from amazing illusions

rotating square illusion

here's that traffic information

of dome city you were waiting for

wired magazine

picks it's top ten illustrations for 2007

Mario Hugo's beautiful use of contrast harks back to '50s and '60s art direction. The splash page is an open art piece, a pause between the front of the book and the story well.
Illustration: Mario Hugo

(i don't agree with all of them, but most are spot on!)

latvian mittens

(and a BUNCH of other good stuff)

courtesy of habetrot

merry christmas

i collect ornaments. i love ornaments. here are some of them. lots are blown glass and wonderfully tacky - take for example the christmas mermaid (you can't see her tail from the angle but she's the pink and green one)! i had a blue space man that was my favorite but he's not on the tree this year (my sister decorated and i didn't feel like going to find him). the one with the carrot and moon also has the little bell in the picture. that bell ornament is as old as i am. it's beat up but it's special. my grinch (glass) and my ostrich and my purple moon pictures didn't come out. perhaps next year.

anyway, please have a merry christmas, joyous holiday season and safe and prosperous upcoming new year

knit and purl

punk rawk purl

ok, i don't know ANYONE

who wouldn't want to knit up a mr t OR bruce lee OR the queen of england doll. do you?

knitted icons

i love this (crafty) blog

oiyi's crafts

she has knitting and sewing and cooking and crafting and of course ceasar and napoleon

math and knitting

ya gotta love it
knitted fractals and algorithms

candy

not just ANY candy but

Bamboo Garden Icy-Crispy Dragon Beard Candy

(isn't that a wicked cool name for a candy?)

i LOVE this site

wooly thoughts

they have a wicked cool interactive on-line afghan pattern generator (which doesn't seem to work this morning. hope it's just a glitch. looks like you can d/l it though to your computer)

more math and knitting and all sorts of other cool stuff. i got a book and several patterns. haven't started on 'em yet. knitting away for my department's christmas gifts (34 scarves and neck warmers. they have to be easy and fairly fast to knit up. although i HAVE been slacking off. last year they all got hats)

curve of pursuit afghan-wooly thoughts

dragon curve scarf - wooly thoughts

my hats

how to craft a

felt hat using store bought felt (not felt you've made - from your knitting or crocheting or needle felted)

and some other cool felt hats and stuff

paper craft

ナムコの人気ゲーム「塊魂」（かたまり　だましい）のプレーヤーキャラクタ「王子」を作ってみました

upcoming december holidays (i wanted to get an early start)

december 2007 (courtesy of holiday insights via (one of my FAVORITES bifurcated rivets)

Month:
Bingo Month
Write a Friend Month
Each Day:
1 World Aids Awareness Day
2 Eat a Red Apple Day
2 National Pie Day
3 National Roof over Your Head Day
3 National Fritters Day
4 Santas' List Day - we hope you are on the "Good" list
4 Wear Brown Shoes Day
5 Bathtub Party Day
5 Repeal Day - The 21st Amendment ends Prohibition. I'll drink to that!
6 St. Nicholas Day
6 Mitten Tree Day
6 Put on your own Shoes Day
7 International Civil Aviation Day
7 Letter Writing Day
7 Pearl Harbor Day
7 National Cotton Candy Day
8 National Brownie Day
8 Take it in the Ear Day
9 Christmas Card Day
9 International Children's Day - Second Sunday in December
9 National Pastry Day
10 Human Rights Day
11 National Noodle Ring Day
12 National Ding-a-Ling Day
12 Poinsettia Day
13 Ice Cream Day
13 Violin Day
14 National Bouillabaisse Day
15 Bill of Rights Day
15 National Lemon Cupcake Day
16 National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
17 National Maple Syrup Day
18 Bake Cookies Day
18 National Roast Suckling Pig Day
19 Look for an Evergreen Day
19 Oatmeal Muffin Day
20 Eid-Ul-Adha - date varies
21 Forefather's Day
20 Go Caroling Day
21 Humbug Day
21 National Flashlight Day
21 Look on the Bright Side Day
22 National Date Nut Bread Day - or September 8!?
23 Roots Day
24 National Egg Nog Day
25 Christmas Day
25 National Pumpkin Pie Day for recipes see Pumpkin Nook 's Cookbook
26 Boxing Day
27 Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day
27 National Fruitcake Day
28 Card Playing Day
28 National Chocolate Day
29 Pepper Pot Day
30 National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
31 Make Up Your Mind Day
31 New Year's Eve
31 Unlucky Day

todays video is:

the knitting drummer! (he's pretty cool if you ax me)


The Knitting Drummer - Funny video clips are a click away

website of the day

radical cross stitch

check out fuldesign for some REALLY different patterns (like this one)

it's in swedish (i think) but the patterns TRANSLATE my peeps!

i bought this yesterday

and can't WAIT for it to arrive

it's called purple snowbride and it's from luxe's shop on etsy

i can't WAIT to get it! check out her other hand spun yarns (and she has a few hand knit items up as well).

strange dolls

one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE doll sites. i think beth robinson's work is simply AMAZING

(her ravens are my favorite. she has some KICK ASS spiders out there right now too. please check her out)

strange dolls.net

paper artist of the week

jen stark

pretty cool, n'est pas?

medieval mary knits

knit your bit

for veterans. all scarves DO go to veterans

knit your bit, national world war ii museum

(directions for the scarf at the link. also directions for crochet)

knitting and crocheting - to make YOU feel good

(and to make someone ELSE feel good as well)

warm up america

my dia de los muertos skull-by jean

it's crocheted, felted and embroidered. the pictures don't do it justice (it's stuffed with my fuzzy blue sock in one of the pictures). it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO wicked cool. thanks jean!

from dina taimina

and her husband david henderson

hyperbolic crochet

stamps

the postal service is offering a set of winter stamps featuring KNITTING! way cool, huh

For the 2007 holiday season, the U.S. Postal Service will issue Holiday Knits, four stamps featuring classic Christmas-time imagery designed and machine knitted by nationally known illustrator Nancy Stahl: Thereýs a dignified stag; a snow-dappled evergreen tree; a perky snowman sporting a top hat; and a whimsical teddy bear.

rainbow saturday october 20 2007

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm PASTA (with special sauce)

this was inspired by mark bittman (the minimalist)

Serving Pasta? Forget What You Learned

and his Recipe: Pasta With Winter Squash and Tomatoes

i made a few changes based on MY likes and of course what i had on hand. if you make this in the summer you can use FRESH tomatoes of course

1 large can of tomatoes (whatever. they can be chopped or whole or whatever YOU like)

1 box of pomi tomatoes

1 T of balsamic vinegar

onion (I used a vidalia. chopped. however much YOU like)

1 large sweet potato shredded

1 cup of dried mushrooms and a few sun dried tomatoes (whatever. i used black trumpet, oyster, porcini and morels. OR you can use fresh if you have them. i didn't happen to. my sun dried tomatoes do NOT come packed in oil. they are in fact, just dry)

Olive Oil

herbs and spices dried or fresh (i used basil, sea salt, a few flakes of hot red pepper, just a TAD of freshly grated nutmeg, oregano)

a bay leaf or two

1 T of sugar (optional. use it if your tomatoes aren't sweet)

pasta of your choice

rinse off dried mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. pour boiling water over them and let sit 20 minutes or so. in a bit of olive oil, saute chopped or diced or minced onion for a couple of minutes. toss in the shredded sweet potato and saute (stirring constantly so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot) a couple of minutes more. add the tomatoes and vinegar and stir. then add the bay leaves and herbs and spices. put mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes in with a bit of their liquid. (save the rest of the liquid. as your sauce cooks down, if it's too thick for you add more mushroom liquid). turn heat down and simmer anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, stirring on occasion.

cook pasta and top with sauce! there you have it AND VEGAN TOO