Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, alll you Americans out there. As for the rest of you people in the world that don't get the day off, envy us for having a holiday on a Thursday: some people are getting a FIVE day weekend. Yes, I know. Crazy. So, this year, contrry to popular tradition, we didn't have a turkey, so my turkeys (they're made out of walnuts and stuff) can't stare at anyone accusingly from various vantage points around the house. Due to my inability to resist bending, shaping, and otherwise using pipecleaners, there were a grand total of two pipecleaners to be found in the entire house. And only one was orange (the other was black). Sad, I know. I'm attending PBA (Pipcleaner Benders Anonymous, but it's not really helping). For those of you who want to know how I make the turkeys, read on...
Emeraldmist's Awesome vegetarian Turkeys, Thus named cause after the holiday you can invite over all of you vegetaian/vegan friends for turkey without them eating animal meat (in nuts, the fruit is called nut meat)

So...for one turkey, you will need to get
ONE walnut
ONE hazelnut
About 1/3 of a pipecleaner, black, red, and orange suggested
2 googly eyes (you know, those eye-things you can get at craft stores)
a bunch of faux feathers, long silk flower (leaves), or silk flower rose petals
A glue gun with about 1/2 of one of those glue gun glue things that come in sticks
scissors or wirecitters (wire cutters recommended)
Cut about 1/6 of the end of the pipecleaner off. Cut it in half and bend both pieces at 90 degree angles. If you are making a peacock, as some people did, you only need one, since this is the beak and gobbler. bend the long piece of pipecleaner in half and fold down the edges so it doesn't poke (at an inopputune moment, such as when you are gluing, causing you to burn yourself, and run to the sink to cool it and ruin the green beans or whatever) position the wlanut so that the lines marking the halves are at the sides and the point of the walnut is at the same end of the point of the pipecleaner. PLace a line of hot glue on the pipe cleaner and glue to the walnut so that some pipecleaner is sticking out, forming feetses. On the hazelnut point, glue the beak and underneath it, the gobbler, so that the beak and gobbler form a 'T.' Put a drop of glue where one eye will go, and push the googly eye in. Repeat with the other eye. On the hazelnut bottom, put a glump of glu and stick to the top of the turkey. If you happen to not put it done at a perfectly straight angle, it's all right. That gives your bird character. Root through the feathers/petals/leaves/flowers (all fake) that you have and pick out some good ones for the feathers. One person made peacocks, using blue and green feathers and several white silk flowers that were already connected on a peice of plastic they had 'grown' on. Glue the stuff that will be the bird's feathers to the point. Set these around the table so that they eye the stuffing or are ready to jump on the pie at any moment. Afterwards, when the table is cleared, place them at vantage points around the house where they are easily seen so that they stare accusingly at you for eating turkey, or with little signs protesting the consumption of turkey. :-)
See a movie today! Happy feet, Flushed away are both good family movies to see today, and they have an easy plotline to follow and a lot of comedy so that your food-fuddled brain can process this information. Oh. And this Christmas? One of THE best books ever is turning into a movie (I can already tell they've made a few mistkes with the story and physical appearences of the people, but that's all right. They tried.) Eragon becomes a movie in theaters this December 15. Don't show up, or I won't be able to get a good seat, :). Happy Thanksgiving/Stuff yorselves until you have to be rolled away from the table day, everyone!

So you want to have a skein of yarn...Part 5

How to train, get to know, and have a good relationship with AND be able to predict what your yarn will act like and do for the rest of it's life in just a few hours!

Four words: Swatch, wash, and dry. Cast on [x] stitches, knit/crochet/weave/slash whatever it is you do until your work is [y] inches long. Write down the [x] inch and [y] inch measurements. Keep this. Don't let anyone throw it away. Name it. Walk it. Feed it. Give it to your yarn as a pet, I don't care. Just keep the scrap of paper. Wash it (the swatch, not the paper. Duh!), even if the tag says not to: it's a swatch! Oh, and when I say wash, I mean wash. None of that wishy-washy, namby-pamby hand wash stuff, no, I mean full-on modern, spin cycle, add the soap and you are DONE wash in a washing machine. Then dry it. Dry it on light, or low, normal cycle if it's by itself, higher if it's with friends. Take it out and measure it. Wow that is{'nt} different!