Cactus Chair.

Lady Gaga’s “Living Dress,” from the designer of Catwoman.

It’s a little hard to see, but it’s the best view of the three videos I saw in showing the movement of the dress. Via Fashioning Technology.

The other day I read the Codex Seraphinianus. It was mesmerizing. I made the decision that the moment I start making a decent salary, I will take $1,000 of that salary and spend it on a first edition of the book. For now, I will have to resort to reading it on the internet.

And perhaps knitting myself a few pairs of mittens.

Read the rest »

We’ve hit 50! Yay!

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.

• It so simple but it looks amazing! Loop D’ Loop is chain stitch, lots of it, around and around your neck.
• Fish are just so comical. Especially fish with giant stick-out eyeballs. Bloop!
• From PopKnits: Hopefully not named after Stephen Harper, and Fayfay.
• Piece is a simple textured scarf.
• The New New Shale Cowl is quite delicious in a variegated yarn.
• Same principle for this Ridged Lace Cowl.
• With a rough translation via Google Translate and clear charts, you could easily knit these Finnish Egyptiläiset lapaset (Egyptian Mittens).
• I can’t remember what the stitch pattern is called (it’s something like Chinese Wheat or some other more logical Asian name), but it’s one of my favourites. It’s interpreted brilliantly in these Fingerless Mittens.
• Can’t remember if I’ve linked to this art deco table runner before, but isn’t it great? I came across it again the other day and I think it’s berries.
• Frondly is a stylin’ hat.
• The Mermaidia Socks have a gorgeous pattern in them, especially when knit in a solid yarn.
• These Mitts of the Dystopian Future don’t look especially dystopian, but I will take their word for it.
• Loving this Promenade Scarf!
• This Go Fly a Kite shawl has that great diamond pattern that does shawls so well.

Helsinki is a good place to find neat knits.

Mia (20)

Read the rest »

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 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.

Read the rest »

I almost love the packaging more than the ornaments. Paper Mache Ornaments, via Creativadoration.

Read the rest »

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.

• Some cloudy day reminds me of Kurt Cobain.
• Both the name and the pattern look like they’ve sort of been smooshed together from bit and pieces. But it looks great! Gelsomina by Berroco.
• Cris the star-nosed mole is hilarious and adorable.
• If you are looking for a classy cowl neck sweater, might I recommend Francis Revisited, PDF here.
• I love the palm to these Vineland Mittens. Back, too!
• Spruce up your table with some Holiday Napkin Rings.
• Give a Hoot!
• My friend who is a huge Naruto fan assures me that this Naruto Hat is both awesome and accurate.
• I assure you that these Baby Moccasins are the bee’s knees.
• So is this Tracker Hat.
• These Vinterblomster are a perfect combination of quaint, modern and pretty.
• The Lacy Girly Fancy Hat is certainly lacy, girly and fancy.
• I don’t know where the name Shower scarf comes from, but I love the end result!
• If you are (or are the proud owner of) a fisherman, you’d be well served by some Fisherman’s Luck Vest. Snazzy.
• If you prefer argyle to fish, this Geek Chic Argyle Vest will do the trick.

Ashley from dogged has recently moved up in the polls in the race for President of my RSS Reader, due to the recent announcement that she will be running on a Pro-Mitten, Anti-Sock platform. I have only ever finished one pair of socks (two are hibernating), and the one I’ve finished I’ve only worn once or twice. The yarn is too thick, so the bumps hurt my heel. I am a big fan of wearing socks, just not knitting them. I do, however, love knittin’ mittens. So saying that “mittens are the new sock” makes me extremely happy. There is hope for the future!