techniques
Don’t soak your dried beans! Now even the cool kids agree – Los Angeles Times
“But, covered, in a 350-degree oven, the cooking was almost effortless. All I had to do was check every half-hour or so to make sure there was sufficient water.”
Mastering the Narrow Hemmer, Part One – Threads
This looks like it would make hemming a lot easier than the standard “press, then press again” method. I’m a bit intimidated by it but I imagine like most things, it just takes a little practice.