Where Books Come Alive

The New Zealand Book Council has created an amazing stop-motion video to promote reading. It is really amazing and I would recommend you take a look.

A Crocheted Crown Fit for a Prince or Princess

I found a tutorial to make a cute crocheted crown. My little princesses will love these.

A Gift of Blessings

Daily affirmations can help you improve your overall attitude, which is so important in today's uncertain times. Maybe this set and a prayer can make each day brighter for you! And don't forget, you an easily create you own.

A True Dedication to Knitting

An Afternoon Club in Mersham, England has completed a knitted replica of the village. The project took 23 years! Now, that's dedication!

Have a look - The Knitted Village

Woo!

Today, I was introduced to a really funny and creative man. His name is Howie Woo. You can check out his website at WooWork.com . He makes very unique crochet items and presents them to the world in a humorous way. His site has become a favorite of mine.

I hope you enjoy him, too!

Fluid Knitting

Fluid Sculpture from Charlie Bucket on Vimeo.
This is a really cool and inventive use for surgical tubing. Extreme knitting you'll want to watch again and again.

How Does She Do It?

This is a Rose is Rose comic - one of my favorite strips. It's from 2007, but still funny.

A Horrific Yarn

One of my favorite art blogs is Bent Objects.

His most recent submission is entitled "A Horrific Yarn". As a knitter, I found it amusing.

T'was the Night Before Christmas for Crocheters

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished crocheting not under the tree,
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep-he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my hook to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.

The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.
When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up both Dad and the boys.

And although I was tired-my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.
Yet what I heard left me very perplexed
For nothing I heard was what I expected.

"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Koigu and Clover!
Move Shelridge! Move Starmore! Move Spinrite! Move over!
Lopi, don't circle around, just stand there in line.
Pay attention you sheep and you'll work out just fine!

I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!

And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet.
As I turned around, St Nick I did meet.

He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe
And his clothes were hand crochet from above to below.
A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back.
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran crochet sack.

His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.
The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.

On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a small label:
"S.C." in duplicate on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU crochet all this stuff?"

He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to crochet when I was just a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.

I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.
He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I had laid my crochet hook and yarn for a cap.

He began then to crochet, first one cap then 2 -
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.

Quickly like magic his hooks they flew,
Good Grief! He was finished by two!
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him explain as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your crocheting sometime around JUNE!"


~ Author Unknown ~

Veggie Update

The June convention is fast approaching and I'm getting busier making fruits and veggies for the displays. One display will be a knit/crochet picnic layout. Another will be a display of the edible bounty that can come from out gardens. Some of the patterns will be my own designs, I hope.

So far, I have completed a pear, a strawberry, a pumpkin, a banana, an orange, cucumber slices, an onion and broccoli and cauliflower florets. For the picnic, I need to create a picnic basket, plates, cups, silverware, a picnic blanket, sandwiches, and an apple, plus some other surprises.

The garden bounty display will also feature radishes, carrots, turnips, a few more onions, and some other items I can't think of right now.

When I'm done, I hope to be able to post some links to the patterns I have used as well and write up the ones I design.

Gardening Advice from a Man Who's Very Scared of Plants

This is a Saturday Night Live skit that is quite amusing.

Photoshop Disasters!

Photoshop is an incredibly powerful tool for the graphics industry. Especially when dealing with photos.

Unfortunately, not everyone is trained in its use, nor are all users paying attention to their work.

Here is a really funny site that showcases some obvious and not-so-obvious poor uses of the Photoshop program.

Presenting, Photoshop Disasters.

Warning! Some of the pictures are not for young viewers, so use your own discretion.

Above and at right are two of my favorites:

Castle in the Air and



Sports Illustrated: Head Shot!

Paper Cuts

I don't know why, but lately I have been really interested in paper models. I like to see them, download them and build them. We have already used one, an ankylosaur for our dinosaur study this year. Mommy helped both girls, which was probably best. The girls also made pop-up pterodoan cards for the same unit.

I've already included previous entries with links to unusual paper crafting - see the Fantastic Paper Sculptures post.

Here is another interesting use of paper, along similar lines, but not quite as colorful. Still entertaining. Thanks, Javan!

Get Your Muppets On!

Have you ever wished you could take your love of the Muppets with you? teapotdnky has created an awesome Muppet bracelet made of polymer clay.

I'm sure Jim Henson would be proud.

Knitted Shields

Knitted Shields, to prevent radio wave emissions from appliances from entering the air, not the kind used by knights of old. Talk about being technophobic! Anyway, the end result in the kitchen is pretty neat.

The imagination of some people.... or, should I say, the paranoia.

Fantastic Paper Sculptures

I just love the CRAFT daily post.  I get to see some new artwork of various kinds they have found on the web.  Today had a link to some really amazing paper sculptures by artist Jen Stark.  So, of course, I had to share them.

Enjoy!

Amazing Cake Art

It's truly amazing what we humans can create. They almost look too good to eat.

The first picture is an example of the work of Charm City Cakes, from the Ace of Cakes show on the Food Network. They were requested to make a cake of Hogwarts for the L.A. premiere of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix movie in July 2007.

The second is an example of Russian Cake Art.

Yarn Troll

Well, it sure has been a while since I've posted anything. Life sure got too busy!

Anyway, I just found a blog post that is quite amusing - The Yarn Troll. You should read it. I think I have one of these, too. I've just never seen it.

Yarn Troll

Here's a picture of her troll: In The Flesh

The 14 Days of Homeschooling

THE 14 DAYS OF HOMESCHOOL

(written by an anonymous homeschool mom and her kids — Sing this to the tune of “THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “Can you homeschool legally?”

On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the Sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “How long will you home school, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “Look at what they’re missing, how long will you home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?”

On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “Why do you do this, look at what they’re missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?”

On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “They’ll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they’re missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?”

On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “What about graduation, they’ll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they’re missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “I could never do that, what about graduation, they’ll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they’re missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they’ll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they’re missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: “They can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don’t like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we’ll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!“

On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, “How can I get started, why didn’t you tell me, where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE’RE STRANGE? I think we can do this, if you will help us, can we join P.E. and we’ll home school legally.“

Crocheted Swedish Woven Heart

I have created my second original pattern. The first will never be written up, as I can't duplicate it. I am just not that good at filet crochet.

I will get a picture & the pattern posted asap.