Sometimes Muli-Tasking Only Slows You Down

Yikes, I accidentally deleted the last post in an effort to check the consistency of my formatting. They seem to be back now.

The last pictures were something of a decoy while I worked on producing something for y'all to read. One of my sons, Jonathan, has taken the Japanese nesting dolls to school, sold 5, and gotten requests for 7 more. Although I was hoping to mainly sell patterns on http://www.etsy.com/, I'm happy to make amigurumi as a family project. I manage to get a row in here and there on a ruana or the silk corset, but it's nothing like my usual knitting production, which seems to be working on 7 projects at once.

The cat is French. His name is Claude. He has eyelids to make him look a little edgy, and he's wonderfully poseable. I keep him on a table at the top of the stairs, and we're trying to see how long we can go without having him in the same pose twice. He looks cute in sleeping positions and lying on his back with paws behind head.

The Easter Chick is nestled in what I hope looks like a broken eggshell. Jonathan also had the idea of putting them in an egg carton, and they fit. My kids make a great test market/focus group. Teenagers don't have much trouble giving an opinion, as a rule. Kevin has come up with the idea of a goth bunny, which is in progress. Eric has come up with many details that make an animal more appealing. They can also be commandeered to be photographers, impromptu photo stylists, and donators of props. It's my hope that they can also help with some of the computer aspects of these projects, but so far, they've been holding back a bit. It could be related to the slightly mad stare I've developed.

I think one of the things I like about amigurumi, and most of the Japanese arts and crafts, is the notion of simplicity--with amigurumi, a simple shape with just one or two features that give it personality.

And, as promised, Susan’s Scarf Pattern

The scarf was made from 2 skeins of Lion Brand's Autumn Trails, a bulky, loosely twisted yarn, on size 15 needles. I used up all the yarn to make a scarf I'm estimating at 6 X 60". I recollect now that this is a spin-off of a pattern called Jacqueline, found in Mary Thomas’s Book of Knitting Patterns, which can still be found in some libraries or as a used book on Amazon.com. It's fun to do and fast.

Cast on 17 sts.

Set up rows: Knit 2 rows.

Row 1: *K 1, k 1 wrapping yarn 2 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 3 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 4 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 3 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 2 X around needle, k 3; repeat from * to end, finishing with k 1.

Row 2: K across, working 1 k st for each k st below, releasing the extra wraps.

Rows 3-4: Knit.

Row 5: K5, k 1 wrapping yarn 2 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 3 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 4 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 3 X around needle, k 1 wrapping yarn 2 X around needle, k 5.

Row 6: K across, working 1 k st for each k st below, releasing the extra wraps.

Rows 7-8 Knit. Repeat rows 1-8 desired number of times—I did as many repetitions as I could before running out of yarn.

Medical Question of the Week--Or Month -- Since there isn't a question I've been asked, I may use some from my practice or my husband, who has many. Please let me know what you wish you could ask your doctor without making a special visit.

Where to find more medical information—There are several good books and Internet sites. One reputable source is from the American Academy of Family Physicians, called familydoctor.org.