One more look back

The loot...
A KitchenAid Slow Cooker & Blender and a new cell phone.


We returned the Slow Cooker this morning...the lid did not fit the ceramic liner well at all - it wobbled horribly and there was a large open space where the lid did not sit flat.
I got a new slow cooker last year (different brand) with the same problem and it just doesn't cook well (actually it doesn't cook at all - a meal still uncooked after 10 hours is not good).

This year I knew enough to check the fit of the lid right away - after checking, I went onto the KitchenAid website in the forum to check it out. It seems like this is a somewhat common problem and the company line of the forum moderators is

quote..."An airtight seal is not a positive feature - It causes pressure to build. This could cause things like moisture spraying out when the pressure relieves itself when the lid is lifted. Also, if the pot cools before cleaning with the lid on, it can actually cause a vacuum making it hard to get the lid off. The purpose of the lid is to help retain heat and moisture while letting the unit breathe. Extensive testing has shown that even a slight gap (up to ¼”) would not affect the performance or quality of the food cooked in the KitchenAid Slow Cooker"...unquote

Sorry, I'm having trouble swallowing this one ! The whole point of a 'slow cooker' is that it cooks at a low enough temp that it WON'T boil over and with a large air gap, too much liquid evaporates defeating the purpose of keeping the moisture in the pot.

I'd like another one, but only if I can find a better lid/insert combo.


My last fabric/yarn purchases of the year. The Fabricville near my Dad (less than a 10 min walk!) is great and I always check it out when I'm home.



all three fabrics are quite a bit darker than the picture shows

The orange on the top is a knit, I think ponte de roma but I'm not positive - it was in the remnant bin, 1.25 yards for $1

The brown and the other orange are wool samples. Originally $10/m but on a 50% off sale - brown (4 meters), orange (3 meters). The tags were not specific of the exact content - they could be wool blends but I'm not sure how to tell. They're definitely wool - they've been pretreated already & wet wool has it's own smell !

As usual, I have no specific projects in mind, but with this amount of yardage, I could do a short jackets & skirt with the orange and possibly jacket & pants with the brown, we'll see. Knowing me, they are about to start the aging process :-)



There is no Michaels in Montreal, there IS one near the Fabricville in Saint John so, yes, I have to check it out. They had some great sales for Boxing Day...I went to look over the yarn.

I'd like to attempt socks and these yarns were all $7.99 for $4 per ball. A lady in the store told me 3 balls will make 2 pairs of short socks and showed me the ones she was wearing !!! We do have some interesting experiences when buying our crafting supplies, yes ?

I couldn't decide which I liked best so I bought 3 balls each of the 4 yarns in the picture, no point buying 2 balls and having 1/2 ball left over LOL. I don't know if they're good quality or not, they are very soft and hopefully I will have wearable socks at the end of this 'new' journey.

And so, 2009 begins...