Lotta Prints, I heart the Jansdotter you know.
Sew U Home Stretch, stretch sewing is something I know very little about. Read a review over at
Angry Chicken for more about it.
Waiter Rant, I've been reading the
Waiter Rant site forever, I'm so thrilled to see his book appear.
The Beauty Brains, another book from a site I've been a reading for a long time. I love the straight talk about products and real recommendations vs. hype.
Things I Learned About My Dad (In Therapy), put together by
Dooce and including chapters by
Defective Yeti and
Mighty Girl? Yes, please.
Candy Blog Photo Studio, nice set up you got there!
Busywork points us to this
video tutorial for pockets at Simple Sparrow
How to Knit in the Woods coming soon, oh! I know a knitter who is on the Appalacian Trail right now.
DIY: How to Cut Glass Bottles for Use in Other Projects at Unplugged
Protecting Your Creative Work at The Boss of You blog
How Marimekko fabrics are made, at the Marimekko blog
True Up, new(ish) site, all about fabric
The Lauren Jacket from Weaverknits. I already bought this pattern, love it.
Mannequin Madness, from now until May 25th, is offering 20% off any of their products to Project RunGay readers.
I dig the wave scarf, at Grumperina
The Knitting School has launched. It's here in Seattle and offers a bunch of machine knitting classes. Little known fact: I have a Brother Chunky machine with ribber and a bunch of accessories.
finding sewing contractors at Sommer Designs
Via Craftzine:
sewing bag tutorial at Mackville Road
hand braided scarf at ah-yi
sewing machine monster tee! by CubistLiterature at Etsy
catnip eyeballs by hannapt at Etsy
cute japanese coin purse at The Purl Bee, I have a few of these frames, must try this
Bead Simple is out! It was written by Susan Beal, who I originally knew as
Susan Stars back in (if you go by internet time) the olden days.
I was particularly excited to see this book because I know absolutely nothing about making jewelry. The book starts with the basics - types of wires, clasps, findings, beads and tools. It takes you through the techniques for securing beads, making jump rings and hooks and bead stitching.
Then it jumps right in with chapters for basic to elaborate projects for earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches and fun embellishments like handbag charms, card decorations, sunglass cords, a beaded belt and holiday ornaments.
The projects come from a bunch of outrageously talented crafty people like Natalie Zee Drieu of the fantastic
Craftzine and Craft Magazine, Diane Gilleland who does the podcast
Craftypod, Leah Kramer the creator of
Craftster, Faythe Levine of
Handmade Nation, Kathy Cano Murilla, whom you might know as
Crafty Chica, Torie Nguyen of
Totinette, Shannon Okey of
Knitgrrl, and Jenny Ryan of
Sew Darn Cute.
In addition to Susan Stars Ms. Beal also has the site
West Coast Crafty. She co-wrote the book
Super Crafty with of the PDX Super Craft group and she contributes projects and writes columns for a whole lot of magazines. You can keep up with the book events at
beadsimple.com. Congratulations Susan!
Look! Martha Stewart Crafts has crepe paper flower kits for sale, they are in Michaels craft stores as well. The kits come with double-sided crepe paper, cardstock templates for cutting out petals, instructions, wire stems and floral tape. I have the
Peony Kit. There are thirteen kits and they range from $13 to $15. It's worth noting that the Martha Stewart Crafts site accepts Paypal, way too convenient. Here is what they offer:
Yellow Roses,
Red and Pink Tulips,
Tulips and Daffodils,
Irises,
Red Rose Bouquet,
Yellow Tulips,
Rose Assortment,
Dogwood Blossoms,
Garden Roses,
Red Roses,
Daffodils, and
Peonies.
Martha Stewart Crafts also sells a few assortments of
double-sided crepe paper in various colors, good for making flowers.
A few years ago I used double-sided orange crepe paper to make
pumpkin favors for Halloween and every few months I get an email from somebody asking if it's still available. I bought Gloria brand double-sided crepe from
Flax Art & Design in San Francisco and
Alison (thanks Alison!) recently reported that she phoned Flax, 415-552-2355, and found they still carry it in a few colors for $1.80 a pack, and they will ship it to you if you want to order it over the phone. Lisa (thanks Lisa!) mentioned that she can find double-sided crepe paper at
Kim's Crane Origami Supplies, however they are moving so the online store is closed until the end of April.
If you know of another source, either online or in art supply stores, for double-sided crepe paper please do share!
greenSTYLE, eco-friendly fabrics from Robert Kaufman
Comfy, a Knit Picks yarn to test out, 75% Pima 25% Acrylic
Manufacture and Sell Anything — in Minutes at Wired
"Supercotton" by Shulana, 70% cotton and 30% polyester, another yarn to test
Howcast, lots of how-to videos including foods and crafts, must look at more closely
Powder pink purse (frame) purse at U-handblog
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!
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
Bust Craftacular: "You are cordially invited to BUST Magazine's first ever Spring Fling Craftacular in Brooklyn! DATE: Sunday, April 27 from 11 am to 9 pm LOCATION: The Warsaw in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 261 Driggs Avenue." Photobooth and raffle, awesome.
Plush You now has it's own site at
Plushyou2.com, and you can still keep up with what is going on at the
Plush You blog.
Chicknits on
joining the sleeves to the body of a bottom-up raglan (mostly) seamless. Did I consider ripping back my still as of yet zipperless
gray Ribby Cardi? Yes I did.
I like the collar on
this Anthropologie sweater.
Prettyknits
Jackie O cardigan is fantastic,
but sadly patternless PDF pattern
here.
Really nice
gathered scarf by Bag 'N' Trash, via
I Like Lemons.
Egg dying for the all-too-soon Easter,
Dye eggs with stuff from the produce aisle, via
How About Orange and
Indie Fixx.
Spoonflower on-demand fabric printing! Yay!
turn slippers into a joystick, at Unplugged
make your own binding tutorial at Posie Gets Cozy
shrink plastic ring tutorial at Craftzine
I really like these
felted nesting bowls at Design*Sponge
cute
oilcloth bag at U-handblog
Note to self: learn
grafting
Homemade Cardboard Magazine Box at Instructables
R2D2 Knit Hat Pattern via
Craftzine
Lovely
Studio Bon textiles, via
Design*Sponge.
A Floorcloth for the Refrigerator at Canvasworks Floor Cloths
Which store in Seattle would have the largest selection of colors of sheets of crepe paper? I'm inclined to to head to Display and Costume, but I know there must be a card shop or art store with lots of crepe paper just waiting for me. Anyone know? My thanks!
I have a Duct Tape Wallet Kit to give away. It's from
myDuctbills and comes with instructions, pre-cut duct tape pieces and six colors that let you make a custom design. All you need is scissors.
Are you wilting in the gray pre-Spring stretch of days? You need this to distract yourself with. Leave a comment here and you might get lucky.
The giveaway is for the traditional silver wallet, but you can also get
black, pink and camo kits at the site.
Fine print:
-
I'll choose the winner on Friday morning, Feb. 15th at 10:00 a.m. PST. I'll ship the wallet as soon as I can, this might depend on working off-hours postal machines.
- You don't need to leave your real name, but do leave a valid email address. I'll be the only one who can see your email address (just don't put it in the actual comment box as well). I'll write to get a shipping address when you've won.
- If you have never left a comment here before I'll need to approve it before it publishes so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away. That said, you might not end up being the comment number you see as you're typing, so know that if you want to say "lucky number 351!" you might not be comment number 351. I don't know why it works that way, and I'm sorry, there is very little certainty left in this world and this isn't helping any.
- If I have not heard from an initial winner by Feb. 22nd I will choose another winner.
- The winner will be picked by the cold, unfeeling
random number generator.
Tubular cast on without the waste at Fluffbuff
San Francisco fabric stores at Fuzzy Galore
make a sympathy doll at Craftzine
Tutorial - How to use Purse Twist Turn Locks at U-handblog
Golden Compass Hat at Froggie Meanie
Can my sewing machine be fixed? as Ask Metafilter - the answers offer a lot of fix it yourself encouragement
Velvet & hot irons... at Ask Metafilter, oh, dear, I know this pain
Techniques with Theresa: Cabling without a cable needle (second half) at Knitty
Will properly sized TECRE button/mirror parts work on a Badge-a-Minit hand press? at Ask Metafilter. Turns out: no.
Narrow Hemming Foot at The Secret Pocket, I could never get the hang of mine, time to try again
Reminder to self:
PBS is showing The Complete Jane Austen starting January 13th, lots of good knitting television.
pretty crepe flower tutorial at Two Straight Lines
Too late for Christmas, or simply very early?:
How to Make a Christmas Tree Pop up Card at Wikihow, very simple and yet dramatic
Christmas tree in a box at Popgadget
What's the funniest audio album you've heard lately that I can give as a gift? at Ask Metafilter
What is the best low maintenance, high gas mileage, low cost car I can buy (new or used) on a limited budget? at Ask Metafilter
PurseGuard Ultra, not only does it hang your purse from the edge of a table, it sounds an alarm if someone removes it, good in a crowded restaurant. at Chow
Slate's guide to overlooked Christmas movies, I have a soft spot for
Bernard and the Genie, but I suspect it isn't neccessarily a crowd pleaser.
What the best formula for Calcium supplements? at Ask Metafilter
Angry Christmas Crackers at Cool Hunting
Bake and Shake on wishing to be "
loving a magazine as much as I loved the few years of Sassy I was old enough to find relevant". Amen.
How Much Protection Can You Get From a Skin Cream? at The Beauty Brains
Privo Sofrito, shoes I just might want (also
at Zappos).
Fluid Earth Bowl, a bowl made to resemble the topography of your chosen area, via
GirlHacker.
I heart this
upside down snowman, at Magpie and Cake
Re-Nest on
the return of Brownberry bread, and the violent unrest the discontinuation of this bread caused. As crazy as it sounds, I understand, I love that bread.
Malenie Falick (did you know she keeps a blog?!) on
the sheep and wool related art of Andy Goldsworthy, just take a look at the last photo in that entry.
advent calendars at Tip Junkie
LJC made her own advent calendar!
How to make a recycled paper advent calendar at One Hour Craft
Jennie's very cool
advent calendar made from decorated candy tins, so nice looking!
advent calendar of paper boxes, at Oh Happy Day
knit or crochet? at Ask Metafilter
Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories makes
a spool spinner from an old fan. This is perfect! I ended up with a similar huge spool of thread after ordering it from a rather confusing online catalog, I thought I was getting several small spools. Right now it's acting as an oversized prop in my sewing room.
moder paper ornaments at Design Sponge's DIY Wednesdays
charming button wreath and fabric tree at Craftapalooza
