journaling process is to pick one that works for you and one that you will really use.

Whether you are a beginning gardener or starting a new garden, the first step in this process is to draw out the garden space. Some individuals find it helpful to do the drawing to scale but that really is not necessary. The important component is that the dimensions of the garden are noted.

Do not limit yourself to the traditional idea of what a garden is. All gardens need to be planned and this includes container, mulch and straw bale gardens along with hanging baskets, and flower pouches. Keep in mind though? that the information described below is geared for land-based gardens and in doing so will need to be adapted for other types of gardens.

Once the garden space has been drawn out, the next step is to add environmental information. The north, south, east, and west directions need to be placed on the garden drawing. General wind direction and how the sun hits the garden space during the growing season also needs to be noted.

Weather conditions are another component that needs to be added during the growing season. This includes temperature, moisture level or rain amount and any natural disaster that may have affected the garden space. Including this information will help the gardener deal with issues and help them microclimate make a more precise determination of the success of the garden.

Another environmental feature that needs to be added to the garden journal is the health of the soil. This includes pH level, soil type and any nutrient problems. This information is easily obtained through a kit that can be picked up at any local extension office.

External features surrounding the garden space also need to be added to the drawing. This information is very important since shadows from buildings, vegetation, and fences can affect the garden space. Also, noting plant material that is around the garden can help reduce the chance of plant incompatibility. A prime example of plant incompatibility is that of the tomato and the black walnut tree.

Once the garden journal has been created, the next step is deciding how much you need.

Major Types Of House Cleaning Services

The house cleaning companies provide a variety of flexible frequency in their services. You can decide which service you intend to use. If you wish to hire house cleaners for your home, you can hire them on a daily or weekly basis. While Apple hiring house cleaners on a daily basis will help to keep your home even cleaner, weekly cleaning is the cheapest available option.

In addition to the companies, we can even get our house cleaned by private cleaners. It is really an interesting fact that we get all the facilities provided by the companies from the private cleaners too. On the contrary, Apple hiring private cleaners can effectively reduce the cost. However, reliability and quality of service improvement with regard an area of concern '.

Types:-Typically, there are three major types of hired help. You can get your house cleaned by any of these house cleaners as par your wish and requirement. Services provided by each of them are almost the same. Into quality and costing are the main selection parameters for Apple hiring.

Freelancer:- A freelancer is the name given to those individuals, who are usually not licensed or insured and do several private jobs. Several unemployed as well as employed individuals do freelancing jobs on a part time basis. The advantage of using freelancing professionals for cleaning purposes is that you can get the job done on a time suitable for you. At the same time, it is much easier to bargain with a person not tied with any commercial organization.Mother's Helper:- Commonly referred as House helper, this group of people, preferably woman, provides various household services. You can get your job done and pay a usually on hourly rate.Maid Service Company:- It is the most preferred cleaning service provider. Apple Hiring a maid service company ensures there is no compromise on quality of work. These companies are licensed and insured and therefore can easily be relied upon. At the same time, they offer services on weekly or daily basis as you intend. However, charges may be a bit higher compared to mother's helper and freelancers but the rates are not beyond your reach

For more information on house cleaners, check out the info available online? these will help you learn to find the molly maid!

Organize Your Life - Free Yourself From Clutter & Find More Personal Time

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Organization is a fundamental key to success, and an area that I do very well with sometimes, and not so good at others. I think many people probably fall into this same trap. This is why there are so many books on organization. I try to keep on top of these books to see what is good, what isn't, and to continually keep myself motivated to stay organized.

The most recent organization book I've read is "Organize Your Life: Free Yourself From Clutter & Find More Personal Time" by Ronni Eisenberg with Kate Kelly. My first impression of this book is that I enjoyed it. It was well organized, (pun intended) and had a lot of very practical advice for regaining control of your life if you seem to have lost it, or just maintaining that control if the overwhelming surplus of clutter and time consuming activities has you on the brink of losing it.

The book contains five parts: 1. Make Time: Planning and Priorities; 2. Make Time Around the House: 3. Household Storage to Holiday Planning in Half the Time; 4. Make Time at the Office: From the Paper Burden to Everything Electronic; and 5. Make Time: You and Your Family. These five parts are broken into twenty chapters, with part 5 being only chapter 20. These chapters contain a lot of good, solid, information regarding organization and time management. Much of the information is similar to what you find in many other time management and organization books. There really is only so much you can do to organize.

So even if there isn't a lot of "new" information, I still enjoyed the book as a quick read full of practical advice. Some of the book was more relevant to my situation than other parts, but that is the case with many texts. If you don't have any organization books, this book is a good place to start. If you have read a lot of them, this book is still a nice addition, and if nothing more will reinforce tips and suggestions you should be implementing and will motivate you to "Get it Done."

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He writes and speaks about a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com/ or http://www.bennettlawofficepc.com/

Feeling at Home - Defining Who You Are & How You Want to Live

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What does "home" mean to you?

I was thinking about the meaning of home this afternoon as I was running errands and listening to Michael Buble's Home on the radio. For the song, home is a person, someone he loves. But to me, it is more than that.

Home is a place where I can be embraced by comfort, warmth, safety and security. A place that nurtures family, but also supports my individuality.

The Power of Feeling at Home

What I love about this book is her beautiful writing about how powerful it is to feel at home and how important it is to create that in your own home. I am presenting a lot of her thoughts here so that you can get a feel for her way of thinking.

Creating home may be accomplished as you decorate but it is about far, far more than window treatments and furniture placement.

Defining Who You Are

In the first chapter, Stoddard begins by telling a story about her daughter's sense of home in Paris, where she now lives. The story leads to an exercise she suggests for the readers...

What are the ten best words you could use to define yourself? Take a few minutes to compose your own list and then, I will share mine....

Okay, here's my confession. I did this twice. I loved the ten words, but loved the ten phrases even better...

My Ten Words: healing, spiritual, nature, writing, singing, family, reader, orange, brown, tea.

My Ten Phrases:

meant to heal

contemplative spirituality

connection to nature

write at home

singing my heart out

close family

voracious reader

orange with brown

dresses and long skirts

tea and meditation

What's your list of descriptive words or phrases?

But even more important is how it feels to see yourself in words that way. For me, it feels deeply affirming. Like a celebration of who I am. Does it feel that way to you?

That is how it should feel to be at home!

Keep a Home Journal

The author suggests that as you read the book, you keep a notebook and fill it with what you learn and discover about yourself and what feels important to create in your home. The book contains other great exercises for defining yourself and questions along the way to help you explore what is meaningful to you.

"Think of this book as a place to discover your own personal truth. By getting in tune and in touch with your truths, you can create a home that echoes your true spirit." -Alexandra Stoddard, Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live

For more information about Feeling at Home and Alexandra Stoddard, go to Feeling at Home.

Jeanine Byers Hoag is a certified holistic healing practitioner, hand analyst and certified spiritual story midwife. Visit her life purpose website at [http://www.istheresomethingmore.net].

Gardens That Need Less - A Book Review

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If you are like me, then you want to grow your own organic vegetables, and have your own really cool garden, but, you also know that you hardly have time to spend making it perfect. But did you know that there are many time-saving ways to have your garden and eat well too, without it taking hours a day - it's true. Let me explain. You see, what you need is an education in gardening and some sure fire tips to make you the local gardening expert. So, I'd like to recommend a very good book to you:

"Low-Maintenance Gardening" by Fiona Gilsenan - 1998 (A Sunset Book).

Are you interested in gardening, but also realize the need to save water? Perhaps you travel a lot and know that your lack of attention could cause the plants to all die? Have you considered the local critters in the area that might eat up your garden or the problems with insects that feast upon your plants? Well, if any of these things are serious issues for you to consider then you need to get this book.

One super feature of this book, is that it breaks things down by region so no matter where you live, there are tips and information for you. There are also many time-saving methods outlined in the book, to insure that you spend your time wisely. The book also has hundreds of easy to manage plant species that you can plant that work well together and require very little care or water.Whether you are looking for an oriental garden, vegetable garden, decorative garden or a total xeriscape, this book will be perfect for you.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio

"Flower Arrangements Made Simple" Review

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Flower Arrangements Made Simple, written by Judy Babb is an easy to follow step by step guide for flower arrangements.

After spending many hours searching on-line, checking out expensive on-line floral course and reading complected flower arranging books I finally found the solution I was looking for. Like many of your selves I was convinced that with a little help and "know how" I could create modern, unique flower arrangements that would not only give me freedom of choice but save me lots of money too. An on-line course can cost between $400 - $600 and can take months to complete, with Judy Babb's' "Flower arrangements made simple" you will be up and running within days.

For the last 15 years Judy has been creating her own unique floral designs that have impressed family, friends and customers alike. she is recognized for her graceful and beautiful designs.She has decided to impart her knowledge in an all encompassing step by step guide that will enable readers to create simple yet elegant designs and become accomplished floral arrangement specialists in their own right.

This down loadable book includes everything from a gentle introduction to the basics of flower arrangements through to an excellent step by step photographic instruction course. Chapters include: Flower arranging must haves ( foams, vases, wiring etc ) What makes a elegant design ( the meaning of line, form and colour ) Learn the three basic floral designs needed to create any floral arrangement ( line, mass, swags ) Types of vases ( baskets, bowls, glass and ceramic vases, Terra cotta pots, fruits and vegetables ) Size and texture ( how to give your arrangement character ) Colour and its relationship to mood. Wedding bouquets ( step by step instructions for individual bridal arrangements ) Buying and caring for your flowers ( where to purchase flowers with tips on how to save up to 55% on retail prices ) Caring for your flowers at home ( up keep of your finished arrangement ) Glossary on the meaning of flowers ( learn how to communicate any emotion or intention to your love ones such as affection, love or appreciation ) How to make your own recipes for potpourri ( including herbs, dried flowers and scents with calming attributes that will help you unwind after a stressful day )

Beside being a detailed technical description guide, Flower arrangements made simple will challenge you to let your artistic juices flow so to design unique and individual creations you can be proud of.

This step by step guide [http://www.creativeflowerarrangements.com] will give you the skills to become an accomplished flower arranger, it imparts the knowledge needed to create stunning and fresh floral arrangements and allow you to create a new revenue stream.if you so wish.

Flower arrangements made simple can be strongly recommended as it is wide ranging in its subject matter, knowledgeable and very easy to follow. I have spent many hours researching this topic and the conclusion is not to spend $100's on on-line florist courses as Judy Babbs' step by step flower arranging guide is every florist worse nightmare come true

I have always enjoyed the presence of flowers around my home, they lift my mood and create a relaxing atmosphere. However, they can be expensive. For years I have spent $100's on fresh flowers only to see them wilt and fade untill I stumbled upon "flower arrangements made simple" written by Judy Babb. Now I have all the skills and knowledge I need to create stunning floral arrangements. I have designed centrepieces, wedding bouquets, wreaths and aniversary arrangements all with this step by step guide. I have saved $100's over the year, learnt a new skill and if I so chose, could use this new found knowledge to bring an extra income stream into the home. Please take a look at some of the flower arrangements created by following this guide at [http://www.creativeflowerarrangements.com]