Welcome to The New Homemaker!

Diary of a New Homemaker
for Saturday, March 20, 2010

Hey! It's finished object week!

Boy, I've been finishing stuff like mad lately! Check it out:

A pair of fingerless mitts, knit in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock almost-solid in Charcoal. These ended up being Josie's; they look overly goth on me and perfect on her.

And then, a project I've been working on since late 2008:

A GIANT afghan/blanket crocheted in Lion Brand Homespun. Each one of those stripes, dear friends, is an ENTIRE HUGE SKEIN of Homespun--11 in all. If you're a Homespun fan, the colors are Shaker and Fiesta. Turned out really pretty, and very, very warm. Also large. I'm SO GLAD to be done with it, not because it wasn't fun to work on--lovely, mindless crochet--but because I've been working on it for 18 months and I was beginning to despair of finishing it.

Now I'm planning out an odd-ball shawl in browns, grays, purples, rusts and oranges. Possibly a blue and a red double-stranded with gray. Think Noro. I started it as a feather-and-fan, but I didn't like the way it was looking, so I unraveled it. I started again with a dishcloth-style shawl, but didn't like that either. I'm unraveling it again and will be planning out something built like the feather-and-fan shawl, but not in feather-and-fan. Stay tuned.

Newest Article

Composting and Critters

ear EarthTalk: My husband and I want to start a garden this year. I really want to make compost from leftover food scraps and yard materials. He says it will attract unwanted animals, and refuses to agree to it. Is he right? If so, how do we deal with that issue in a green-friendly, non-lethal way?
--Carmen Veurink, Grand Rapids, MI

It's true that outdoor compost piles and bins can be a draw for wildlife—be it bears, rats, raccoons, skunks, opossums or some other creatures of the night—but there are ways to minimize the attraction. For one, make sure everyone in your household knows to keep meat, bones, fish, fat and dairy out of the compost. Not only will these items "overheat" the compost pile, they'll also stink it up and attract animals.

A Seasonal Taste:

Sunburst Muffins

inally, the days are growing longer. Soon our longing for warmer weather and sunny days will be satisfied. But for a bright fix now, stir up a batch of sun-kissed muffins. Sprinkled with flecks of orange and lemon peel, these muffins burst with flavor and splendor. Let the kids help with grating, mixing, and filling the muffin cups.

A Taste of the Family Section:

How to Prepare for a Natural Disaster

here's no need to just hope for the best when you can plan for the worst. Don't wait until disaster strikes to figure out how to respond. Here's how to prep today so your family will be ready for tomorrow.

Come Up with Your Emergency Plan
"The first thing to do is to plan how you'll meet and contact each other in case of an emergency," says Keith Robertory, a preparedness expert with the American Red Cross. Start by setting a meeting place right outside your home; that way, in a fire, for example, you won't have one family member rush to the backyard and one to the front and then wonder if the other's still trapped inside.