I love this Big Box of ADHD. Usually when I see something that makes reference to ADHD, it is cheesy and doesn’t actually involve the disorder or operates on a misrepresentation of what it’s all about. But it seems like this person “gets it.” I think this is a brilliant idea! For each goal or type of project you have, there’s a little drawer, and for each hour you spend on that goal there is a button to put in that drawer.

I especially love the use of buttons, to translate time into something that is tangible. This is a very important tool for people with ADHD, because time is really distorted for them. (Hehe, them. Look at me pretending to be a normie.) Anyhoo, I am totally going to get myself a bunch of jars and mimic this with marbles. I still have my old marble collection so this will be a cinch! (Yes, I had a marble collection. I also had a rock collection, a coin collection, a stamp collection, and a bottle cap collection. Coincidentally, I blame the ADHD.)

(Via Craft.)

Helsinki is a good place to find neat knits.

Mia (20)

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This necklace is really pretty, but there is one thing I don’t understand. If this Cecilia Necklace is made from an unfinished doily from her great grandmother, why are there 2 in stock?

As you can see from the last few posts, my new camera has lead to a rebirth of interest in crafting and blogging my own stuff. Last semester was insanely hectic, but now I am freed to do all sorts of unnecessary but fun activities. For example, I will be making gnocchi tonight (from scratch!) and I did a little knitting on the way to and from the Science Centre.

Of course, that is not to say that I don’t have massive amounts of work to procrastinate on, which is another reason that I am more interested in crafting. This is my to do list:

• Secret important thing that is awesome that I am co-writing
• Poster on work I did for my masters thesis
• Design 200 stimuli for a cool new project I’m piloting next week
• Design another 120 stimuli for the other project I’m starting that is also cool
• Final draft of publication from my honours thesis work

Instead of doing any of these things, I did my taxes. And now I will do Saturday, Pattern Day!

If you are knitting or have already knit a pattern that I’m talking about, leave me a comment and I’ll update my post with a link to your version. If you’ve written up a pattern and you want me to link to it, send me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll post it! It makes the list longer and my job easier.

• I love these two warming items from the same designer: Keep Me Warm Cowl and Vortex from the recent Knitty.
• Russian princess in exile is squooshy and makes me want to watch Doctor Zhivago without falling asleep during most of it and waking up and having it still be on because it is 100 hours long.
• Cute cute cute! Owl and Snake, examples here. Also Zackie Zebra.
• These Vespergyle Mittens are pretty to the max, example here.
• Bowling Pins that are Ducks!
• Flexi Cowl is made with Noro, so I cannot turn it down.
• Carla’s Blanket (example here) has a bunch of really cool stitch patterns that could be turned into anything you want.
• This Snapdragon Scarf is massive and could actually be quite practical in Canada.
• Bear Hat! As the name would suggest, a hat with bear ears.
• Clapochet is a crochet version of Clapotis.
• This Celtic Cable Neckwarmer is pretty darn classy.
• I totally want to make this Princess Daisy Hat. I have been wanting to make a beret this winter but never had the time, but I think I will be knitting one this coming month. There are 5 patterns in the running, stay tuned to see which one I pick!
• These Polly Jean socks are cute.
• Do you want to reach super nerd status, but can’t bear wearing a pocket protector? Wear this Cylon Centurion hat instead. Which reminds me, apparently it’s been revealed who the 5th is! I have to watch the new season so I don’t get horribly spoiled by someone randomly walking by and talking about how surprised they were when it was revealed that blahdiblah was the fifth cylon. Also, my fellow Battlestar nerd friend asked me to guess which character turned out to be gay and I guessed Gaida and it was Gaida! It is right there in his name! You cannot make this up.
• Wishbone is also kinda nice. Not sure if it’s just the photography that makes me unsure of what the final product would look like on a human.
• Just Like a Peasant Cap, example here. It is super awesome.
• Can’t do a pattern day this month without linking to owls, PDF here.
• That’s right, owls!
• Sunray (PDF) is another cute neck warmer with a nice stitch pattern.
• And last but certainly not least, Puppygurumi! Example here.

I’ll try to be more regular with the pattern days from now on! Thanks for putting up with my slacking!

I was at the Science Centre today! I kinneared you guys a picture of an Ogee arch, which looks quite like the top of Ogee lace. Hence the name, I assume. I say “kinneared,” but really I just held up my camera phone and talked loudly about how I was checking the time. “I wonder what time it is.”

“I am continuing to look at the time on my cellular phone.”

“Ah. That is the time on my cellular phone. I will put it away now, until I feel the need to check it again near that model ship.”

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I built a cake! In the shape of a Harrier! That counts as a craft, right?

I made it for The Beau, and I am quite proud with the end result. I aimed for “doesn’t look like a koala,” and I acheived it. It even looks vaguely like an actual Harrier.

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I am a little late on this one, but I’ve only now caught up with all my blog reading! Here is a great suggestion on how to retrofit your mitts! I’ll have to try this on my current mittens, as they are cold enough to freeze your Winnebago.

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I have four trips planned for this year:

• Amsterdam, Netherlands (fingers crossed, submitted the paper last week)
• Sofia, Bulgaria with a quick jaunt down to Greece with The Beau
• Orlando, Florida (The Beau is going there and I am tagging along because hey, it’s effin’ Florida!)
• New York, New York (I have never been and I have finally decided to go.)

Yes, I know I’m racking up the miles this year, but I haven’t been traveling for a while. The Bulgarian and Dutch conferences are also happening within days of each other, so I will only actually need one gas guzzling cross-Atlantic plane ride to cover both (although I will also need a little cross-continental plane to take me from Sofia to Amsterdam). I am really looking forward to these trips! So here are some questions to all you friendly crafters out there:

• What are some good places to go in any of the above locations? I’m curious about everything: hotels, restaurants, museums, fun parties, places to see cute animals, glamorous shopping, parks, I will even visit a tourist trap if it is worth seeing. And I am not opposed to hurling my body into dangerous and death-defying situations, just so long as there is a rope attached to me so I can be snatched back in the nick of time. I want adventure!
• Disneyworld: pro or con?
• Should I go to the Kennedy Space Center again?
• Is there anything to do in Bulgaria that doesn’t involve communism?
• Notable yarn stores? Is there a yarn equivalent of Legoland?

I am on a winding binge. I can’t stop. And I’m considering buying or making myself a swift. Yarn winders are a gateway tool.

I couldn’t resist putting my little yarn cakes on a dessert tray. Forgive me.

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Hey guys! Check out this great sale! For a limited time, you can buy the display model yarn winder for $67 at Wool Tyme! Want to avoid a discount because it’s been used? Want to pay approximately twice what you would pay in the US? Then you’re in luck!

In all seriousness, I actually am really happy about my yarn winder. I also don’t have to put it together, which is nice. Still, though, you don’t think they could have shaved off a few bucks just to make up for the possibility that it could be worn or damaged after sitting in a yarn store for a month? I’m a little annoyed, but not enough to really go on about. I am happy! All my yarn will soon be in balls!

I was going to buy a nice wooden winder from BC for about twice as much ($120), but I was worried that I would be banging my knuckles too much because it was a little small. I was also worried that because the winder was on a belt, it would be difficult to maintain. I took it up with The Beau, and he said to go with the plastic. Two votes are enough!