More Maxims

The more storage you have,

the more junk you will end up keeping.

The heavier the person,

the more lightweight the fabric should be.

The busier the yarn,

the simpler the stitch should be.

The more crap you put up with,

the more crap you are going to get.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

A Formula for the Long Tail Cast On's Tail

The Long Tail Cast On was the first way I learned how to cast on in knitting, and it is a great method for a lot of applications.

But it had one major problem to me:

estimating how *long* a tail to begin with.

Oh, I'd heard of wrapping the yarn around the needle and other ways to try to figure it out, but when I needed to cast on 240 stitches the other day for a cowl, I assumed I could just use my knitted cast on instead.  It doesn't begin with a long tail, so no worries about it being too short.

But the knitted cast on didn't give me that nice edge that the long tail cast on does, so I decided it was time to search the internet for an answer.

Lo and behold, I found it on this blog:  Taking Time to Smell the Roses, at Jackie-es.com.  Her entry, The Mathematics of Long Tail Cast On, was exactly what I needed.

So, if you ever need to know, and Mr. Google hasn't directed you to Jackie's post, here is the formula in a nutshell:

[ (Number of stitches) X (mm needle size) / 8 ] + some extra for weaving in later.

This gives you the number of inches of yarn you need for your tail.

I do suggest you pop over to the original blog post and enjoy the entire entry:

The Mathematics of Long Tail Cast On

Thank heavens, once again, for the power of the internet and sharing, generous people like Jackie.  ♥

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Favorite Cartoon

XOXO

Favorite Product -- Tick Twister

Now that it's October and a bit cooler, we've been working in the yard getting stuff done that we put off over the long, hot summer.

And sure enough, Mr. Man was working hard out there, kneeling in the dirt, and later that evening found a baby tick on his knee.   <aarrgghh!!>

Personally, I never got a tick bite until we moved to Oklahoma.  And I got it in my very own back yard!  (It's not like I was out hiking somewhere remote and hadn't taken precautions!)

<eewwww!!!>   I cannot tell you how much I hate parasites!!!

We knew enough to ensure that you remove all of the tick, especially the embedded head.  And over the years and subsequent bites, we tried all the various methods that you hear about.

None of them worked well until we purchased this little gadget:

the Tick Twister.  It makes it so simple and easy!

We found it at our vet, but it's on Amazon and lots of other places.

Here's a link to it on Amazon:  http://tinyurl.com/z9s28yp 

It's only $5.49.  Nice and cheap.

If you ever get ticks, you will want this.

If you don't ever get ticks, you are most blessed.

So, why does all this talk of ticks make me itch all over??  LOL!

Okay.  Just passing it along.  It's what I do.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

Quote o' the Day

"It takes one eye closed to make a friend,

and

two eyes closed to keep them."

♥♥♥

♥