Bar Harbor Shell Bag, FFO (finally finished object)

Pattern: Knitting Dream's Bar Harbor Shell Bag
Yarn: Lamb's Pride worsted, 2 sk khaki, 1 sk pine shadows, 1 sk onyx.
Light felted to preserved stitch definition
Mods: I cast on 7 stitches for the strap and did 3 st attached i-cord on both sides to make a wider strap.

The lining was challenge. I used two layer Timtex on the bottom and one layer of thickest sew in interfacing which was not as stiff as I was hoping. I thought adding the lining would stiffen it more, but it still is a little flimsy. My bag came out tall instead of inverted bell shape, stands alone, and all in all I'm quite happy with it. I may make one of those removable pocket things for the inside.

On another front, it finally happened. I knit a hat that actually fits me. Hah. Miracles do happen. I give you heart hat, top down beanie, in Peacock Classic Merino.

Wednesday Sunset

This portion of tonight's sunset was so fleeting. A real wow moment.

The lining for Bar Harbor Shell Bag is proving challenging, as is the closure. I found a lovely button to use,but the loop I used was too thick. Sigh, I feel more i-cord knitting coming on.

Oatmeal Nut Scones

I adapted the scone recipe from Joy of Cooking to use the stuff my friends Margaret and Betty had in their kitchen. I love scones, I like them sweet and buttery and I like them to have oatmeal and whole grain flour. I need that fiber to counteract the sugar, don't you know;)

scones
Originally uploaded by acornbud

1 cup coarsely ground oatmeal
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
2 eggs sl. beaten
1/3 c milk
1/4 c butter
1/4 c chopped almonds

Mix the eggs and milk together. Add the ground oatmeal and allow to set while preparing the dry ingredients.
Mix the flower, sugar and baking powder together. Cut in the butter until the size of small peas. (a pastry cutter, two knives or a food processor all work well!)
Mix everything together gently until just well blended. (other nuts work just as well). Add a teaspoon of vanilla if you like. If the dough is too wet make drop scones, about 6. If it is drier, shape into a 6 inch round and cut into wedges. Sprinkle sugar crystals or brush with egg wash if you like.
Bake 400 deg, 12-15 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. A lot depends on your oven.

To make glaze, start with 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Add lemon juice or Grand Marnier or maple syrup, and mix until it is smooth and flows slowly from a spoon. Apply to scone as soon as it comes out of the oven.


I think the flour can be replaced by ground nuts. I may try it.

Madrona, Part 2, the Stash Additions: A Mosaic says a thousand words, or All that glitters is not Koigu

The Market place at Madrona had a lot of great vendors. I walked through once or twice every day and found new things.


1. koiguheaven, 2. Fair Isling on Blue Moon, 3. assortment, 4. Knitting Languages, 5. Black Water Abbey Marilyn, 6. Red, 7. FleeceArtist Green, 8. STR LW

My plan was to enhance the reds in my stash. The reds include Fleece Artist Marina (oh so soft!), STR LW in black and red, and Black Water Abbey worsted. The Marilyn pattern was knit up in this red it was love at first sight.


It was tempting to fill my bags at the Koigu Wall, but I managed to hold myself back, remembering I had some already in stash at home, so I bought the red, for project Spectrum, and some sensible black.

The regrets...the cashmere/silk scarf kit, the Fair Isle Bag Kit, the Kitty Kat shawl pin, Shibui, the Rowan books...it goes on. Sigh. I'll just have to save up for another time.
Question. If I paid my Visa bill twice and now I have a credit balance, is it money I already spent? Hmmmm...guilt free Amazon shopping! Creative budgeting?

Madrona, Part 1, The Classes

My first Madrona Fiber Retreat was a lot of fun. I started off with a visit with my sister who lives in Tacoma. I fed her squirrels (her hubby says they are rodents) but being from a place with no squirrels makes us both go ga ga over them. She had a bowl of claybabies which intrigued me as well. She dug them up herself. The socks became my first FO of the trip and were gifted to her for her BD. Yarn-Koigu, size 1 shortie clovers, pattern open cable rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. Her petite snowbells bloomed while I was there. Lucky me!

The Retreat was held in the Hotel Murano which is undergoing renovations. We shared the space with hard hats. My room was very new and the bed was most confortable. I loved the glass canoes hanging in the lobby.

I took 4 classes. Kakishibu, or persimmon dyeing taught by Chris Conrad was most interesting. What really interested me was the fact that mordants are not needed. Even more interesting I learned that the dye is made from tiny green persimmons which are pressed for the juice. The juice is then fermented for 3-5 years! Who made this process up?
I'm showing some of the class projects made my some of the very talented ladies there as mine were not as dramatic, heh.

I also took Fun Funky Beads taught by Darla Fanton. The beads are felted on to a styrofoam ball. All that stabbing with the needles was quite therapeutic.

The two other classes I took were Beginning I-cord taught by Margaret Radcliffe where I learned some handy i-cord techniques such a a bag handle and starting a top down beanie with i-cord with no run away DPs, and Beyond Finishing taught by Sue Ewen, in which I learned to knit curly cues and such.

Another FO was Koolhaas hat, in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed. It's a bit large even for my big headed son, but a very fun and addicting knit indeed. I used size 8 unknown circulars. 7s would have been better.


I really enjoyed sitting in the lobby watching some very incredible knits walk by and talking with all the talented and friendly knitters, especially Norma. I'm so thrilled to have met some Feral Knitters, Janine who had an impressive and colorful pile of yarn for her Fair Isle color class and Weebug as she got out and I got in the slowest elevators in the world;)

My sister picked me up for dinner every night so I missed the evening group sessions and my opportunity to meet knitting celebrities, sigh. If I have a chance to go again, I will plan for them.

I won a door prize though, which is great since I lost 40 of my yarn stash dollars at the Emerald Queen Casino.

Bagus interuptus

The Bar Harbor Shell Bag will just have to wait until I come back from Madrona. At least it dried completely in rainy cool Nuuanu. As it was drying I thought it would make a lovely bucket to have besides my knitting chair. Anything to avoid making lining, heh.

I'm looking forward to getting away from the hell hole work for awhile and dye with persimmons.

Of Watercress, Hat and Lilikoi

The cool weather has been very good for the watercress. Most of the watercress on Oahu is grown on a farm in Aiea, Sumida Farm. My mom used to make namool which I never cared for growing up,or watercress soup with abalone, but now makes salad using the wilted lettuce salad dressing.


2 bunches watercress
3 strips of bacon, chopped and fried crispy
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon brown sugar.

After frying the bacon, remove bits and set aside. Add the rest of the ingredients to the oil and heat to boiling. Pour over the chopped watercress and toss with the bacon. For the "fat free" variation, use the precooked bacon bits and therefore no grease. It is fine with the veggie "bacon" bits, too.


A little small project, Utopia Hat from http://smariek.blogspot.com is a free pattern. She shares them on her Yahoo group.
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash
Needles: size 8

I love the way the cables come together at the top. The cables are fun and the project is very quick to make.



Megan herself, shows us how a Lilikoi Knits and wears the Bar Harbor Shell Bag turban style. She allowed a photo modeling it if I promised to stop weaving in ends. The group vote was that I don't have to weave them in if I'm going to felt the thing! Hmmm. Food for thought, but scary to me...all those what ifs.

Tomato Boot Socks, FO

Project: Boot Socks
Pattern: from 220 Projects for Cascade 220, designed by Mary Lou Egan
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824, color 26
Mods: accidental, forgot the knit row in the rib knit pattern
Size: Made the smallest
Needles: my short size 3, wood DPs

This was a fast quick reprieve from sewing in ends on my Bar Harbor Bag. The Mission Falls was okay to knit with, but a bit splitty. These socks are very nice an cozy for these cool Hawaii mornings and count as a Project Spectrum project (except of course, it doesn't start until Febrary)! I have yet to wash them.

Life seems busy now. My recollection is that I used to get more done in a day. Could it be that sitting on my okole at home in front of the computer reading my bloglines, surfing Ravelry and virtual shopping, or watching my Net flicks are sucking up the time? Or am I just slowing down, period! It's scary thinking I feel "old" now and I may have another 40 more years to go! Yikes!

I ran into the Roosevelt High School Class of 1969 Alumni planning committee at Hiroshi's last night. They all look grown up now, heh. They are planning their next Las Vegas trip. I have yet to go to one reunion. Hmm, maybe it's time. I'll put that on the "What to do after I retire" list.

Other then, 5 months 16 days 15 hours and 12 minutes to retirement, what's going on?

I was happy to read here that pollution is not the cause of a brilliant sunset. Lately, the dramatic sunsets have been frequent on those days it is not pouring rain. How to photograph them with a point and shoot digital is another story.

Blogless Michelle has enabled me to share this bit of yarn porn in all it's Pakucho, organic goodness. She knit the Tetris Blanket modifying the edge by knitting on a garter edge. It is soft and comfy, and fit for the future new human.
I was a little daunted by the several balls she had hanging off her work, although she assures me, they are no problem. I have been browsing other patterns and even some crochet!







I have 3 WIPs. One is lace and it is much neglected. I suspect it will visit the frog pond soon. The other is a shrug of some wooly stuff from the 78% hippie Kim . I won it guessing the birth time of the unblogging and therefore technically blogless Termite Queen's 3rd child, but I'm not in love with this project so it's fate is unknown. The trials and tribulations of a serial knitter. Now the Bar Harbor Shell Bag is actually moving along.

I decided to go with the Lamb's Pride in two shades of green as somehow sacrificing 10 skeins of Kureyon just seemed wrong. Secretly, though, I lust for the multicolors. I'm not sure I got the instructions of the point correct, but hey! it will be felted and hide everything! And of course all those ends for the color changes are disheartening. But hey!, felting will fix it all. If the Secret is real, then it will happen! The colors did not come out well in the photo.

The Aloha Knitters have had several visitors. Kris ex pat local girl from Germany, and RandomKnits from Australia. Opal has the scoop, profusely illustrated, on her blog. Thanks Opal:) It was fun seeing their projects and sharing stories.

Peacock Must Have Cardigan, FO

Pattern: Paton's Must Have Cardigan, from Street Smart
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino wool in Peacock, 7 balls
Size: Made the largest size and added 4 stitches on each side of back and on armhole side of fronts as the ladies on Ravelry all said this pattern runs small. I followed the length directions for the small for this cropped cardigan as I'm short, but think perhaps another inch might have been better to cover the sins. I like the length of the sleeves.
Needles: Knit Picks options
I'm still looking for the right buttons. The ones I have on are too small.

It's been a busy season with two sisters visiting with their families. I admit I missed the fireworks New Year's Eve as I fell asleep, but my son managed to catch a few aerials. I received a huge Totoro Tissue cover for Christmas as well as a Cat bus and a pile of acorns:)

The "girls" had dinner at the Prince Court Buffet New Year's Day while the "boys" hunkered down for all day football. The food was lovely and the carved veggies were so cool.

Next up? The Bar Harbor Shell Bag

Here's to 2008! Happy Knitting, creating and crafting everyone!

Totoro's Awed by Giant Acorn

Totoros, on the Eve of Christmas were awed by the large acorn brought as a gift by giant Korknisser.

Tree Pattern: Fuzzy Mittens Wee Tree Pattern with Through the Loops Fun Fur Variation

Merry Christmas!


Not sure what kind of flower this is, but it sure jumped out at me in all it's orangeness.

Must Have Haiku

Knitting Must Have sleeves,
The mind wanders to Clapotis
and lusts for Noro.

Sleeves just seem to go slowly. But of course there are the holidays, too what with all the cookie baking, shopping and parties. I took off a week from work but it's just not enough time!

Must Have enabler Kim praised me as "prolific knitter" but I don't hold a candle to Opal who I think has knit enough garments for a small country since I've met her.

I still want to knit Kirsten's Thorpe and some of Barbara's cute Christmas trees but will there be time?

It doesn't help that I'm easily distracted by stuff like Bumpy Doink's Japanese meme link. I have to work on the music meme she tagged me on, too!

I managed to crank out some more stitch markers, maneki neko (shown in black but also in white and gold) and apples. I recycled some turquoise beads and added some silver leaves. I'm also trying to use up some of my pearl and Swarovski crystal stash and go big with the earrings, as the younger girls seem all be in to huge dangly things.



And then of course there's the angst of work. I found out one of the ladies I walk with also put in for retirement. It was suggested by the walking group that when I feel a whine coming out I just call her up and quack. Maybe I'll try it!

Time to get out that Acorn Tree

The dried starfruit with li hing powder was a hit a work. I still think these are a bit strange tasting, but as the neighbors tree is all ripe at once I decided to make a really big batch. I found slicing them thicker works better as the first batch came out like potato chips. These take a little over 24 hours. I coated them with lemon juice and a little honey before drying. Tomorrow, the powder!

Having succumbed to Ravelry, I found a small group of Miyazaki fans and one knit a very cute Totoro. My version came out quite plump as I took the instruction "stuff firmly" seriously. He is posing under the Christmas Acorn tree with his new found friend. The yarns are Cascade Pastaza and Malabrigo. The eyes and chest markings are needle felted on.


Must Have is chugging along. I have two fronts going on at once. I find myself flirting with new yarn. Never mind that I have sock yarn in my stash. I'm trying to save up so I can splurge at Madrona, since it's so much more fun to buy yarn I have been able to meet in person.











The rain let up enough for a walk. It was so green!
Which reminds me. I have officially tendered my resignation, effective 6/30/2008 and I am happy about that:)

While Knitting Must Have...

1. The hats got modeled. Baby hats are so much fun to knit and even more fun to see on.
(click to make the picture bigger)
Hats:
Black Orange and White, fisherman's rib in Big Wool.
Cascade 220 Pumpkin Hat.
Modeled by Marcus and Adam, photos by their talented dad. Marcus is such a big boy now and so curious about everything. I love the way Lou caught the colors of autumn.

2. I pondered what to do with starfruit. They smell good, they look so interesting, but what the heck does one do with them other then float them in the punch bowl?

My sister's answer: Photograph them, heh.

3 Mess with the Thanksgiving photos. In this photo, light is streaming to the windward side of the Pali Lookout. The story goes that the King of Oahu was pushed over that cliff (from the townside) by King Kamehameha when he conquered Oahu and united all the islands under one kindgom.

shh! wip

i'm whispering about this one, must have cardigan from street smart, in peacock, paton's classic merino wool. yarn is being swapped for cash from the original knitted brow. The pattern has a cool 3 stitch wrapped cable.

The skulls are a belated birthday present for the knittybird. I got the beads on my trip to Chicago, but they only had 3 :(

Pride Goeth before a Fall

River Grass Gansey is a lofty project and really want to knit it. I don't like to commit to projects on the blog...it's one of my idiosyncrasies. And here's why. Cast on 272, join for knitting in the round, MAKING SURE NOT TO TWIST THE STITCHES. I knit merrily along, never noticing my lovely mobius until I had enough to measure. See? Bachi! (Japanese for curse) It makes me want to knit a cardigan. And really I'm still not sure it's the right pattern for the yarn. It is rolled up nicely in a little yarn cake now until it speaks to me again. The gansey is still calling to me, but the yarn keeps whispering "lace". Yikes, I hope not.


So I made some earrings and a hello kitty key chain, working on the bead stash.


I've signed up for a couple classes at the Madrona Fiber Festival. The classes really went fast so no FairIsle beginning class for me. Instead I will be dyeing with persimmons. Also no Yarn Harlot. Oh well. Just being in the same town will be enough:)

Unshaped Shrug link

I found the link to the shrug pattern. It is Unshaped Shrug by KnitontheNet(Just call me Ruby)


I cast on for River Grass Gansey from Jamiesons's Shetland Knitting Book 2 in a very dark blue Rowanspun DK. The self talk has begun. I knit a swatch once and in the fudgy way I do things cast on with a larger needle in a smaller size. The dark hides all the details, but hey, a good soak will fix that. And, the needle size is rather large, and it looks a bit holey, but hey, a good soak will fix that. and of course I have no idea how large around it really is, but being an "apple" I hate ribbing that binds. And I decided it will take more then an inch to decide.

I want this yarn for myself greedy me. And I want cables. Even if I can't see them, I know they are there:)

I am always thankful these orchids thrive in spite of my disgraceful neglect of my patio.

The Koigu the Cat Ate Comes Back

But, first, the computer WIP.

So far the 6 fans and the black wiring has been quite exciting and the blue lights are very soothing. The slow process is adding back all my favorite proggies, learning the differences between Win2K and XP, and trying to find all the passwords...This is big sucker that actually seems to cool the room instead of heat it up. And surprise no A drive so I had to get the kid to rescue my DJ doodler fonts. I'm so happy to be back online. So many blogs, so little time!

The reknit of the Koigu socks the Cat Ate is finally done. I used the beaded rib on 54 stitches, and they fit me fine, but I wonder if they will fit my niece. Sigh. Does anyone know if the Bitter Apple Cat Repellant works?



I succumbed to these two books as I'm on a quest to find my next sweater project. I have enough yarn for a vest but I'm really fighting the urge to buy more Beaverslide, and I fondled some Plymouth Royal Llama Silk that makes me want to whip that credit card out.

I knit up the Malabrigo pink shrug using a free pattern I found on the Web right before the crash, and I can't find it again to provide a link and credit to the author. I'll keep looking. I didn't make a copy as it was a rectangle with ribbing on both ends. The ribbing on the long edges was picked up and knitted and on both ends is part of the armhole. The two balls of yarn were quite different in the saturation of the dye. The bulky weight was a pleasure to knit and of course it is a cushy as can be. So the bad news is I look ridiculous in the bulky pink shrug, and although I will wear it in the am on these cool Hawaiian fall and winter days, I will not subject the public to pictures of me modelling it!

Whine and Malabrigo

The trusty 'puter crashed so reading blogs and responding to emails will be a challenge for awhile. And now I have to go to work early to do the stuff I was doing at home. Waah.

Meanwhile, Koigu shortie socks are coming along, and I have 3 repeats of an actual lace stole. What sweater to do next? That is the question. I lust for cables, but no bobbles please ;) And of course there's that bulky Malabrigo in pink. I picture me wearing a fluffy pink shrug at home this winter...just me and my Malabrigo trying to break away from the blue.

Trip part 3of3: Wisconsin Treasures and Minamilist FO

Madison, Wisconsin is a mere 2.5 hour drive from Ohare Airport. My sister there is a very good cook and I threw the low carb diet to the wind and totally enjoyed homemade cherry pie! Yum. I made up for with with the very colorful salmon/vegie feast. Thank you blogless sister! (The defect in the lattice top, was made by ME!)

Two days after I left Fall fell, and her birch turned golden. Amazing!




Although the plan was to keep shopping to a minimum, we visited a lovely antique store where I picked up some celluloid needles, another bone awl and some tatted edging. I am fond of bone awls although I don't really know what they were used for. I hope not to pick one's teeth. I also found a Pyrex creamer and small bowl in Opal at a thrift store. I admit I'm a Pyrex junkie. It just seems so clean and the it's heat resistance is legendary! Wikipedia says the Corning Glass Works company invented it in 1915. It's hard for me to resist the custard cups, mixing bowls and pie plates whenever I see them. Little Totoros were quite happy with the new Acorn dish. Thanks again sister!


Minimalist got some quality time on the road. I followed the Knitty directions for seaming which is a lot better then my previous methods. I had just enough yarn for the size small in Cascade Largo. It is a great little swingy cardigan and a mindless knit. Love it!

I was reminded everywhere that Halloween will be upon us soon. I knit Susan Esser's pumpkin hat in Cascade 220 and a Fisherman's rib hat (just winged the pattern) with stash remnants.

Trip 2 of 3: Oh Canada

(click to make the mosaic bigger)
Blogless da Twine and The Knitted Brow are well traveled but Canada is my first trip outside the US and I got my first passport for a spur of the moment trip to see Niagara Falls. The original plan was to fly to Buffalo, but my sister found a great deal for the Canadian Side.


At the airport we were approached by a very well dressed man who asked if we needed a taxi. We followed him upstairs and into a creepy parking garage. He had a very nice car with leather seats, but no taxi light. He told us the next day was Thanksgiving and everything would be closed. We told him we were going to Niagara Falls that day so he said, that was the best day to go and we would have the best weather. We asked him about our hotel and he said we were staying in the best location. This was quite encouraging! And he was cute on top of that and very tall. I suspect he was a taxi scalper, and my sister and I discussed how we have no street sense what so ever.

Toronto was quite a surprise. I was thinking about the Western side with a more British feel, or something French, and found the part of Toronto I stayed in very multicultural with lots of mid Eastern and Asian influences. We walked up and down Yonge Street, the "longest street in the world". We ate Lebanese food for the first time, and loved the garlic sauce and shawarma.

The next day was Niagara Falls. We did the tourist thing. We put on our blue raincoats and rode the Maid of the Mist. We declined the helicopter or Cessna flyover (just chicken that's all). It was pretty amazing.




The next day we visited the Royal Museum and enjoyed the historical part and the glass paperweight collection. We debated on whether or not the merging of the old and the new museum "worked". Then we took a hike to Kensington Market. The cosmicpluto was minding the shop, Lettuce Knits working on her Rhinebeck Sweater. I couldn't resist the sea silk lace weight (even though I am laceknitting impaired) and got some black Malagrigo to make an urban baby hat. Somehow I equate urban with the color black. (no doubt I'll just keep it to roll around in and cheer me up when I'm uncheered). She pointed us in the direction of Courage My Love a funky shop with a great button collection. Kensington Market is a quaint open market with lots of color and cute shops and old houses. I'll have to check out Romni Wools if I make it back there again.

Facts I learned while in Canada
1. Toronto's CN Building is no longer the tallest building in the world, but it is taller then Chicago's Sears Building.
2. Niagara Falls is not the tallest falls in the world but has the fastest flow and largest volume of any falls in the world. The water from 4 of the great lakes flow through the Falls. Both the US and Canada divert water to make electricity but during peak tourist season they have agreed to do it only at night so the Falls will be full.
3. Halal is food that is OK from a Muslim point of view and is not the name of a chain.
4. Ice Wine is made from frozen grapes that are picked at -8 degrees. Each grape yields only one drop of wine. (Either that or I'm very gullible)
5. The Civil War Underground Railroad ended in Toronto.

Trip part 1 of 3: Chicago

My trip started off well with an unexpected upgrade to first class from American Airlines. Wow, that gave me a good feeling and a whole lot more leg room! Chicago was unseasonably warm. In fact the day my sister came down and we did the Chicago Architectural Foundation walking tour, Historic Skyscrapers, it was in the high 80s! As the Academy of Family Medicine Scientific Assembly and the Chicago marathoners were in town, and Chicago is a big city, it was packed everywhere and the boat tours were sold out. I thoroughly enjoyed this walking tour. It was a brisk two hours and we covered at least 21 buildings. I also took a bus tour of the the Robie, Glessner and the oldest "mansion" in Chicago.

The insides of these buildings are a dream of incredible decorations, and are in great shape in many cases. Parts of the elevated train system, The El, were built to go around the Loop in the late 1800s. Some of it was built for the 1890 Columbian Exposition and is still being used today. Scary!



The picture in the last row on the left is the Monadnock Building built in 1891 by Burnham and Root. It is a dark, hulking skyscraper without adornment. According to the guide, this building is most oohed and aawed over by architectural students. Guess I'm partial to the adornments myself.

I was not able to get to Knitwerks, but visited the Knitting Workshop. It was small, and no shopkeeper addressed my sister and I the whole time we were there. Strange. My niece took us to a cute bead store in Lincoln Park and I got some beetle wings and skull beads.

I did run by the Bean at night and saw Chicago reflected in it. I missed meeting MacKenzie Thorpe at the Atlas Gallery as I had a dinner engagement with my niece but got a glimpse of him through the window as we literally ran past.



Mr Sockfish and Koigu short socks posed in front of Northwestern Medical Center. They wanted to stay and get some higher education as they were neglected on this trip for Minimalist Cardigan (which I hope is a FO by the time I get to part 3!)

I stayed at the Fairfield Inn one block from Northwestern. The people at this hotel were very nice and found my sister's passport while we waited at the airport. My niece was able to bring it out for us and American Airlines put us on the next flight out without charge! And best of all this hotel had free breakfast and is one block from the Michigan Avenue!

Facts I learned about Chicago.
1. The Chicago river was reversed so it no longer flows in to Lake Michigan, but in to the Mississippi.
2. Mrs. O'Leary's cow was not guilty
3. Chicago has alley ways between most of the skyscrapers so the garbage trucks do not clog up the main streets during collection
4. Before the elevator, buildings were only 4 stories high and the top floor was the cheapest. After the elevator, the penthouse became the most desirable location.
5. Steel girder technology allowed the modern skyscraper to soar and also allowed Frank Lloyd Wright to flatten out his Prairie homes, by avoiding vertical lines.