The reason I have 7 plants is because i was hoping for 3 or 4 and heard the germination on them might be lower, so tried to start 7 and all sprouted. It was my first attempt at starting seeds of any kind. I could not have the buckets of peppers without Ricks seed donation and this forum. i am very excited and i wont even be eating them. I almost think the flea beetles made them mad cause after that attack (which killed me as the leaves were soo pretty once regrown after the hail storm) is when they took off. BTW i sprinkled some mesquite ash from the BBQ pit across the top of the containers dirt and the flea beetles were gone the next day. I had a container of tam jalapenos (moved when the Nagas first thought about flowering to prevent mixing them) next to these and they were unaffected by the flea beetles but they had the ash before the flea beetles hit. Figured trying the ash could not hurt the Nagas and it worked, or seemed to, because I did nothing else and they were chewing the plants up. Now all that is left to do is tap the fingers on the table waiting for them to turn red. I do hope to get some Bhut Jolokia seeds soon and use them in a pain relieving salve for my hsbands cronic back pain. Might try some of the 7 pots that I have starting to bloom now as they are very hot as well i am told. Thanks to all, Kathy

Maybe you have found a solution for the gusset decrease "ladders" by now, but I must tell you I have the same problem. They only appear on the left side of each of my socks - the side you show so clearly in your photo. Like you, I tried tightening up on the stitch before the SSK, and on the SSK itself, with only a little improvement. Since it's only on the SSK side of the sock, not the K2tog side, I feel the problem has to do with the formation of that particular decrease...so I intend to try other decreases that lean in the same direction as the SSK. Maybe someone can suggest some I might try? So far I have found two: #1 Slip 1 as to K, K1, then pass the slipped st over the knitted one #2 Slip 2 sts (1 at a time) as if to K, move both to the left needle and P them tog thru the back loop I can't even picture how #2 would be done!, but it's my intention to try out both on a swatch. Let you know. . . . As for the regular kind of ladders that can form at the needle changes, I have found that a tug on the first stitch of the new needle is good, but adding a tug on the SECOND stitch of the new needle made a difference for me. I actually end up with a slight ridge where I used to get a ladder! Some people give the last stitch on the old needle a tug too. Like you I used to tug SO HARD on the yarn I sometimes broke the strand if it didn't have any nylon reinforcement in it. Eventually you'll figure out where and how much is just enough. Wow, I seemed to have too much to say tonight. Hope some of it is of help. Linda74

A2gemini, thank you for the kind words! I love your kitchen and had spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make the Rixi work as it looks so gorgeous in your kitchen (and Ellendi's!). If you click in the picture, that should take you to a few more pictures at different angles, etc. I also showed some close ups of the edge we switched to which was more of a rounded edge with a flat bottom. We originally had a mitered edge to hide the seam somewhat better than a regular laminated edge as we have a plywood base. What I found out was that some granites chipped more than others, especially when they become paper thin at the 45 (??) angle necessary to fit the two pieces together. JP was one of those granites, so there were more epoxy areas than I had envisioned. It also bothered my elbows when sitting at the island. We also had them match the rounded aspect at the sink edge and the backsplash edge, which IMO, makes it a bit different than the 'norm.' As far as the island, for as many con's were against it, we had just as many pro's for it. I always said I wanted an island in my next house. Well, we've been here 15 years and it doesn't appear that we are moving anytime soon so we made it work. I am so glad we did, it really gets used a lot. We had to forgo the kitchen table, however we still have the dining room table if we need more or formal seating. Resale may be affected down the road, however as there isn't any sink or cook top on it, it could be very easily removed and put back to being able to fit a table. Another issue was with the existing bench seat (non removable as the wall behind the bench does not go all the way down to the slab...association rules against changing any exterior) but it's fine. I am still toying with painting the dark trim piece that is there so it fades a bit more into the background. I got a pretty basket that I set on the bench in the center to hold the daily mail and newspaper....so it doesn't function as a bench but more of an overflow space. Thanks again for your reply! I am happy to say I have not shed a single tear over this kitchen since!!

When I came to the crooked corners, I just kind of guessed at it. The rest of it worked well. I decided it was fine and went on down the road. I couldn't change it, so I might as well be happy with it. And I am. For my first quilt, I'm really pleased. Of course, there are several mistakes. On some, I was too far down the road to fix them. On others, I was tired of Mr. Seamripper. I learned a lot about cutting accurately (I also bought an Accuquilt.) and how much a small mistake gets bigger. Same with 1/4" seams. I've tried two different feet, the old thing you screw into the bed of machine (I'm into vintage machines) and painters tape. I bought a laser at Harbor Freight last week, but haven't figured out how to put it on the machine. So, all and all, my sewing and cutting skills are improving. Still lots of room left, though. bkay