INPUT ARTICLE: Article: A great way to gauge who you might want to date is by looking at what worked and what didn’t in the past. Think back to what you loved about a guy, and what made you break up. Even if he broke up with you, you may not have agreed with his decision. For example, personality traits that you may pay attention to are previous boyfriends’ neatness, long-term goals, their ability to have a serious conversation, and so on. You may love watching James Bond movies and have a crush on him, but in reality you may not be compatible with smooth talking men. Or, you may be attracted to guys who are extremely laid back, but you demand utmost cleanliness and neatness in your apartment. Think about what you can and can’t ‘live with’ – figuratively, but also literally speaking. You may want to eventually spend extended periods of time together. Who you are friends with and who you date are not generally the exact same person. However, your best friends may be a good gauge for what you like in other people. There is, additionally, nothing that says you can’t date people you might otherwise consider your buddy. Take a step back and look at what you do with your best friends, and the parts of their personality that make you want to spend time with them. If you are looking for a potential long-term boyfriend, you will sooner or later want to know how you will get along at home. There is no exact formula for what makes great roommates, nor finding the ‘right’ guy. However, think about the behaviors that annoyed you and pleased you the most in previous roommates.  For example, if you had to quit rooming with someone whose cat was soiling your clothing, a guy with a dog or cat may not be right for you. A big one for roommates is how messy people are. There seems to be a spectrum between messy and uptight. The messier folks don’t usually appreciate the uptight people, and vice versa. Use past roommates to try to figure out where you are on this scale. Ideally, guys you date will be near you on this scale. Relationships are on another spectrum – between casual and serious. Generally speaking, casual relationships need less of a time commitment than serious ones. If you are secure in your career and want to build lifelong relationships, you will probably want to devote more time to new boyfriends. On the other hand, if you are busy all the time and can’t tend to a serious relationship, your needs are much different. Compatibility is much less of an issue in the early phases of a relationship than several years down the road. It is easy to ignore the marriage and baby conversation early on (and even necessary), but you should know what you want. Think about whether you want to settle down anytime soon, and where your career goals might take you.

SUMMARY: Think about previous relationships. Think about your personality. Look at your best friends. Look at past and current roommates. Determine how much spare time you have. Think about your life and career goals.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Obviously if you want to build a felt animal you’re going to need some felt. Poly-fill stuffing is most common, but you can also buy cotton or even bead if you would prefer to work with that material.Stuffing is important to give your animal some structure. You can buy both these materials at an arts and crafts store. There are many pattern pieces that you can find out on the Internet. Pattern pieces are traced onto the felt and then cut out so that you have all the component pieces of your felt animal.  You can also try creating your own pattern piece. If you want to make a simple animal like a snake your can use four very elongated football shaped pieces.  Make sure all your football shaped pattern pieces are the same size. Measure the width of each piece at its midline to figure out how wide your snake is going to be. Take that number and multiply it by four to get the circumference of your snake. Use this information accordingly as you make the body. You'll  want the length of the snake to be four times larger than the circumference of the snake. Make sure you have enough felt! That's the idea behind making pattern pieces. You can add eyes and a tongue with extra fabric. Remember to leave 1/4 of an inch extra room in the pattern piece for sewing purposes. If you don’t already have these supplies you can buy them at an arts and crafts store too. You can use a sewing machine if you have one available, but felt is easy to work with. You can just use a needle and thread.
Summary: Buy some felt and stuffing. Download your pattern piece. Gather your scissors, stitching, and sewing supplies.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: 4 times the number of stitches you will need for your project. When you start a project with a ruffled border, you will need to cast on 4 times the amount of stitches that your pattern calls for. For example, if your pattern tells you to cast on 30 stitches, cast on 120 stitches to start. This provides the fabric volume for the ruffles. To cast on, make a slipknot and tighten it on the right hand needle. Loop the working yarn around the left hand needle 1 time, and then insert the right hand needle into the loop. Loop the yarn over the right hand needle tip, and pull it through the loop. After you have cast on the required number of stitches, begin knitting. Knit all of the stitches in the first row, unless your pattern instructs you to do otherwise. For example, if your pattern instructs you to work the ruffle in another special stitch, then work that stitch instead.  To knit a stitch, insert the right hand needle through the loop from the front. Loop the yarn over the right hand needle and pull the yarn through the stitch on the left hand needle. Let the stitch on the left hand needle slide off.  You may continue working the rest of your rows in the knit stitch for a garter stitch ruffle. To continue working your ruffle in the stockinette stitch, the second row and all even rows thereafter will need to be purled. Check your knitting pattern instructions to see if this is the recommended stitch. To purl, insert the right hand needle through the first stitch on the left hand needle from the back. Then, loop the yarn over the tip of the right hand needle and pull it through. Hold the yarn taut and then lift the old stitch slide off of the left hand needle. Your ruffle can be as long or as short as you’d like it to be, but a good length might be anywhere from 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15.2 cm). Keep working the rows until your project is the desired length. Measure the ruffle with a ruler when it seems like you are getting close to the desired length, especially if you are trying to achieve a specific measurement. across the row. Knitting a decrease row will gather the strip of knit stitches you have created and make them start to look like a ruffle. To knit 2 together, insert your knitting needle in through 2 stitches at one time, and then knit the 2 stitches together just the same as you would knit 1 stitch.  Continue to knit 2 together all the way to the end of the row. If you are working in the garter stitch, then work another row of knit 2 together stitches after this row to complete your ruffle border. If you are working in the stockinette stitch, then you will need to purl 2 together all the way across the next row. Purling 2 together is the same as knitting 2 together, but you will be purling 2 stitches at 1 time instead of knitting them. Continue to purl 2 together all the way to the end of the row. After you complete the decrease rows, resume working normal rows in the stitch of your choice or as indicated by your project. For example, if your project calls for knitting all of the rows after adding the ruffle, then knit all of the rows until your project is the desired length.

SUMMARY:
Cast on Knit all of the stitches in the first row. Purl all stitches in the second row for a stockinette stitch ruffle. Continue to repeat the row sequence until you have the desired length. Knit 2 together Purl 2 together all the way across. Continue working rows until your project is complete.