Things of Interest

A few things I ran across in catching up with my blog reading. I was depressed about my blogs - the reader finally gave up counting and said I had 1000+ posts to read. Erf. Reading blogs is one of the best parts of my day, I miss it when I can’t sit down and look around the internet, check in on what people are doing … I like reading more than I like writing a blog, really. Although I like that too.

First up, you should check out the BedUP, by Décadrages (via Curbly). I love small-space designs. This thing stores in the ceiling and pulls down for night, and sits right on top of your normal furniture. While a cool and probably practical idea,  I’m just not ready to sign myself up (again) for the extremely cramped living space such a requirement implies.

See the latest quarterly reports on home values in the United States on this interactive map. Even with the economic downturn Austin’s median home price still went up 2.8%. *sigh* I will own a home someday, I swear …

In York, a new (well, relocated from Halifax) museum opens dedicated entirely to quilting and textile arts. Which got me wondering about quilt museums in the U.S. and turns out there are a number. Excellent! More ways to bore my husband on trips!

FLOWERS! Kaija of Paperiaarre guest-posted on Poppytalk about Gerbera Dream, an “environmental work of art” in Turku, Finland (shown in the picture). 14,000 gerbera daisy plants were placed in front of Turku Cathedral, going right up the steps. There’s also a YouTube video about placing the plants.

Finally, some crochet. Oh Joy posted the following photograph of a 2004 work of art by Janet Morton in thread crochet. This photo is for you, Vicki, who once wondered what on earth could be done with thread crochet. Give a tree new lace bark - of course! Why didn’t I think of that before?

Reminds me of Houston’s knitted graffiti artists, Knitta, but more elegant and less street

Summertime

I’m having a sick day, which means I get to shop online. Do you do that? I pick shops from my Index and go crazy when I’m at home sick. Surf! I can’t stand daytime soaps and talk shows although I will always take reruns of M*A*S*H and bad eighties shows. I wish people still showed the A-Team. I can do without Knight Rider (the Hoff!) but I’ll gladly watch Magnum.

Anyway! Shopping! So I put together another indie outfit, which I am wont to do. This one reflects some recent interests of mine - kimono fabric pieces & kimono-inspired fabric, resin jewelry, handmade shoes, and summer.

One: a beautiful japanese-inspired fabric on a summer halter top. I like that there’s actually fabric that comprises the back of this instead of a small strap (which would make me think someone was going to untie my shirt). I do like the ribbons here, particularly the color. Empire Waist Shirt Dress from Etsy seller Strawberry Farm (aka sugarsandwich).

Two: a pinstriped dark blue denim skirt with black lace detail, cut on a slight a-line. No waistband (I hate waistbands for some reason). Nice casual-but-not-boring skirt from Etsy shop For Tootsie.

Three and Four: lovely, lovely strong colors and shapes can be found in the silver-and-resin jewelry designs of Lulu Smith’s studio. Shown here are the Bauble Earrings (sold!) and the Ripple Bracelet from her online show for Mother’s Day 2008.

Five: a clutch of bright sari fabric embellished with bows from the Nappa Studio of Aya, whose designs to blend East and West.

Six: these Mohop Shoes are pretty awesome. They feature a clever design that allows you to change out the ribbons to coordinate with whatever you’re wearing. The sole is handmade of wood and comes in several styles. Their gallery of ribbon-tying examples is inspiring. The ones shown are High Cherry Wedges with 5/8″ red-and-gold ribbon.

Crafty Critters - I see myself!

Joy from the Best Friends Network wrote and said she found my entry about a project I found on the Crafty Critters community from back in January! I hopped on over and there was my site! I hadn’t seen it because I’ve not been as internet-vigilant lately, but over the past few months I’ve visited the community a fair piece.  It’s pretty obvious I love animals, so I’ve visited there for good crafty-animal-charity ideas.  Plus I just like the idea of the Best Friends network a lot.

Speaking of this, I’ve been working on some pet blankets (one project of many, as usual) from the many, many, many scarves that my dog and my mother-in-law’s dogs get at the beauty shop. Although I’m sure our dogs would like the blankets, they already have a lot of junk.  I decided instead to give the blankets I produce (they’re kind of crazy quilts) to shelters.  I had to stop working on them for a while, though and WASH them thoroughly again because of the overwhelming baby perfumey powdery scent they put on dogs.  Ick.  Had to get rid of it.

Joy even sent best wishes for my little Caper. I’ve been feeling pretty sad about my kitty as he slowly gets sicker, and it was really, really thoughtful of her to mention him (*sniffle*sniff*). Thanks, Joy