fidzu : Crafts

St. Patrick's Day is coming up - it's next Wednesday! If you're planning an Irish-themed meal, this recipe for Irish Soda Bread with Fennel & Cinnamon on Everybody Likes Sandwiches looks quite nice.

Growing up, ours was a pretty standard (but delicious!) St. Paddy's Day meal: Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes... I don't even remember having soda bread. What do you eat on St. Patrick's? Anything interesting?

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12 Mar 2010 2:00am GMT

I was vegan for six years, and have only recently adopted the occasional poultry or fish into my diet, so I'm loving Instructables' easy vegan recipes and vegan dessert recipes roundups. I know what's on the menu tonight!

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12 Mar 2010 12:00am GMT

This letterpress paper house kit brings out the little girl in me. I think I could probably spend an afternoon playing with this sweet setup! Or, if you wanted to be generous, it would be a fabulous housewarming gift. (Via Swiss Miss)

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11 Mar 2010 11:00pm GMT

I absolutely love shallots (perhaps my favorite holiday dish is shallots in red wine from Roger Verge's Vegetables), but I've never thought to make fried shallots to add a little crispy punch and texture to Vietnamese food, a quick salad, a burger, or heck, just on their own. Garnishes are something I so often forget when putting a meal together, but they often take the dish to the next level. Yum!

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11 Mar 2010 10:00pm GMT

By Tiffany Threadgould

Your granola may be packed with crunch, but when the packaging is left behind, what's an eco-crusader to do? Rather than tossing it away, craft it into this simple collapsible and reusable dish. All it takes is a few cuts, folds, and some hook and loop fasteners to transform the packaging into a multi-purpose bowl.

When you've finished with your granola wrapper, you can move on to all sorts of flat food packaging. Simply scale the instructions up or down based on your tastes.

If you've completed this project and still have more Bear Naked granola wrappers than you can bear, check out the TerraCycle wrapper brigade to collect and send them in. Your wrappers will be transformed into new products, and better yet, your collection will earn money for your favorite charity. These granola wrappers will dish up a lot of upcycling potential.

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11 Mar 2010 8:00pm GMT

Sarah James tells the tale of these mini Yorkshire puddings and how you can make them at home easily, either for brunch (American popover style) or Sunday roast.

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11 Mar 2010 7:00pm GMT

I love this simple project from Book Hour Craft Projects that combines gathered branches and paper flowers for a beautiful effect. Between this and Betz's rainbow pussy willow project, I've got serious spring on the brain!

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11 Mar 2010 6:00pm GMT

Meg over at Threadbanger has a nice Decor it Yourself video about creating a three tier serving tray from thrift store dishes.

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11 Mar 2010 5:00pm GMT

Disney of Ruffles and Stuff shares how to transform a sweet hankie into an even sweeter rosette brooch. Better yet: she gives you two options on how to do it, one that will permanently alter the hankie and one that will preserve it.

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11 Mar 2010 4:00pm GMT

Matt @ Make: Online writes:

Here's a neat idea for a tablecloth, by Kristine Bjaadal. Normally, one would avoid spilling things on their linens, however the Underfull Tablecloth has a hidden pattern built in that only shows up once it becomes stained. Now you can look at that lovely butterfly pattern and remember that one time you had a bit too much wine, without feeling bad about having ruined the tablecloth!

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11 Mar 2010 3:12pm GMT

Add some custom art to your decor by following this handy tutorial from Jessica of Happy Together. She shows you how to create your own textured wall art with inexpensive supplies you can find at the craft store.

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11 Mar 2010 2:00pm GMT

Instructables user quasiben writes:

Persistence of Vision (POV) is the illusion that an image continues to persist even though the image has changed. In essence, we are taking advantage of the limitations of the brain-eye processing time. With a camera we can tune our eye for a longer exposure. The Lilypad POV (row of LEDs) is a fun toy to build with minimal programming and electronic needs.

More:

• CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino 101
• CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino Bike Patch

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11 Mar 2010 1:01am GMT

If you're planning on tackling painting a room anytime in the near future, be sure to check out this handy and thorough list of tips and advice from Nicole of Making it Lovely. She shares her years of experience and covers everything from prep through clean up.

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10 Mar 2010 11:00pm GMT

Upcoming craft fairs! Please add any you know of to our calendar, and if you have a call for entries you want listed in this weekly post. Call for entries is after the jump!

Coming Up This Weekend:
The Pink Parlour Festival 2010
Arcadia, CA
Sunday, Mar. 14, 11am - 6pm

32nd Annual Dollhouse Miniature Show & Sale
Phoenix, AZ
Saturday, Mar. 13, 10am - 5pm
Sunday, Mar. 14, 11am - 4pm

2nd Annual Funky Finds Spring Fling
Fort Worth, TX
Saturday, Mar. 13, 9am - 3pm

Indie Craft Revolution
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, Mar. 13, 10am - 6pm
Sunday, Mar. 14, 10am - 4pm

Sugarloaf Crafts Festival in Somerset
Somerset, NJ
Friday, Mar. 12, 10am - 6pm
Saturday, Mar. 13, 10am - 6pm
Sunday, Mar. 14, 10am - 5pm

Calgary Weekend Market
Calgary, Canada
Saturday, Mar. 13, 9am - 5pm

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10 Mar 2010 10:00pm GMT

By Katie Goodman

If you have trouble making tender and flaky biscuits, give this recipe a try. The combination of the two different flours and the very cold butter makes a big difference. I like to use a box grater to grate the butter, as opposed to cutting the butter using other methods such as a food processor or pastry cutter. It works great for me this way, but it certainly isn't the only method that works. I do think it's faster than cutting with a pastry cutter and definitely has less clean up than a food processor, but feel free to use whichever method you prefer.

When kneading the dough to form a ball, it helps to press to flatten and then fold over, press to flatten and then fold over, repeating until your dough comes together. Folding the dough on top of itself helps form layers to create flaky, pull-apart biscuits.

We like to cut the biscuits in half and fill with scrambled eggs for a yummy breakfast or dinner egg sandwich. Serve with a side of fruit.

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10 Mar 2010 8:00pm GMT

With the nautical look hitting us this spring, make this stylish DIY rope necklace by ...love Maegan.

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10 Mar 2010 7:00pm GMT

Andy Johnson writes in:

I'm a guy that sews. No, I'm not afraid to say it, I think it is one of the best skills my Mother taught me, besides cooking. I sewed this magazine protector to keep my latest copy of MAKE looking newsstand fresh. I carry MAKE in my backpack, and I carry my backpack everywhere. With all the junk I carry banging around in there, it can get my stuff pretty hammered. I took my favorite T-Shirt, that unfortunately has worn out, and cut out a rectangle 1/2 inch larger than my copy of MAKE on both sides, and doubling the length so it can be folded over. I created a flap on the top and sewed velcro to both the flap and the reverse of the protector. Surging the seams would be the best, but I only have access to a regular sewing machine. If you have extra t-shirt, you can use it to make ipod sleeves, calculator protectors, whatever you like.

It's upcycling month at CRAFT, so head on over for some more great recycling projects with our UpCraft! series.

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10 Mar 2010 4:00pm GMT

Have you ever attempted to cut a wine bottle only to have it leave a nasty jagged edge? Maker Dan Rojas shows us the secret to cutting a wine bottle with a clean edge in less than 30 seconds. [Thanks, Timothy!]

More:

• Make: Projects - Bottle cutting
• Make: Projects - Label-etching a glass bottle
• Cutting glass bottles with acetone and string
• Recycled beer bottle tumblers

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08 Mar 2010 12:00pm GMT

A friend and I made plans to go to Craft Bar last Thursday. In between making plans to go and the big night, I got an email from a wonderful woman with the Museum because she saw my post about Open Source Embroidery. She thanked me for my post invited me to Craft Bar. And I said, "Oh, yeah, I'll be there!"

And then my friend had to cancel. (o_O) At this point, normally I would have waited to go to the next one, when I'd have friend-back-up*. But I decided that in 2010 I was going to try for more community involvement, plus, I'd already told someone I'd go ... so I went alone. And I'm so glad I did!

I totally should have taken photos ... although I'm not sure I would have had the guts to, being by myself and all ... because it was pretty amazing how many people were packed into that cozy Museum. There were two main areas. One where Amelia was demonstrating how to make plarn out of plastic bags and teaching people to crochet a little project with their plarn. The other was where Marita was teaching people to knit.

I started off in the crochet area and made a little ball of plarn and crocheted myself a plastic coaster. I was surprised that the plarn felt soft and was easy to work with. I had fun talking to Karen (a glass artist) and Anna (a weaver) about crocheting, plarn, and crafting in general.

I ventured over to the knitting area because I heard someone say that you could keep the knitting needles and yarn that you used to learn with. Free lesson? Free yarn? Free knitting needles? Awesome! I scooted my chair into a group of people that were just casting on, someone handed me a ball of yarn and a set of needles, and off we went.

Look at that stockinet ... boo-yah! By the end of the night, I'd learned knitting, purling, and had big plans to try some ribbing. Yes, my swatch is in wool (which I'm allergic to). I wasn't itchy while I was working with it, I think I was concentrating too much to itch, but on the walk home I did some serious scratching.

I can't wait to go back for the next Craft Bar on April 1st. I'm hoping to be more involved, maybe help out as an instructor. That would be so cool! I love my online crafty family, but nothing beats being in the same room with someone and having them be able to reach over and say, "No, wrap the yarn *this* way."

* I am a classic introvert. I'm not shy, or fearful of social interaction; I just like being by myself. I never get bored when I'm alone. In fact, I'm not sure if I could ever have too much "alone time." I'm super-comfortable hanging out with people I already know, and I'm happy I now live close to many crafty friends. But but stranger-situations can leave me feeling drained/stunned ... like when cough medicine gives you that "wide-eyed-baloon-head" feeling. I didn't feel drained after Craft Bar though, and I think it's because we were all participating in the craftiness and that crafty-connection made everyone feel like a once-and-future friend. Crafting kicks ass.

08 Mar 2010 8:40am GMT

OK. So I have a couple spare minutes to post and I can't find the camera cord to get my photos. Is there an emoticon for gritting your teeth and making that awesome gutteral growl Marge Simpson makes?

( * ww * ) < Gggrrrr >

How's that? See? The "ww" are my bared teeth.

Ooooo or even this one ...

<@> wwww <@>

... except it's maybe a little too evil-looking. Almost barracuda-y. Maybe even hypnotizing.

Sidenote: I'm trying to use more of these Asian style emoticons. How's this for fascinating:

I find that so interesting! I think the eyes say more than the mouth. Well, when the mouth isn't screaming obscenities.

When I get the photos off the camera, I'll tell you all about the awesome time I had at Craft Bar at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art last Thursday. If you live in the area you should totally come to the next one on April 1st. The details aren't up on their site yet, but I'm guessing it'll be 6-8 PM again. And for $5 you get drinks, snacks, craft supplies, and crafty instruction.

Here's a teaser: my fun times involved two pointy sticks ... yes, the sound you just heard was the earth cracking in two. :)

08 Mar 2010 3:37am GMT

This week on CRAFT we saw:

CRAFT Video: Bike Tube Headband

Ira Glass on Improving Your Craft

Fairytale Fashion Show: Close-Up

Perfect Woven Owl Fabric

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07 Mar 2010 10:00pm GMT

Several years ago, my then science department head and former 9th grade science teacher was retiring. Bob Webster brought me many useful and entertaining ideas. He had our whole department making wikis to share information in the early 00's. Through him, I learned more about computer repair, web design, programming and electricity. He helped me to cultivate a positive environment encouraging kids to work with and understand concepts that many find intimidating. So what to bring to his party? Electric Cupcakes, of course!

The cupcakes themselves were a standard, dairy free affair, with rice milk substituted for cow milk and margarine for butter. The frosting was also made without butter, and tinted with food coloring. On top I coated them all with a neutral white frosting. Next came the fun part - schematic symbols. Looking around, I found a good set of example symbols in the Chaney 33 in 1 Electronics Kit workbook.

It was a fun project, and a few people at the party noticed the symbols on the cupcakes. Taking pictures of them at the time and sharing them in the MAKE Flickr pool helped create a record of these geeky perishables from days gone by. Designs like this would be neat to try with the Makerbot and its' Frostruder attachment.

More:

• Scientific cookie round-ups
• Vector graphic schematic symbols
• FrostBot - a CNC robot for frosting cookies
• Frostruder MK2

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07 Mar 2010 7:30pm GMT

I didn't know such a thing as scientific cookies existed, or even that a round-up (or two) were needed to show off all the flavors and possibilities that creative people have come up with. But now I realize I was living in the plain white flour and possibly moldy pantries of mundane cookiedom. Why make a star sugar cookie when you can make a sugar cookie atom?

Luckily, Ms. Humble of Not So Humble Pie is blogging about all the geeky baked goodies she can find, and she's gathered them up in two (so far) round-ups. Of course our inspired cooking pals over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories are included!

Science Cookie Round Up 1

Science Cookie Round Up 2

More:

• Sierpinksi Cookies

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06 Mar 2010 1:30am GMT

This week's clever maker-entrepreneur award goes to Etsy sellers Cleaner Science, who make and sell these awesome soaps that look like petri dishes full of growing germs. They're easy to make (I presume), inexpensive to buy, light enough to ship cheaply, and totally original. Home run! Bonus: some include glow-in-the-dark spots! [via Geekologie]

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05 Mar 2010 10:00pm GMT

Just this morning Cory Doctorow blogged this snapshot, taken by one "Joel," of an ancient gear burial ground at a scrapyard near Charlotte, NC. I wonder how many wild-eyed steampunks they've had come sniffing around since then. [via Boing Boing]

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05 Mar 2010 3:45am GMT

We've discussed numerous methods for making a cup from a glass bottle, but I don't recall seeing anyone use the neck before. Brookelynn from CRAFT has us covered, though, with this guitar slide made from a wine bottle:

One interesting historical example of upcycled crafting is the bottleneck guitar- or as it is now widely known, slide guitar. The unique resonant sound of slide guitar was originally formed by playing with a glass bottleneck over one finger and running the slide up and down the strings. While the materials for making slides have evolved, bottles are still a popular choice of material. We were given one, and as it has been used over the years, the piece has developed some lovely scratches that give the glass beautiful character. Slideplayer.com has two great ideas for making your own, including a "Burning Twine" method that sounds really cool (and drunkenly dangerous).

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05 Mar 2010 1:30am GMT

Andrew Salomone wrote a project for CRAFT, in which is guides you though creating a pair of retro-style running shoes from old tires and a busted pair of jeans. It's upcrafting month on CRAFT, where we explore all the possibilities surrounding repurposed, recycled, and refashioned crafts!

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04 Mar 2010 9:28pm GMT

I've been getting emails from a woman who has questions about the Starling Handbag. The problem is she doesn't know English very well, and I don't know Spanish very well. If you know Spanish and English and can answer questions about the Starling Handbag pattern, or translate her crochet questions for me and my answers for her, we'd both really appreciate it!

04 Mar 2010 3:58am GMT

This week on CRAFT we saw:

Articulate Matter - A Sculptural Web Comic

The Making of David Ellison's Tables

Photoshop Cooking

DIY Play Laptop

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28 Feb 2010 10:00pm GMT

Illustration (by Alicia Traveria) for "The Many Arms of Promotion," by Jenny Hart, Venuszine.

Our pal, Jenny Hart, of Austin's Sublime Stitching, has a monthly column called "Crafting a Business with Jenny Hart" over on Venuszine. There's a lot of information here that's applicable to any type of crafting/maker business.

It seems to me that somewhere between working average day jobs and having your own successful business, there would be a scary transition. How did you handle that? Any tips for crafty women who would like to do the same but who don't have the courage?

You bet it was scary. Lost sleep, constant worrying, and seemingly endless work at two jobs: my day job and my dream job. It still is scary. But the scary part is different now. Attempts at making bigger strides, having more demand than resources to meet those demands, managing money wisely, and trying to find financial backing and business people in the industry who get the DIY movement (psst ... they don't) to possibly partner with. I've often felt very much like running a successful business is discovering the emperor has no clothes. Only, you're king at your own company, which means you're the one feeling naked.

From: Starting a small business is all about being innovative and savvy and learning from mistakes

What professional advisers should a small-business person hook up with at the beginning?

Every business will eventually need a lawyer and an accountant, but small businesses can often do without either for a while. A lot will depend on the kind of business you're running. If you need to incorporate right off the bat or have copyright, trademark, and/or patent concerns, then you'll want a lawyer right away. Even small service firms are wise to have a lawyer available for assistance with wording contracts, partnership agreements, and so on, though you can get a long way on the advice of books, small-business resource centers (many states have government-funded programs to help entrepreneurs with basic contract templates and such), and the occasional e-mail or phone call to a lawyer just to make sure your T's are crossed and your I's dotted. As for accounting help, if you're like us and start out as a partnership (the equivalent of an LLP in the U.S.), you can probably get away with just having a bookkeeper (which is a lot cheaper than an accountant), but if and when you incorporate, you'll need an accountant for sure.

From: Knowing how and when to hire a good adviser

You can read all of her columns to date here.

More:

• Maker Business: Magnolia Atomworks, part 3
• Maker Business: Magnolia Atomworks, part 2
• Maker Business: Magnolia Atomworks
• Exploring the business of making
• Maker Business: Venturing out...

In the Market:

Ultimate Embroidery Kit $30.00
Have you learned how to embroider yet? This kit will teach you how to get started even if you've never held a needle and thread. Unique, quality supplies all in one tidy package that will have you set for stitching not just one, but hundreds of possible projects. Even better: your kit will be lovingly hand-assembled for you in Austin, Texas.

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27 Feb 2010 12:00am GMT

62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer by Randy Sarafan
Book site: deadcomputerbook.com
Buy on Amazon

We all have old, broken, or otherwise junk electronics stashed away in our closets. Randy Sarafan's 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer is just what it sounds like and much more, inspiring makers to repurpose mice, scanners, iPods, and yes, computers, to make high-tech housewares, newly-functioning gadgets, and accessories. The projects run the gamut of techniques, and with sections like fashion, pets, and music, there's something for everyone. Not only is the book full of DIY ideas, it also has excellent primers on electronics parts and the safety concerns regarding taking apart and repurposing tech-junk. Once you make your own upcycled projects, you can enter them in Instructables' Dead Computer Contest, where the deadline is March 7th.

Book Giveaway Time!

We're giving away 3 copies of 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer. Just leave a comment on this post, letting us know what kind of dead technology you have, just waiting to be transformed. We'll grab the winners' emails from your commenter account, so don't put your email address in the comment box! All comments will be closed by Noon PST on Monday, March 1st. The lucky winners will be announced next week on the MAKE Twitter feed. Good luck!

Sample Project: IR Camera

Over the years, I have collected a number of digital cameras that are not quite broken, but are definitely no longer quite working as they should. And as it turns out, a somewhat-broken camera is the perfect device for dabbling your feet in camera hacking. You already don't expect it to work exactly as it should, so if you make a mistake, there isn't the greatest loss. On the other hand, when you succeed in modifying it, the results are often phenomenal and result in experimental pictures that often far exceed all expectations.

Download the project PDF to make your own IR Camera!

Update: Thanks for entering! Comments are now closed.

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26 Feb 2010 7:00pm GMT

MAKE, CRAFT and Maker Faire were sponsors of the Fairytale Fashion show 2010 with Diana Eng, here's my video - above in glorious HD (m4v here).

The Fairytale Fashion Collection uses technology to create magical clothing in real life. Electronics, mechanical engineering, and mathematics are used to create clothing with blooming flowers, changing colors and transforming shapes. Research and development for the Fairytale Fashion collection are shared online at FairytaleFashion.org as an educational tool that teaches about science, math, and technology through fashion. Fairytale Fashion was created with the support of Eyebeam Art and Technology Center nonprofit. Diana Eng is a fashion designer who specializes in technology, math, and science. Her designs range from inflatable clothing to fashions inspired by mechanical engineering. She is a designer from Bravo's Emmy nominated TV show, Project Runway season 2 and author of Fashion Geek: Clothes, Accessories, Tech. Diana is cofounder of NYC Resistor hacker group. Diana is currently a resident artist at Eyebeam.

Great show, nice to see everyone from the maker scene in NYC at the show too!

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26 Feb 2010 11:30am GMT

I love watching Makers Market filling up each day with amazing new work, with offerings that run the gamut from inexpensive geeky gadgetry to one of a kind pieces of art. One of the discoveries I've recently gone gaga over is the wire and wood tree sculptures by Kevin, dba "kaitrees."

As he explains in the above video, the wires he uses to sculpt the trees are continuous, from root to branches and leaves. The wires in the 21" sculpture above started out at six feet in length! Kevin humbly describes his creations as "funky metal trees." Some of them take over a hundred hours to complete. The above piece he estimates at about 160 hours.

Makers Market: Kaitrees

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25 Feb 2010 3:31am GMT

A scarf to aid your search for terrestrial intelligence @ Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

The Arecibo Message, one of the most famous messages transmitted as part of SETI, loosely translated, says: "Hi! We're intelligent! We're made of meat! Here's where we live!" Binary designs like the Arecibo message are popular with knitters and cross-stitchers since they can be pixelated easily. We found a pair of fingerless gloves, based on a muffler pattern. We think this type of binary pattern would be good for the message as well. It has also been made into a cross-stitched bookmark. We implemented the embroidered pixels as columns of satin stitching in a single color. The original binary message didn't have any of the color coding that people have added to help explain it, and it seems more elegant to keep it this way. We machine embroidered the pattern on both ends of a piece of linen about 14" x 76". The linen is then sewn together on the back and at the ends, and turned right side out. The edges are stitched down to help it lie flat.

Pattern(s) included, make your own :) Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Crafts | Digg this!

24 Feb 2010 4:51pm GMT

Somebody lucky got this Cylon teddy bear for Valentine's Day! Learn how to make your own with dragonvpm's Instructable.

In the Maker Shed:

Larson Scanner Kit

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23 Feb 2010 4:00pm GMT

In the War between Blogging and Crafting, Crafting has been kicking Blogging's ass.

Which is why we have a sleeve ...
and a tiny, no-info post.

SLEEVE!

Maybe you should send Blogging some reinforcements so you can get some details about the sleeve. Oh, isn't it lovely?!

18 Feb 2010 7:25am GMT

If you're available tomorrow from 5 PM to 7 PM (Paific Time) you should attend the live blogging event Free Thinking my friends at Make and Meaning are hosting concerning the hotly debated subject of "free."

This is a participatory event, so you can ask questions, share your opinion, and be involved in the conversation. It should be awesome! Whether you offer free on your site, you love to get free stuff, or you think the whole idea of free is ruining everything, you should attend and let your feelings be known. It's a pretty deep subject that I think our community has only begun to explore.

If you're like me, and can't attend in real time, the whole discussion will be archived for us to read later. I have a ton of "free" on my site, and I have some conflicted feelings about it. I wonder how it might encourage and restrict the future growth of my site - maybe it will do both. I'm anxious to see how everyone weighs in on the subject.

15 Feb 2010 9:58pm GMT

When I posed Adventures in Neckdom, I asked if anyone knew a standard way to join an fsc chain to another piece of crochet because my connector row was just sorta floating out there.

As you can see in the photo above from that post.

Karin of Make By K left THREE suggestions for dealing with this issue in the comments. One of them is the one I'd already tried - using the end yarn to weave a fake attaching stitch. I wasn't super-thrilled about how it looked.

The next suggestion was to make the next row's stitch into the last (aka floating) fsc to help anchor it. Oh, that sounded pretty good. But it still wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

The third one sounded totally impossible. I had to read it several times just to figure out what she was saying:

OK ... she's saying that I should just make the fsc row as a part of the third row without fastening off on either the left or right back pieces. So smart!

Once I wrapped my head around it, it seemed like the obvious answer! But how!?!

There's more! Read the full post -->

10 Feb 2010 1:13pm GMT

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Megan of Ducks In A Row, creator of the cutest birthday party invitations ever, has totally outdone herself!

Please please please click through to see all the photos, because she put her special little brand of cute on each and every one of the Supercute Sea Creatures. Science confirms that they are 300% cuter than the original sea creatures.

OMG! The tiny red hearts glued to the ends of the white-yarn jellyfish tentacles makes me want to hug someone and smother them in kisses!

Comments are turned off on this post because I want you to channel all your comment-love to Megan.

09 Feb 2010 6:15am GMT

Ansie is a very sweet blogger that I've corresponded with a couple of times. She created this beautiful self-portrait using patchwork, mola appliqué and quilting. I think it's so incredibly beautiful!

It was created for a competition that will select 11 South African artists to become Design Indaba Superstars.

Here is what she has to say about her entry, "I am one of only a very few entrants who uses needlecraft as a medium. I believe that it is a medium that needs more recognition in the art world. I hope that my entry will not only receive votes from people who want to support me, but also from people who support the craft as a medium of expression."

If you'd like to support Ansie and/or give needlecraft some props, vote here. Check out the other entries, too. They are pretty awesome!

I was awarded the Sunshine Award by Jo from Sewing Is For Girls. I'm usually pretty bad about passing these things on, but the Link Fest post is the perfect place to do this ... so here I go!

There are some rules that come with the award which are as follows:
- Put the logo on your blog or within your post
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers
- Link the nominees within your post
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

1) Elsie Marley
2) Paperclips And Playpens
3) No More Disco
4) Becka's Project Journal
5) Crochet By Faye
6) Designing Vashti
7) Made By K
8) Ann Wood
9) Bitter Betty
10) Wax & Wool
11) seaschell
12) Green Kitchen

OK, so I'm going to cheat a little and not go comment on their blogs (some of them read my blog and are actually my friends ... so they don't need a comment from me). What would be awesome is if you visit them and leave a comment if you see something you like. You don't have to say I sent you or anything, just share the comment-love with these nice people!

07 Feb 2010 2:42pm GMT

I found this bright, striped Starling Handbag in Daphna's Flickr stream. Check out her adorable sampler-snakes while you're there!

InStitches52 made this A-freaking-dorable Starling Handbag in Lion Cotton. She also has another gorgeous one in jute-colored Red Heart Eco-Cotton. Lots of great photos of the bottom and other details. BUT, you have to look at all her other crochet work. She is amazing! I'm thinking I need a mobius shawl ... and a tiny little girl.

06 Feb 2010 2:10pm GMT

I've been a terrible hostess lately. I haven't answered comments like I should have. If you've left a nice comment the last handful of months and I didn't say thank you (ugh! there are so many!) I want to say sorry ... but I personally don't think sorry cuts it.

No. It sure doesn't .

Actions speak louder than words. I'm going to try to be a much better hostess in the future. You'll see. :)

I spent my weekend craft-time coding a "reply" feature that threads my responses in the flow of the comments AND emails them to you. I can't wait to start using it! Hey, you know what? I'm going to spend all my craft time this week going backwards replying to as many comments as I can. I may not make it all the way back to yours, but I'm going to try.

And, as just a little extra bit of earnestness, my Make & Meaning post for this week is all about how to treat your commenters, because Commenters Are King!

03 Feb 2010 8:36am GMT

Hello! Cassidy! Are you *still* in bed?! Did you sleep ALL day long? You know, you had something important to do this morning ...

Cripes! Who can stay mad at that cute little face?! I guess 'Hog Along Cassidy is a night owl just like me.

Well, now that you're up, Cassidy, wanna watch a movie?

03 Feb 2010 4:23am GMT

Well, this one borders on self promotion ...

I won a naming contest on Carina's Craftblog for her latest embroidery pattern, Bramble Blooms. Yay me!

How cute is it, though? She has lots of beautiful embroidery patterns for sale.


The blog Sutton Grace just posted a wonderful ruffled collar t-shirt tutorial. She used two matching aqua t-shirts she bought for $2.48 each (score!), but I think it would also look cool using two different t-shirts. In fact, I have one of those tissue tees that is coming apart at the seams that would be a perfect, airy ruffle. Going to make a note right now ...

31 Jan 2010 9:34am GMT

Samantha H. was inspired by Lenore and made 6 Octophrosts for her Christmas tree, which is still a HUGE accomplishment. 48 legs are *a lot* of legs. AND, is that metallic thread!? Yes it is! Oh, man, Samantha rocks!

Rachel O. has crocheted10 Starling Handbags since Thanksgiving! I bet all her friends are happy. :) Here are my two favorites. The blue one has two rows of sparkly blue beads inside the white stripe. The pink on has the cute, simple flower on the outside and the crazy-fun flower patterned lining. Great job, Rachel!

Flickr user Aestral posted this adorable Sigmund the Octopus mod (rounder head and different face).

Is that chef hat cuter-than-cute, or what?! Chef Julius is pretty amazing!

30 Jan 2010 1:15pm GMT

I finished up all my 'hog parts last night for the Groundhog-along. I only have a couple more days to finish him up!

I'm having so much fun making this little 'hog. Just look at his little mop of red hair! I know he looks pissed (that's 'angry' for you brits, not 'drunk'), but he's just a little sleepy. We stayed up too late watching Groundhog Day (it's available for streaming on Netflix. rock!).

The fact that I''m supporting an independent designer just makes it even more awesome. The pattern is only $5 on Planet June, so if you want to join the crochet-along, it won't cost much. You probably already have everything you need to make one in your stash!

Anyone have any good suggestions for a punny name? June suggested 'Hog Along Cassidy, which is pretty awesome. Can you top that?! 'Cause, if you can't, I might need to make him a 10-gallon hat, too.

29 Jan 2010 1:01pm GMT

Perhaps I should have saved up a little bravado from my last post, because this neck-thing I'm about to show you is pretty wonderful, too!

I want to make this as seamless as possible, which I hope means *completely* seamless. I worked the left and right front pieces until I got to the row that will go under the arm hole and connect it to the back. Then I started the right and left back pieces starting at the shoulder seam (which is foundation single crochet, aka fsc). The green arrows show you the direction I'm crocheting out from the shoulder seam for the front and back.

The next step is creating the back edge of the neck hole.

There's more! Read the full post -->

28 Jan 2010 11:03am GMT

Most of the time, I want to be a nurturing, encouraging craft blogger. I want to present things in a way that demystifies the process. I want you to think that you can do any of the things that I do here (and you can! really!). I hope this comes across here, on my blog. I hope you see I'm a person, just like you.

Except for the next few moments ...

... when I want you to think I am a total crochet badass.

Yes, you're seeing that right. I figured out how to beautifully increase and decrease the peacock pattern.

All right ... back to reality.

There's more! Read the full post -->

26 Jan 2010 1:13pm GMT