Articles written by Carrie Schutrick - Page 2

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About me - Carrie Schutrick

I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a man, two cats, and no children as yet. I'm on Helium because my current job, while it pays the bills, has a salary rather less than my yearly tuition was for the university at which I got my degree in writing, and

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Pets & Animals > Dog Psychology How to keep your dog out of the cat's litter box: 2 of 10
If you own cats and dogs at the same time, you've probably encountered a little problem: your dog wants to eat the solid waste the cat leaves in the litter box. Gross though it seems to us, there's a logical reason; cats don't digest all the fat in their food, so their feces smells meaty enough to be a temptation for dogs. I... More..
Hobbies & Games > Yarn & Needle Crafts Easy felting for beginners: 1 of 5
If you've ever pulled an adult's sweater out of the washer to discover that it would now only fit a 10-year-old, then you've got the first steps of felting down already. Next thing is to learn to do it on purpose, when felting makes the project work better. For your first few felting projects, stick to things for which finis... More..
Hobbies & Games > Yarn & Needle Crafts How to get started in filet crochet: 1 of 5
Filet crochet is a beautiful form of lace, originally developed to mimic the look of expensive needle lace; the great thing about it is, you only need to know two crochet stitches to work it. If you can do a chain stitch and a double crochet (a treble, in English usage), you can do filet crochet. Like cross stitch, filet cro... More..
Hobbies & Games > Yarn & Needle Crafts Sewing basics: How to pin a seam: 1 of 5
Unless you're quite experienced and sewing fabric that clings to itself firmly, you're going to want to secure your fabric before sewing it so that your seams come out where you want them. You can do this by basting-long stitches that are designed to be removed later-but pinning is probably faster and easier. Pin type doesn'... More..
Food & Drink > Cooking (Other) Brown-bag makeovers: 7 of 30
There are all sorts of reasons to pack your own lunch for work, but anyone would admit that a constant routine of a sandwich and a bag of potato chips gets boring pretty fast. What's needed is some ways to spice up the lunch routine without adding too much time and effort. At first, it might be as easy as changing what kind ... More..
Hobbies & Games > Yarn & Needle Crafts How to cast on knitting stitches: 1 of 4
When you learned to knit, you were probably taught a cast-on method; since you can't even get started without a foundation row, casting on is the first step to knitting. But there are any number of cast ons, some more suited than others for any given application, and your knitting can only get better if you learn a number of... More..
Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games Role-playing game reviews: Dungeons & Dragons, 4th edition: 1 of 4
The Fourth Edition of the granddaddy of tabletop roleplaying games is, essentially, D&D as an MMORPG. Whether that's a good thing is debateable, but the parallels are too obvious to deny. From the emphasis on combat to the limiting of character options, everything's gotten more computerized. Heck, there's even a level ca... More..
Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games Dungeons and Dragons classes: The Cleric: 1 of 4
So there you are, sitting around the table. Lee's already rolling stats for a fighter, you know Chris is going to want to play a rogue (Chris loves those skill points), and Sam's been mentioning a wistful desire to be a wizard lately. Which means you get stuck with the cleric. But why should you think that way? The truth is,... More..
Hobbies & Games > Yarn & Needle Crafts Sewing tips for beginners: 1 of 4
Learning to sew isn't as hard as a lot of people think, but there are a few things you should keep an eye out for when you're just getting started. For one thing, you need to learn to sew by hand as well as on a machine. While most structural sewing can be done by machine, there are often little bits of finishing that need t... More..
Hobbies & Games > Yarn & Needle Crafts The best ways to organize fabric in a sewing room: 1 of 4
If sewing is one of your hobbies, chances are you've got a lot more fabric than you have current projects; like any crafters, we who sew have a tendency to accumulate the tools of our trade. Of course, this raises the question of how exactly to keep all that fabric accessible and in good condition. There's no one perfect sol... More..