It's time for Fred Flare's annual Next Big Thing contest. 27 winners get their thing sold at Fred Flare next to a bio, and the fan favorite wins a thousand bucks. I've loved everything that has come out of past years. If you're interested in entering the contest details are here. Good luck!

I just wanted to let you know that Scott's new album Save You From Yourself (which I've talked about previously) is now available on iTunes.

I was so excited to be finished with my light gray Ribby Cardi that I forgot to include a few notes for posterity. So, here is a final wrap up: (more...)

the pattern: Central Park Hoodie
the yarn: Dark Horse Fantasy in Charcoal (#13)
the previous entries: 1



It's true what they say, the CPH pattern manages to be fast and interesting. This sweater is coming along very quickly, it's luxuriously, thrillingly satisfying. Especially for very slow knitters like myself. (more...)

You, Too, Can Be (at) McLeod, at Seattle Weekly. McLeod is open to the public.

vegetarian resaturants in Seattle

Trophy Cupcakes is going to be on the Martha Stewart show!, and they have having a viewing party on April 3rd.

MSG150 is called Seattle's Most Useful Food Blog by Voracious.

eject powerstrip at Unplugged. I should use one of these to unplug my iron, it would be far safer than kneeling down to a level where the hot iron could potenially fall right on my head.

Find Lost Web Pages at Wired

How to stop young dudes from taking over library ‘puters, at Ask Metafilter. I like that she adds, "You've gotta admire their skills."

Light Switch by Tobias Wong, at Unplugged. Alows you to put a wireless dummy lightswitch on the other side of the room.

Photoshop Express, the long-awaited free online image editor from Photoshop maker Adobe, will be released as a public beta on Thursday. at Wired. (But don't forget about Picasa.)

I've started knitting the Central Park Hoodie which (you already know this if you knit) is a very popular pattern. It was printed in the Fall 2006 Knitscene magazine but you can purchase a downloadable pattern at the Knitting Daily store that comes with expanded sizes and corrections. (More on the corrections in the next post.) (more...)

Marine Navigation light pen, the tip has an LED so you can write in the dark. Scott needs one of these for the sign up list at his rawk shows.

What little things do great friends do that sets them apart from others? at Ask Metafilter

Has anyone ever succeeded in faking their own death? at Ask Metafilter

Linda Davidson, Genie was shown online at The Slog and much to the shock of the gallery somebody just went and bought it. I like it too.

Neal Stephensons next novel Anthem is due in August! at Diary of a Phanatique. Yay. You can pre-order Anthem at Amazon.

Author recommendations: Solve the pattern: Patrick O'Brian, Alan Furst, Neal Stephenson... who comes next? at Ask Metafilter

Disney Treasure Ring at Fred Flare. The tiny lid opens to reveal treasure!

DIY Spa Treatment: Homemade Hair Remover at Bellasugar

What to put in a modern day survival kit? at Ask Metafilter

How can I better understand social cues? at Ask Metafilter. The number of questions similar to this at Ask Metafilter make me feel like I'm not alone in my cluelessness.

Ladies, have any of you had success clearing your skin for good by foregoing foundation of any type? at Ask Metafilter

Lotta Jansdotter is offering fabrics in her shop! via Anh-Minh.

DIY Concealer at Pink of Perfection

Browning Passage Pet Cave at Uncrate. Expensive but neat, no?

Could anyone recommend a book/movie/show/game/whatever that features a character as crafty as Veronica Mars? at Ask Metafilter

Marc Jacobs is coming out with Pear, Grapefruit and Basil fragrances for this summer, via Chow. I wish I had enough reason to spend money on these.

I'm looking for bronzing and self-tanning products for the very fair-skinned. at Ask Metafilter

I'd like to learn a new language during my daily commute. What is the best language learning audio cd available? at Ask Metafilter. I've had the French Pimsleur tapes on hold at my library, the queue in front of me is so long that it's been years and I still haven't gotten them. They must be popular.

Skimming through this hosue tour at the Design*Sponge guest blog I discovered that one of the the tins I was considering tossing are Daher, and might be collectible.

Do you really need to duck when getting in/out of a helicopter? at Ask Metafilter

Chef'n SleekStor veggie steamer

Our old metal steamer from Ikea started to rust so I finally had an excuse to buy this one. The feet won't scratch pots and it is flexible silicone so it moves to fit nicely into most sizes of pot (it doesn't work in my small 1-quart saucepan). It's easy to clean and doesn't take up much storage space, we hang ours on the side of the fridge. I like it. Mine is Avacado green and it also comes in cherry pink and translucent.




OXO Food Scale

I never did get around to buying the Escali Primo digital scale I was so cheerful about back in November and since then the OXO Food Scale has caught my eye. The display pulls out so you can read it if a large bowl is put on the scale, and it's thin enough to store easily. It even has a backlit display for when you are, um, baking in the dark?




Simplehuman Sensor Soap Pump

It's touchless, you just put your hand under the spout and it dispenses your soap. Actually, I wish I had never head of this because then I wouldn't think about how awesome it would be every time I reach out to my normal soap pump with my flour/oil/blueberry juice/melted chocolate covered fingers. I resent you Simplehuman Sensor Soap Pump. No come back I love you!




Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 4-Quart Saucepan

Last year I had a crush on a small All-Clad saucepan but put off buying it, and eventually was lured by the "dishwasher safe" sticker on a small Calphalon Kitchen Essentials saucepan at Target. It's been working great but I realized too late that, duh, the glass lid will inevitably shatter when I drop it (and I will drop it).

So when my four quart saucepan bit it I decided to look for a replacement with a metal lid. I was happy to find that the June 2007 issue of Cook's Country recommended the Pinzon 3.5 Quart Stainless Steel Sauce Pan at Amazon for a very nice $20, but now I'm sad because it's not available anymore (or currently, let's hope currently).

Cook's Country also recommended the Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 4-Quart Saucepan, but it's about $60. Do I buy the Cuisinart Chef's Classic? Or hope Amazon brings back the inexpensive Pinzon saucepan? Maybe get the saucier-shaped Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 3-Quart Chef's Pan that is a not-too-bad $30? Why couldn't I have needed a larger saucepan last summer when the recommendation came out?




Wüsthof Come Apart Kitchen Shears

This post at Baking Bites reminded me that I really need to replace my six year old Ikea scissors and get a proper pair of kitchen shears. The Wüsthof Come Apart Kitchen Shears are exactly what need and are recommended by Cook's Illustrated. And apparently they are comfortable for left-handed people as well.

the sweater: Ribby Cardi
the yarn: Cotton Ease in Stone
the previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14



I have thoroughly annoyed myself with how long it took me to get the zipper into this. I finished the actual (re) knitting back in mid-February but couldn't seem to find the energy for the amount of focus it takes to put the zipper in. Happily I managed to get it last weekend and it's FINALLY OVER. (more...)

cooking:
chili chicken
This recipe from My Feasts more than satisfied my craving for something spicy and I got to cook with dried chilies for the first time. Found on TasteSpotting.





deciding:
on a color for throw pillows
I need new pillows for a dark gray couch (ok, futon) but I have not decorated the room at all, so I'm having trouble figuring out what color to get. Different shades of gray perhaps? Uh.





browsing:
Alchemy
Etsy's service where customers request something and Etsy sellers put bids in on the work, it's fascinating. I have found a few thing I've always wanted as well.





watching:
Family Guy Blue Harvest
When this aired we were watching it in an empty middle-of-nowhere hotel bar and a few guys on staff wandered in to watch it with us. This memory is not as bleak as I've made it sound.





popping:
sour gummi bear vitamins
Apparently I'm so much more likely to remember a daily vitamin if I'm pretending I'm six years old.

Cadbury Creme Egg Muffins at Baking Bites

a brownie baked in an eggshell! on Flickr, sadly I do not know where I first found this

This rosewater turkish delight at Yarnstorm is beautiful

A Sweet History of the Pink Frosted Cookie at Cakespy

mmm rosewater, at Domicile

Successful Lasagne at Thus Bakes Zarathurstra

Candied Bacon Ice Cream! at David Lebovitz

Oh swoon, how have I not seen this before? Teeny Tiny pies baked in a jar, at Lloyd and Lauren

Gah, triple chocolate pudding pie at The Domestic Goddess

The Coolest Blender Trick Ever at Tiny Choices

a bamboo fiber bag to keep bread fresh, at Chow

Can any of you recommend a thermos/food jar that is durable and can keep food hot (not just luke warm) for at least 8 hours. at Ask Metafilter

Applegate Farms Sunday Bacon, this is what we used for the bacon cups, and it turns out it does well in taste tests

Baked Pasta Casserole Recipe at 101 Cookbooks

How Do I Make Chewy Caramels? at The Kitchen

I love lime-flavored Tostitos. How can I duplicate that tongue-curling oh-so-nasty salty/lime-y taste at home? at Ask Metafilter

Tiramisu on a stick! at Thinking About Food

Dark Leafy Greens Recipes at Mighty Foods

Chicago Steak & Chop Pepper Blend at Sundry Buzz

Recipes for very fresh eggs, at Ask Metafilter

Vegan Chocodiles on Etsy

Poaching an egg in clingfilm, at Delicious Days. The first time I tried this (years ago) the egg stuck to the plastic. I tried this again yesterday with her tip to lightly oil the plastic, but the plastic melted in the water and the egg spilled out. Why do I lack the ability to do poached eggs this way?

Adhesive Hold It Strips for putting stuff other than paper into three ring binders, how useful! at Bluelines.

After buying some essential oils, how do I use them as cologne? at Ask Metafilter.

I like Moop stuff, on Etsy.

Sew Mama Sew, fabric store to keep in mind

Felted Stone Rug taken from the Pebble Carpet, I think I like this even better than the Pom Pom rug in Craftivity, via Craftzine

Adorable Knit Strawberry Baby Rattle, over at Blue Arts.

Oudh – the sweet smell of tradition at Gulf Weekly. I wonder if this is the scent that comes on some imported fabrics?

Jen wrote to me asking about a wolf doll with a see through stomach that could eat other characters, which I kindasorta remembered. Happily it wasn't hard to find: the See-through Predator was made by Lizette Grecco, and you can see a video of her son operating on it at Daddy Types. Awesome.

Knitting stuff found on Ravelry:

Ceallach Dyes Summer Cotton yarn, fingering weight.

KA bamboo circular needle set, #5 to #15

Bamboo Sister interchangeable circular needle set, #5 to #10, thumbs up at Knitter's Review

Cabin Fever Cotton Tweed, partly acrylic, the natural and brown colors look great when knitted, DK and Aran

Moving to Seattle, where is the good food and the interesting neighborhoods for anything and everything? at Ask Metafilter

Ballard Denny's Earns Landmark Status at Seattlest. I once tried to explain this building to visitors, now I have a much more intersting story.

Book: Container Gardening for Washington and Oregon, via the PI.

Just Ask Marianne Binetti: Container tips to help get beginners started, at the PI.

Joy of Driving Chuckanut Drive, at Seattlest, points us to chuckanutdrive.com.

Is South Seattle the Next Napa? Ooh, I warehouse winery tour with stops in Georgetown for meals. Perfect.

Looking for a great spot to do some early-season camping this weekend near Seattle, WA. at Ask Metafilter

Starbucks bought Clover at My Ballard. I did not dislike Starbucks until right now.

Softly Now, first Wednesdays at McLeod Residence at Three Imaginary Girls, a monthly acoustic show.

What practical uses, besides roadside service, have you used your AAA membership for? at Ask Metafilter

20 Questions For Women Who Aren't Us, hee hee hee, at The Park Bench

I just had my eyebrows waxed for the first time ever last week. How long should I wait before I get them waxed again? Also, what kind of maintenance should I be doing in between? at Ask Metafilter

Favorite paper airplanes (and other flying diversions)?

Where can I take a vacation for epic stargazing? at Ask Metafilter, I have long wanted to visit a Dark Sky Preserve just to stargaze.

How I Conquered My Cystic Acne, In (Just!) 17 Painful Steps at Jezebel. Yikes, skincare.

The Slot Car Wall Sculpture by Pete Nidzgorski at Swiss Miss

I'm looking for some funny and smart fiction books, along the lines of "A Confederacy of Dunces" and "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." at Ask Metafilter

I'd like suggestions for interesting activies/missions that can be done in, say, less than 3 hours. I'd like to fill my time with non-boring experiences... the kinds that stories are made of. at Ask Metafilter

Grass vase at Charles & Marie

When I jog, my heart rate goes to 195 beats per minute. Is that bad? at Ask Metafilter

What is that thrift store smell? at Ask Metafilter

"Tumi Ishi" wooden blocks at Happy Mundane

English Grammar: "There is" vs. "There are". There is a banana. There are two oranges. There (is / are) a banana and an orange? at Ask Metafilter

What stock banter lines do you keep in your back pocket? at Ask Metafilter

Recommend a replacement for the Think In Ink, Inc. notebook? at Cool Tools

Michel de Broin’s Mirror Sculpture: Strange, Very Sci-Fi Chic! at Neatorama

Ryan Molenkamp’s 17 Place from The Stranger's Currenly Hanging

Myoung Ho Lee's Tree #2 at Swiss Miss

What do you look at/notice, as you wander through the world, that I probably ignore? at Ask Metafilter

Help me find a bridesmaid dress that doesn't suck! at Ask Metafilter, this is fun if you like shopping for somebody else. I have to recommend everybody to look for a dress that will cover a standard (ie comfortable and flattering) bra.

the Waiter Rant book! You can pre-order at Amazon.

the Beauty Brains book! is up for pre-order

Flexible hangers holds difficult to hang clothes at Popgadget

36 days of New York Sky at Swiss Miss

What is this cute little succulent and where can I get one? at Ask Metafilter

How much weight could a healthy adult gain in one indulgent weekend of overeating? at Ask Metafilter