Designing with panels

Having whined ad nauseam about my new grandmotherly weight class I thought it about time to share some solutions I’ve pondered (apart from eating less). There are wardrobe issues such as:

1139-2Winter warmth – just about the only menopause symptom I haven’t had is hot flashes. Oh no, I get all the obscure ones. Woollen sweaters sometimes take me years to finish, so imagine how long they can be worn if you grow 1-2 sizes per year. Oh and the mild weather sweaters take longer because thinner yarn = smaller stitches! So I’m going to reinvent my construction method, which usually means a fairly close knit or the wind just blows right through to my delicate skin. Even indoors believe it or not. Also, tighter knits and firmer yarns have better durability to wear and tear that the looser, more flattering drapy fabrics don’t. The problem being of course they don’t have as much give and leave you feeling like a sausage as soon as your planned ease turns negative.

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July WIP Wednesday

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Thanks to those of you writing to wish me well – I’m much better now but have been taking it slow and easy for a while, and I suspect I’m going to need my second chiro visit on the 15th to unstuck my neck once more, but hope to manage until then. The cat luckily is back to his usual goofy, ever hungry self; my theory is that he swallowed a bee or something like that, because we could find no explanation of his sudden peevishness.

There has been some light reading, for instance:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The very last Discworld novel (#41): The Shepherd’s Crown

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Nettle-along project page

I’ve only added a few things to the Page due to health issues, next post will appear in a couple of weeks.

I’m beginning to suspect that the info about saving stalks for a year is incorrect. Looking through an old booklet suggests that “people of old” processed their nettles in the fall. I’ll try to write a summary and translate it because there is a lot of interesting information in there, including a few chuckles:

In Swedish from Carl von Linné 1749: “Nätslor voro här plÃ¥ckade till grönkÃ¥l, sÃ¥som det allmänt sker i Sverige om vÃ¥rtiden, sÃ¥ længe denna nätsla är späd och ännu ej en fingers lÃ¥ng… Somliga lägga till denna sin nätsle-kÃ¥l bladen av ängelöken eller körfvel, at kÃ¥len mÃ¥ fÃ¥ en angenämare smak; andra bruka plÃ¥cka bladerna af sqvaller-kÃ¥l … och Ã¥tskilliga andra växter, utan Ã¥tskillnad, hvarigenom ofta händer, at folket, som äta kÃ¥len blifva vimmerkantiga.”

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Soap suds – sæbetest 2

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Last month I received a gift of handmade, natural soaps and now that I’ve been using them I can definitely say that they keep their promise. In between cats, horses, paint, dye chemicals, gardening and the usual reasons, I wash my hands a lot and had been noticing that my knuckles have become very dry and scruffy over the winter. Now that is completely gone without any use of lotion, my hands are very soft again.

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