One good tip I learned (from trial & error, then much research) is to plant and harvest things at the proper time for your growing zone- even in places like california where people might tell you "oh you can grow anything there all year round"... not true! some plants are warm season, some are cool season, some like to overwinter, some are annual, some are perennial, some are biennial, etc. Research each plant, and also don't assume plants that seem similar will have the same needs, for example peas and beans both come in bush and vining varieties and grow in pods, but peas like cool weather while beans like it hot- except for a few certain beans that actually do prefer it cool... Also, potatoes can tolerate cool weather while sweet potatoes don't. Kale & lettuces grow best in cool weather while chard seems to do fine in hot or cool. You get the idea. If you plant things at the wrong time you'll be wasting your time and the seeds- I tried lettuce when it was too late to be planting it and in the heat of summer it went straight to bolt. I've planted zucchini and tomatoes when it was too cold for them and they grew poorly and didn't produce fruit. Harvest times are just as important as planting times- I planted radishes once and they didn't seem to get big enough by harvesting time so I thought I could just let them keep growing for a while longer- but found out that if you leave them in the ground too long they get tough and too spicy and shrivel up instead of getting bigger! Also it may be tempting to let a zucchini get huge, thinking it will just provide more food when you let a fruit get 2 feet long... No! Harvest them young & tender and about the size they sell them in the grocery store (or smaller), any larger and you get a hard shell, lots of seeds, and very little (and quite tasteless) flesh. Moral of these stories is to research each fruit or veggie you want to grow & follow the "directions", it will mean the difference between success & failure! Also- healthy soil is #1 important thing for plants - no chemical fertilizer! Compost is your best friend. Mulch is your other best friend- use what is available & free- leaves & pine needles are what I use. Good luck!!!

socks12345, no I just got my order the other day and was really excited, and thought I'd share. I hope I didn't violate any rules or anything, I'm new here, and a fairly novice knitter. I just was really amazed at how cheap I got them for. At my local yarn store (22 miles one way) I have to pay upwards of 3 dollars for a set of 2 and 5 dollars for a set of 4, and have yet to find a set of 5 in one package. I just thought that if anyone else lived in a town with little to no yarn supplies they might like it. Sandra, I tried ebay but I didn't find as good a deal as I did at the eknittingneedles.com site. We're a single income family until my kiddo starts school fall 2010, and I just really couldn't see paying 4 bucks a set. I found a few cheap lots, but the pics showed metal needles with worn finish, and some lots stated have a set of 3 dpns, and well if I had one dpn that was lonely of that size.. LOL well I might have concidered it. I'll check out 5 seasons on ebay though. who knows they might have some great deal on something. I just couldn't pass up on 2 bucks a set of needles at the other site. BTW I also found a store online that sells caron natura for 99 cents a skein! it's terrisyarnsandcrafts.com they sell other yarns too at a good price.

Unfortunately you've asked a question I love to answer. And answer and answer and answer:-). I have a huge collection of knitting needles, straights, double pointed and circular in every single size, from super-skinny for lace, all the way to jumbo. I always used Aero for years, a British and Canadian make. But this was before the surge in yarns, and now I find that different needle materials really do make a difference. (I began knitting in the days when it was lace weight, sport weight, worsted weight, aran weight and lopi style. Eyelash, roving, bamboo, etc. wasn't even a wink in a wool company's eye.) I do still really like my Aeros for a great deal of my knitting. But I also have some wood ones I really like-- usually ebony, rosewood and some exotic ones from www.winterroseneedles.com. My only complaint about that site is that the sizes are incredibly limited. But they are beautiful and she ships VERY fast. I'm not so fond of bamboo-- just don't get the fuss about it. But the other woods are very enjoyable to work with. I've gotten a couple of glass needles from www.glasspens.com. They are beautiful, although there were some marks in mine. I don't know if that's just the way handmade glass come out, or if there really are defects. I didn't love them at first, but once I got the hang of them, I do now. They work really well! I also have bone needles from Lacis. I LOVE working with bone. It just works so well. But if you're a vegetarian, that won't go over so well with you. I also have been working with cassein, needles made from milk protein. You can get them from www.countrylanefiberarts.homestead.com. They are a bit flexible and if you have sweaty hands they will produce an unpleasant smell! Also, pets seem to like to chew on these (the milk product?) As for aluminium-- they do clatter a bit. Plastic-- I steer clear from it, but interestingly, the Susan Bates Candy Cane collection works very well for me, where as their other plastic doesn't-- www.coatsandclark.com, go to Products, go to Accessories, go to Knitting, go to Needles, go to Gift Sets. So what does this all mean to you? Here's really what it comes down to: The smoother the material of the needles, the slippier they are to knit with. For smoother yarns, you may want a bit of a rougher needle, such as bamboo. For something such as Lion Brand's Microspun, you need needles with a bit of a "catch", or every other stitch will be sliding off the needle. But if you're using say a more "raw" wool, lopi for instance, the smoother the needle the better. It also has to do with your knitting style-- do you throw or knit continental, how tight your guage is-- the tighter the guage the smoother the needle should be and visa versa, and do you like the needles to feel warm or cool in your hands. Also how comfortable you are with a heavier or lighter needle? And if heaviness bothers you, I wouldn't even try straight needles-- instead, use a circular and just turn the fabric over when you get to the end, just as if they were 2 separate straights and not connected by the cord. Oh yes-- some of the cords on circulars are attrocious. Unfortunately, the more expensive needles tend to have much better cords. If you go on the Joann site-- www.joann.com-- they have reviews of most of their products and you can read what other people's experiences have been. And one last thing-- I have just ordered some Harmony Wood needles from knitpicks-- they just looked too pretty not to try. Gosh-- hope this hasn't made it worse with all this information!:-)

Love to garage sale. But then I need to make room for my new found things so donate to goodwill or ARC. Just sent my son to Spain on a class trip with all "new" easy care clothes. (usually wears cotton knit/jean shorts and they don't hand wash and drip dry well)All shirts and pants/shorts were thrift store finds, most higher quality($$$) than what I would normally buy.(Don't tell him but I buy most of his clothes from thrift store and no one would ever know)I told this to my nephew, who was/is a clothes-aholic but his mom won't buy expensive stuff for him any more (22yr old student)He confided to me he is buying clothes there now. New found hobby:toothbrush rugs/rag rugs. Made with old sheets, purchsed from thrift store. I found really good video instructions on utube/toothbrush rag rugs/done by laura-jane. Here is a link that might be useful: rug instructions