Feather & Grass Decorative Planter

I have been spending a fair amount of shopping time at Home Hardware lately buying paint, painting supplies and gardening supplies.  They have a section of decorative accent pieces.  I noticed an artificial pampus grass planter that I thought would look nice in our freshly made-over main bathroom [More on that to come this week].   However, it was $59.99 so I didn't buy it as that money would be better spent painting another room in my quest to have all the rooms painted in the house before the end of May.  Then I came up with a brilliant idea, one that was less expensive and one that could be changed out without waste whenever I desired.  Off to the dollar store...

I bought one 6 - inch clay pot ($1.50), seven feather & grass spears ($1 each) and a bag of sphagnum  moss ($1) for a total cost of $9.50.  I recycled some packaging styrofoam from the garage to hold the spears.  I disassembled two of the spears to use the leaf portion and make the planter look a bit more realistic.  Once the spears were arranged, I covered the styrofoam with the moss.  I got the look I wanted for $9.50 effectively saving myself $50.49!  The best thing is, I can easily take the planter apart and reuse everything in other projects with very little effort. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Modified Easy Ombre Dishcloth

I started replenishing my supply of handmade knitted and crochet washcloths and dishcloths prior to moving to our new home last September.  I also needed both for our vacation home.  These cloths are perfect for bathing and washing dishes while adding a custom touch to bathrooms and the kitchen.  I colour code my washcloths and dishcloths to match the room they will be used in so they don't get mixed up.  The easy ombre dishcloth with the taupes and turquoise tones is perfect for the main bathroom.   This modified granny square pattern is suitable for beginners but is poorly written as if worked as written will give a wave effect from too many stitches so the piece will not lay flat.   For example on the first row it reads  

1st rnd: Ch 3 (counts as dc). [3 dc. (Ch 2. 4 dc)] 3 times in ring. Ch 2. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.

If you do the stitches within the square brackets three times, you will have too many stitches.  This row should read:

1st rnd: Ch 3 (counts as dc). 3 dc. [(Ch 2. 4 dc)] 3 times in ring. Ch 2. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.

This will give you the correct pattern of 4 stitches per side with two stitches in between to form each corner.  The next row reads:

2nd rnd: Ch 3 (counts as dc). 1 dc in each of next 3 dc. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. *1 dc in each of next 4 dc. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. Rep from * twice more. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.

If you dc in the next 3 dc it will cause you to have too many stitches.  It should read:

2nd rnd: Ch 3 (counts as dc). 1 dc in each of next 2 dc. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. *1 dc in each of next 3 dc. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. Rep from * twice more. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 

Here is the corrected pattern as I made it:

Materials:

• Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton
• Crochet hook: Size 4 mm (U.S. G or 6) crochet hook or size needed to obtain gauge.

Size: Approx 10 ins [25.5 cm] square.
Gauge: 13 dc and 6½ rows = 4 ins [10 cm].

Instructions:

Ch 5. Join with sl st to form a ring.
1st rnd: Ch 3 (counts as dc). 3 dc. [(Ch 2. 4 dc)] 3 times in ring. Ch 2. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.
2nd rnd: Ch 3 (counts as dc). 1 dc in each of next 2 dc. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. *1 dc in each of next 3 dc. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. Rep from * twice more. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.  [My note: This will give 7 dc per side.]
3rd to 8th rnds: Ch 3 (counts as dc). *1 dc in each dc to next ch-2 sp. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. Rep from * 3 times more. 1 dc in each dc to end of rnd. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.  [My note: Each row will increase by 4 dc per side, so the 3rd row will have 11 dc per side, the 4th row will have 15 dc per side and so on.]
9th rnd: Ch 1. 1 sc in each dc around, having 3 sc in corner ch-2 sps. Join with sl st to first sc. Fasten off.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Rainbow Neck Warmer

I have been making a lot of knitted wash cloths for our new home.  I am particularly fond of the eyelet edged wash cloth, an easy to carry project for my knitting and crochet projects when visiting, traveling or sitting in waiting rooms.  I was working on one of the wash cloths while we were visiting a friend and his young daughter for the afternoon.  She was mesmerized by the knitting needles as I worked while chatting.  She commented several times how much she loved the edging so I told her I had just the yarn for her so would make her a scarf.  The pattern I came up with keeps the eyelet edge.  The neck warmer was knit in Redheart worsted weight from my stash of yarn using a 6 oz skein.  The label was gone so I don't know the colour code or even if it is made anymore.  Any worsted weight yarn will work with this pattern.

Rainbow Neck Warmer

• 4.5 mm (US 7) knitting needles
• 6 oz worsted weight yarn

Cast on 4 stitches.
K 2 rows
*K2 YO K to end of row
repeat from * until there are 30 stitches on the needle
**K2 YO K2tog K to end of row
repeat from ** until piece measures 30" or desired length
***K1 K2tog YO K2 tog
repeat from *** until there are 4 stitches on the needle
K 2 rows
cast off

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Household Preparedness

My gosh!  I have been watching the coverage of the vicious storms and tornados hitting the midwestern US states.  There are nineteen active tornado warnings and six on the ground with total devastation in some areas!  Now, I am a very firm believer in being prepared for emergencies.  I ensure we have twelve to eighteen month supply of food on hand, safely stored mainly below ground.  I have seeds to start a garden safely stored, extra medications, emergency lighting and a wide range of emergency equipment.  But looking at the devastation from these storms, I'm just shaking my head.  I know enough not to put all my food storage in one basket.  Home canned and dried foods can withstand tornados, flooding and extended power outages.  Frozen foods will last 4 days providing the freezer remains shut.  The thing is with these tornados, freezers and refrigerators have become airborne so the food is simply gone.  Those who prepared enough to keep emergency supplies below ground may have a chance providing the house didn't collapse on top of them.  Those just out of the path of the tornados would be fine and that path can really be defining with houses on one side of the street unaffected with those on the other side completely destroyed.  Complicating matters is some affected communities have decided to immediately start bull dozing buildings meaning home owners can't get back into their homes to get those precious emergency supplies.

Despite this, I feel every household should have emergency preparedness supplies including enough food to last 6 months or more.  That food should be stored in such a manner as to even if you lose a portion of the stored food (eg. frozen foods) there is still enough stored using other methods to provide for your family.  There should be enough emergency medications, clothing and other supplies securely protected from water damage.  All emergency preparedness supplies should be stored below grade (eg. basement, cellar).  Barring a below grade location, choose a location in the centre of your home.  There is always a chance your emergency supplies will be lost but there is a greater chance your emergency supplies will come in handy.  It is better to have emergency supplies than it is to go without them.

There is no doubt our weather is changing.  Many areas are experiencing more volatile weather including more vicious storms.  This past winter has been beyond abnormal for us with no hard freeze (virtually unheard of for our area of Ontario) that has resulted in more illness including norovirus.  The midwest is already seeing a severe change in weather with storms hitting a good month earlier than what they normally would.  That means we need to stay vigilant and be prepared!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Customer Loyalty

I posted earlier that I was a Bissell kind of gal.  I've used their products for years but that all changed last week when I called Bissell Customer Service regarding the wheel on my new Bissell Opticlean Cyclonic Bagless vacuum cleaner.  The machine is just barely over the 90 warranty offered by the store but still within the 1 year warranty offered by Bissell.  The wheel just fell off when I was vacuuming.  It didn't bump anything, it just fell off.  I put it back on and continued vacuuming but it fell off again.  Upon closer inspection, the two of the plastic tabs that hold the wheel on the wheel hub had broke off and this was with normal usage.  I called Bissell for a replacement wheel but they said I had to go through one of their service outlets.  The one closest to me is a 40 minute drive.  I called them and they said it would be a 4 to 6 week wait for the part.  Let's see, I have all hard wood flooring and severe allergies (aka daily vacuuming) yet I am supposed to wait 4 to 6 weeks?  In addition, I was supposed to drive 40 minutes each way twice?  Does Bissell realize just how much gas is now a days?  I called Bissell back to let them know it would be 4 to 6 weeks before my vacuum would be repaired.  Well, I might as well have been talking to a brick wall.  Here's the thing, if Bissell actually cared about their customers they would have just sent me a replacement wheel.  I would even had paid for a replacement wheel but instead they chose to not apply the finer art of keeping a customer satisfied.  Bissell has lost a loyal customer, plain and simple! 

My husband came up with a temporary repair for the Opticlean then last night brought home a new central vacuum.  It is a Hoover straight-air central vacuum system with attachments.  There are two head attachments but not a power head as this system is designed for hard floor surfaces.  Since we have no carpeting in the house, this central vacuum system is ideal for us and it saved $100 by not needed the power head.  We had central vac in our third house and it was a Hoover.  It was really quite delightful so I'm looking forward to going back to using central vac here.  I won't get rid of the Opticlean unit as that will be good for vacuuming out the vehicles.  I'll report back on the installation of the central vac and how I like it once the unit is installed.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Calling in Professional Pest Control

We have never in all of our almost 35 years of marital bliss had to deal with any type of pest control that would involve hiring a professional agency.  Then we bought the house in Florida.  Even though it was only a couple of years old we finally broke down and hired a professional pest control company to deal with palmeto bugs and fire ants.  We bought this house and started moving in the first of September to later uncover a rodent and ant problem.  We started dealing with it ourselves with sealing all food sources, trapping, baiting and sealing all entry points.  Within the last two weeks we have trapped three mice and let me tell you that can easily be a mess.  My husband made the executive decision to call in the professionals.  This was not an easy decision because quite frankly calling in the professionals costs money but if you want the job done right sometimes that is what you have to do.

What to expect:
Professional pest control services will target from attic to basement or crawlspace.  They will deal with any pest problem you have.  They will charge between $300 (vacation home) and $600 or more (permanent residence) based on square footage for regular pest control (eg. ants, rodents, insects).  If you have a problem with skunks, raccoons, or squirrel there will be an additional charge for trapping.  The service personnel will first assess the problem then treat as necessary.  All trapping including bait traps is very, very discrete.  You and your guests won't even notice any signs of pest control anywhere.  They will place bait traps that insects and rodents can take back to the nest where it will kill them off.  The bait traps are colourless and odourless.  If rodents are a problem they set specialized bait traps where rodents will take the bait back to the nest preventing any trapping (aka killing in the home).   They may spray down drains, into the dead space under cabinets, in electrical outlets and behind appliances but you will never see it.  Everything they do is and I can't stress this enough very discrete.  They will bait and spray as necessary outside of the home as well as notify you of any potential pest problems.  From start to finish our experience has been about 2 hours for the initial visit.  They will check any traps and your property upon request if the pest(s) they treated for is spotted again and at regular intervals as part of their maintenance plan.  The maintenance plan will call for regular inspections, resetting traps and putting out fresh bait.  Expect the maintenance follow-up to last between 40 minutes and an hour each time.

Cost:
The cost will depend on the size of the home and what they are treating for.  In general expect to pay between $300 and $600 for an annual guaranteed treatment.   Included in that cost will be quarterly inspections in addition to any emergency treatment required free of charge.  That is included in the initial cost.  Other costs may be occurred as a result of pest damage but in general that is the responsibility of the home owner not the pest control company.

Guarantee:
A reputable pest control service will give you a solid guarantee.  We pay $300 per year for pest control at our vacation home (mainly insects).  If we see anything moving inside the house that shouldn't be moving we just call them and they treat the house again.  We just paid $600 at our permanent residence which is larger square footage and adds in the problem of mice but the same guarantee stands.  Anything moving, call them and they will take care of it with no additional charges.  That is what you are looking for with this type of service.  Get the initial treatment then use whatever follow-up treatments recommended.

Annual vs. One Time Treatment:
In general, once you have a problem with a pest it will come back even if eliminated initially.  Some pests have homing devices where they will return to where they were born but others are simply location selective.  If you border on rural land, farm land or you are in certain pest heavy zones the annual treatment is the way to go.  If you have a transient problem with raccoons or squirrels getting into your home then a one time treatment should solve your problem

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Laundry or Utility Sinks

This is the second permanent residence we have owned that does not have a laundry sink.  Our vacation home doesn't have one either but I don't have any plans for painting there.  Let me tell you, not having a laundry sink is a major pain when you are painting.  I used my laundry sinks for everything but laundry.  They were more in line of a utility sink.  The mess stayed there without messing up the kitchen or bathroom sinks. 

I can't abide a dirty sink which explains why I was up at 2 AM shining my kitchen sinks.  I've been working on painting the kitchen for the past 8 days.  Without a utility sink I had to resort to using my kitchen sinks.  Talk about a nuisance.  I have scrubbed and polished those sinks daily because painting really takes its toll on sinks.  I was doing the same in the main bathroom when I painted it a couple of weeks ago.  The worst part is with my plans to paint all the rooms in the house this winter, those sinks are going to get a lot of scrubbing!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012