Puzzle House

The New York Times has an article online titled Mystery on Fifth Avenue, along with a slide show, Cracking the Code, about a home in Manhattan that's one big puzzle. The architect, Eric Clough, designed the space with hidden doors, puzzles, keys, and poems, for the home owners to discover over time.

This story makes me think of the Resolute puzzle desk in National Treasure 2 with Nicholas Cage.

Modified Dobby Hat

I made this modified Dobby Hat for my older sister, Philippa for Christmas. I added this lace pattern that I saw on a sweater. I debated adding tassels to the "ears". The next one I do like this will get tassels.

Beautiful Big Hail

Yesterday we got about ten minutes of hail ranging from pea size to the occasional baseball size hail. They have this great flower shape like a dahlia or chrysanthemum. Fortunately there wasn't much damage to the garden or trees I'm trying to grow. I'm preserving a couple in the freezer with the notion that I could mold them with alginate, (a dental casting material), and cast a solid piece that won't melt. The problem is getting the mold to set up before they melt. I would love to cast them in glass at some point.

Gym Remodel

I decided to use about a third of the basement laundry room as a gym. I tore up the carpet that was glued to the floor for about 50 years. I stripped down the floor and ground off the residue and applied concrete floor paint to seal it. I painted the exterior concrete walls with a concrete sealer/moister blocker, then painted the walls and ceiling white (over the old yellow paint).

I wanted to use Flor carpet tiles for many reasons. I like the look and feel of the carpet and the design flexibility. They have the lowest VOC (new carpet smell, off gassing) in the industry, and contain recycled materials and can be recycled themselves. Installation was super easy and the cost, if you figure in installation savings, is comparable to other carpets. And you can buy 1 tile or 100 tiles.

And did I mention the tv with built in dvd player, hanging off the wall so I can watch movies while I work out. And I installed some Swedish shelves from Williams-Sonoma, for some extra storage.

American Made, episode 1

Due to my industrial design background and design philosophy, which includes an aversion to cheap, disposable products produced in foreign countries, using what amounts to slave labor (rant). I decided to post about these American Made hoses by Dramm, that I just received from Gardener's Supply Company. They come in these great colors with nickel plated hardware. I think they'll work great.

Fetching Hand Warmers

I got a little carried away with this pattern from Knitty. These just seemed to knit up fast and look harder than they were. I knit a pair for my Mom, Aunt, and three sisters. The trim color on some was an embelishment I added.

Rachel's Hat

I knit this hat with a kind of diamond pattern on size 2 needles for my sister, Rachel for Christmas. I think it's a bit large for her though. I need to measure the size of all my sisters heads. I find it's hard to measure someone's head without giving away my plans to knit them a hat. Drawing an outline of their hands would be good for gloves and mittens also. Ring sizes would be good too.