Sewing Machines, old and new.

(crossposted at BlogHer)

I was going to write about sewing today. That was my plan. I've spent the weekend sewing on a purse I've been designing, ripping and redo-ing as each little problem with my no-pattern-all-in-my-head piece became apparent. It seemed logical to simply search for fellow bloggers doing the same thing. Right?

Right?

And it's not that folks aren't sewing and blogging about it.

Cottage 46 Knitter just starting sewing and has several of the beginner's projects that she shared. Reclaiming the Home has started sewing clothes for school (with tutorials!) already. So cute!
DIY Maven at Curbly even wrote a nice tutorial on making an apron out of napkins.

There is a basis to write about sewing projects. But as I wandered through blogs, I found a greater theme: sewing machines.

Cottage 46 Knitter, besides knitting, started sewing after acquiring several sewing machines, including this vintage Singer 99 in a bent-wood carrying case. (From personal experience, let me tell you these things only make the "portable" class because they are not in tables. Mine weighted a ton!) Hers, from 1928 will be unelectrified and turned into a hand-crank machine. Sewing during "power down" days will not be a problem for her!

Idyllic Chick was gifted a nice Singer 301 In honor of receiving her wonderful gift, she posted a great gif on how a sewing machine works. Go check it out! After I posted about her machine at BlogHer, she even posted photos of her beauty!

I used to own a number of vintage Singers, including a Feather Weight constructed near my birthdate, about 5 of the 99 - most made in the 50s- and one of these 301s (in the more contemporary tan color). Believe me, it's one of the very best Singers ever made. I would pick this hands-down over a Feather Weight any day. (gasps from the readers change weather around the northern hemisphere).


The 301 is slightly larger and slightly heavier than the revered FW, but this is a gear-driven machine where the FW is belt-driven. The difference? Besides the obvious fact that you don't have to keep trying to locate and replace belts for the machine, a gear-driven machine doesn't transfer any of it's kinetic energy like a belt-driven machine does. Every little bit goes right into the act of sewing, which makes this a strong silent workhouse. This is a machine that can power through upholstery fabrics, heavy denims and even machine quilt with ease.

And the 301 and 99s are 3/4 sized machines. This means they are a bit shorter than their full-sized sisters (like the 201) but not quite as tiny as the 1/2 sized Feather weight. Sometimes having just an inch or more room in the throat plate region makes a big difference in what you can sew

If you're at a garage sale or auction house, and need to choose between these machines. don't hesitate. Grab your self the 301.

Not everybody is going vintage, however, in their sewing machine acquisition. Minnie's old "big box sewing machine" died on her a couple weeks ago, and she went out and purchased herself a shiny new Bernina! Does she love it? I think so:

Already i have completed a bunch of basic mending tasks that have been sitting around in my sewing room waiting for me. Some for actual YEARS have been waiting to completed. Also many of the decorative stitches have been tested and gloated over.

I swear.. sewing with this thing is sweet!

We sewers do have a dedication to our equipment. We split into camps of "Classic Singers", "Pfaffies" and "'Nina heads". Many women promise that the first item out the door in an emergency evacuation would be their sewing machine. Yet some anonymous woman chose to go a step further and bring her machine with her to eternity. Check out this Flickr photo of a sewing machine etched on a headstone.

I sold or gave away all my vintage machines about 10 years ago, when I purchased a (then) near top-of-the-line Pfaff. It's far from the newest machines of today, but it still keeps me in stitches.

Do you have a sewing machine love story or a photo you'd love to share?

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Crafting A Life: Carnivals, Influence, and Crafty Lit

(crossposted at BlogHer)

There has been a bit a good news breaking that involves the crafty-blog scene. A new craft carnival has been announced, a knitter is named one of the most influential women bloggers, and the crafty chica pairs beach-reading lit with crafting fun!

Let's look closer:

Carnival of Green Crafts
The folks over at Crafting a Green Life announced the kick-off a new blog carnival: The Carnival of Green Crafts.

The Carnival of Green Crafts is a twice monthly online celebration of all things eco and crafty. Whether it’s a full-fledged tutorial or your personal musings, photos of projects in progress or completed, great thrift store finds that are destined for a craft project, or a love letter to your favorite environmentally friendly craft supplies, we want it! We hope that this Carnival is a place to show off, inspire, rant, rave, learn, and support each other as we find ways to create beautiful things while protecting the Earth.

If you're unfamiliar with this concept, wikipedia defines a blog carnival this way:

A blog carnival is a type of blog event. It is similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks links to other blog articles on the particular topic.

CAGW has published a bi-weekly schedule for thier carnival with one even a month being run through thier website; the alternate carnivals will be run through individual blogs. If you make, photograph, or simply find about a great green craft project remember to submit it to the COGC list. And consider hosting a round of the carnival yourself.

--------------------
This week Jarkko Laine published NxE's Fifty Most Influential 'Female' Bloggers (look who's #1!) and coming in at #15:

Stephanie Perl-McPhee (aka Yarn Harlot)

Yarn Harlot -
Why She Matters:

Known as the ‘Knitting Sensei’, Pearl-McPhee might not be the most important figure to everyone, but the knitting world pays close attention to what she says and does. Pearl-McPhee is not only the most influential knitter online, but also a knitter who uses her position for greater good through her non-profit organization. Her blog was also recently voted the ‘Best Canadian Blog‘ of 2007, as well as the ‘Best Hobby Blog‘ on Blogger’s Choice Awards.

Funny, as I read through this list, I had to admit that I knew very few of the women listed. I know a couple of them from Twitter, or from attending She's Geeky or BarCamp last year. I'd even read a post or three on some of their blogs. But most of these other women have no influence on me, my online experience or my life. Most of the other women did not matter to me.

However, when I spotted a familiar face among the crowd, it did effect me. While 3 out of 4 American households admit that they spend some time each week crafting and many more have added gardening to their lives, and while there are a significant number of these people who blog about these activites, I always feel like we live in a private little corner unknown to the wider blogosphere. To have a knitter ranked as #15 on this list is a step toward feeling validated as a genre. For me.

-------------------
Now on to something that's just plain fun!

Just in time for wonderful beach reading season and with carefree evenings of simple creative fun in mind, Kathy Cano-Murillo wrote 10 Creative Projects Inspired by Crafty Lit. From Terry McMillan's The Interruption of Everything to Lois Winston's Talk Gertie to Me there is a book and accompanying craft for any taste or beach stay!

Time to increase my "wish list" at the library and start inventorying my on-hand supplies. Think I'll pick my books based upon the supply list.. which should really shake up my summer reading style!

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags: nablopomo, crafts, blog carnivals, Kathy Cano-Murillo, Steph Perl-McPhee, Crafty Chica, Yarn Harlot, CAGW, green crafts

Busy Day?

Only a slightly uncommon look at the table when I'm working. Where and why I picked up two coffee mugs, I do not know, but some fruit to munch on (looks like I munched all the mango!), a cup of something, and the cell completes the picture.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Linky Love

Crafting A Green World announced a new Carnival of Green Crafts. Want to host a round of the carnival? Let them know.

Dabbled kind of turned the tables and interviewed Sister Diane of CraftyPod.

Things I never knew: 163 Things You Can Compost.

Syperella photo-demoed a wonderful Shoe Re-fab!

Jen, from painted fish studio, used an Ikea Gronos lamp as the basis for a group pARTy. Each participant had two lamps, gel medium, and beautiful papers. The results are stunning. This was one of several "hacks" found via Ikea hacks.

That's Fit listed 5 supplements that may be right for you.

Bakerina give a recipe for the Cake For What Ails Ya. It includes a generous portion of cardemom, which some believe has great health benefits.

Dark Roasted Blend gave us perhaps TMI about geoducks.



I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

Where Have All the Seed Gone?

Where have all the sunflower seeds gone?
Just filled this yesterday.

Where have all the sunflower seeds gone?
I think I know.

Where have all the sunflower seeds gone?
Gone to hungry vermin squirrels.

When will I ever learn?
When will I ever learn?
I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Trying to Be My Own Life Saver

lights on San Pablo Bay.

I've read this several times, probably getting it in my email inbox or quoted on a blog somewhere. Today I'm thinking that I envy this woman whoever she is.

Age 3: She looks at herself and sees a queen.

Age 8: She looks at herself and sees Cinderella.

Age 15: She looks at herself and sees an Ugly Step Sister and says "I can't go anywhere looking like this!"

Age 20: She looks at herself and sees "too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, tto straight/too curly" -but decides to go out anyway.

Age 30: She looks at herself and sees "too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, tto straight/too curly" -but decides she doesn't have time to fix it, and goes out anyway.

Age 40: She looks at herself and sees "too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, tto straight/too curly" -but thinks "Hey, at least I'm clean!" and goes out anyway.

Age 50: She looks at herself and sees "I am" and goes wherever she damn well pleases.

I know that when I was little I did consider myself a princess. The only girl in the family made that easy.

As I grew older, my mother returned to work. As the only girl, I had to assume her tasks around the house: cooking, cleaning, laundry. So Cinderella seems like another apt description. The responsibility to get this work done meant that I seldom had the opportunity to go out anywhere. I learned to hole up in my house, hidden and quiet. I learned that the world got along just fine without me.

It was a bad lesson to learn.

While there were times in my 20s where I did "just go out anyway" as I got older, the tendency to remove myself from society, to hide away from public grew stronger. There were factors that made it easy for me to do. Part of me thought " I was too something to go..." so I didn't. Probably too boring or too invisible.

There came a point in my life when running away became easier than not. When going out and making contact and engaging in life became too much of risk. I wasn't enough to go out among others and engage with them. I had a home, a spouse, a couple dogs. While it wasn't enough, I could push it to fill my time.

People were surprised how many quilts I made, how much I cooked, how devoted I was to walking my dogs (ok, still am). They didn't seem to guess that this was all I had to do.

The internet and the birth of social media makes it possible for me to both and appear to be participating in life. I can sit in my secluded home, twittering and blogging and flickring. Look at how social I'm being. Still I am sitting here alone, isolated from the world.

I have a friend (let's call friend Q) going down this road. Running away from the world. I want to reach out and grab Q, pull Q out into the sunlight, and push Q into the biggest, noisiest crowd I can find.

I want to join Q there.

Engage in life. Get all bumped and frazzled and ego-bruised, hugged and over-looked, smiled at and flirted with, admired and dismissed and talked to and yelled at. Loved. Ignored. Caught as a glimpse.

I want us both to learn about people deeply and with passion. I want us to trust that we are not invisible. That we are not so fragile that the world will crumple our souls and toss us away like so much litter.

It's funny in a way that I can wish this deeply for another and be willing to risk this for another, yet I'm still paralized to go forward on my own. I need to be my own life saver.

When I lay in bed tonight and imagine tomorrow or next week, I will imagine myself taking a small quiet step out into the world. Where I will go, I am not sure. That I need to go, I'm certain.

Edit to add:

I just checked my Yahoo horoscope for today. And I must share, in light of the writing above, how strange and wrong and ironic it was:
Recently, you've been sacrificing too much of your own free time for the sake of other people. Whenever someone has asked you to come to anything you've said yes, and that has got to stop. Are you too uncomfortable having holes in your social calendar? Those holes are a great gift to give yourself -- time to relax and do whatever it is you feel like doing. By being so social, you are losing some of your independence. Make sure you get some alone time soon.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

A Garden Full of Possibilities

(crossposted at BlogHer)



We are at the height of summer vegetable gardening across the northern hemisphere. Plants are established in their spaces and we, the gardeners, are starting see the rewards for our work. Surely a garden tour is in order, right? Keep in mind, that my garden is mostly potential at the moment, not edible produce.





The pomegranate fruit above is one of several hanging on the tree still. This bush/tree is only 2 years old, and colorfully packed with blossoms. So few of them turn into actual fruit, though. I have yet to figure out why.



All My tomatoes have set fruit. This San Francisco Fog was the best producer last summer, giving me tomatoes inspite of loss to scrub jays and pocket gophers. Ah, the pocket gophers! They are becoming the bane of my garden existence.













Bell Peppers. While I can find little fruit, the blossoms are thick on this plant. The heat from a week ago encouraged it to nearly double in size in a week! (it was a sickly thing before). The ripe peppers promise to be yellow and orange, which means they will probably still end up red. But I can't wait until they blister on my grill, bathe in Balsamic vinegar, and show up in almost every dish later this summer!










You can't tell by the scale, but this Pumpkin plant is completely dwarfing the pepper growing next to it. It should yield better than a dozen 8-10# pumpkins perfect for carving or making into pies and puddings. Again, I can't wait!












Now to the sadder parts of the garden. Those darned gophers seem to be picking off my Swiss Chard by color! Gone are the gorgeous golden stalks, and the red (as you can see) is withering away. They have eaten the roots and the base of the plant. Next they will pull the remains down into their tunnel and devour that too. So far the white has remained immune, and while not as colorful on the plate, is quite a tasty treat at dinner for me.










One experiment for the summer was to plant two soybean plants. The picture of snacking on freshly picked edamame from my own garden? Irresistible. Alas, I may need to adjust my expectations. The first plant is puny and doesn't promise more yield that these several pods.

And the second plant? Disappeared overnight, the victim of plant predators. I'm suspecting that durned pocket gopher again.









At least my citrus trees are all full of fruit for the fall and winter. One of my navel orange trees kept us fed for over a month last year; it promises to do the same again. And the Meyer lemon growing on my deck is full of blooming promises! These should be ripe just in time for hot September day lemonade into throat-soothing late fall teas.







What are other Bloggers reporting about thier own gardens?

My Bit of Earth picked a great head of cabbage from her garden, and shared her recipe for cole slaw.

Seedling shares her own veggie garden's potential in photos.

My California Garden in Zone 23 got her veggies started during our last heat wave. With heat late into fall, she should still be able to get a great return for all her rock-picking efforts.

Thanks to Farmgirl Fare, I know something new to do with my Swiss Chard. Make her fresh, lowfat twist on Cole Slaw!

Daisy at Compost Happens wrote about "found water."

Nikki mentioned blue berries and a cool caterpillar.

Susan Harris warns that hardy kiwi's great if it doesn't eat your home. And she's still waiting for some fruit!

Photo credits: Debra Roby's Flickrstream.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

Cooking Simple

It happened again last night. I twittered my dinner (I often twitter what I've prepared for myself) and got the above reply.

Now, I am not a fancy cook.

I prepare fairly simple, plain fare with fresh ingredients.

The meal that got the response above? Trader Joe's (thawed) frozen scallops cooked in butter/olive oil with a squeeze of lemon juice at the end of the cooking. Heirloom tomatoes sliced along side. And a small amount of farfalle afterward to soak up the sauce.

A meal that took about 10 minutes to prepare and not much more time to plan.

Other meals that have gotten comments?

• Irish oatmeal with strawberries.
  
• Vegetables, coated with olive oil, grilled, then splashed with balsamic vinegar.
• A salad of mixed greens, 5 strawberries, deli turkey breast dressed with (guess now..) olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• Left over grilled veggies warmed in chicken stock and coconut milk and served over brown rice.

Nothing complicated. Nothing requiring me to consult with a cookbook. Nothing that took long to prepare.

Everything fresh and healthy, but simple still.

So I wonder, why do I get these comments? Is simple cooking so rare these days that simply reporting it is remarkable? Are my food combinations so unusual? Is that I cook at all, instead of relying on take out and dine in?

You tell me.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags: nablopomo, food, simple food

Eating My Way Healthy

It's 10:30 am and I'm digging into my mid-morning snack as I type this. Curious? It's a small plate of mixed baby greens, with 5 sliced strawberries and 3 ozs of Oscar Mayer 98% fat free shaved turkey breast. The whole thing is topped with .5 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil and 1 Tbs. of balsamic vinegar. (Calories: 156. Fat:9 g. Carbs:8g. Protein 14g) Not quite in my target range (25%/ 35%/ 40%) but close enough for government work. I'll drink a tleast 12 ozs. of water with this.

This followed a breakfast 3 hours ago of Red Mill Muesli which had soaked overnight in Silk Unsweetened Soy Milk. I stirred in a scoop of protein powder before eating it. (Fat 7g, Carbs 30g. Protein 39) and, of course had coffee with a little more soymilk with it.

My meals balance out to be right on target for my goals. For those who question the soy milk, I'm allergic to cow and Silk is the only brand I've found that makes a version without extra sugar. Don't know why Almond, Rice and most Soy milks have to have sugar in them, but it makes them unpalatable to me. So Silk it is.

If you are just starting out on a healthy eating plan, hoping to lose more than 10# or just beginning to exercise again, your dietary goals will be different than mine. You should probably be eating 20% fat (good fats, though: olive oil and nuts), 50% carbs, and 30% protein.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags: nablopomo, food, "healthy eating"

Still Lovin' the Lichen

OK. The yellow stuff is a lichen.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

Feels Like the Weekend with Links

Algae? growing on my deck railing.

Links for the week:

Jill hubby was clearing out his wardrobe; she grabbed old t-shirts and refashioned them for thier son.

Craft Stylish has a great demo on Weaving on a Card Loom.

Stuart Robinson asks: How Long Have You Been Gardening?

Knitorious posted this color-inspiration photo.

Belinda at Ninja Poodles is dedicating this month of NaBloPoMo to Slow, Local and Thoughtful Food.

Taylor Ryan, from Real Women Lift offered a healthy Blueberry French Toast Casserole. Can't wait to make this!

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

Just a Duck of the Head...

It was just a duck of the head.

Katy, my lab mix, was licking the remains out of my morning oatmeal bowl and she merely ducked her head a bit to side. Suddenly I reminded of my old dog Woody. Movements are one of the most powerful triggers to memory.

Woody was a shy, bit obssessive Border Collie/Lab mix we rescued from the county humane service. While not the runt of his litter, he was runt+1. Definitely the lowest male in his birth pack. When he came to our house, he also became the lowest rung male, below my spouse and our adult male dog, Prince.

Because of his status, he developed some interesting quirks; Katy's simple duck of her head this morning reminded me of one: he'd try to bury bones, treat and toys to keep them safe from status animals.

Being an inside dog, Woody's most common act would be to try and bury his special thing in a blanket, quilt or lap throw. He'd place it gently on the cloth, then scrape the edges over his treat with his front paws. Final perfection of the bury was always done with nose scraping cloth, teeth tugging cloth, paws kneading cloth to make a perfect hide. He'd inspect his work and often destroy it and begin again.

Scratch, scrape, tug, knead, scrape, tug, knead again.

Eventually, he'd be satisfied with the work, lay down on top of his prize and take a nap.

Sometimes, however, his burying "gene" would kick in strangely. He'd have a rawhide treat or a particularly flavorful tennis ball and decide right that minute that it must be buried where it was. Which was usually on a carpeted floor.

Thankfully, his unique brain would recognize that this must be a very stealthy bury. No scratching of the soil could take place; it might signal to the world that something is buried here. Instead, he would quietly rub his face against the carpeting, moving his muzzle in a mounding fashion, trying to get the nap of the carpet to cover his work. He'd gently knead the area, rub some more, gently knead.

Usually he could decide for himself that this prize was safe. Then he'd retrieve it, destroy it, or carry away, perhaps to bury it again in a quilt.

We have two dogs today still, but Woody was lost just over 5 years ago. (a sad tale I shall not transmit today). I still occasionally miss his goofy mannerisms, though the BC we adopted after his loss has plenty of his own.

None of them involve imaginary burying.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

The Craft Blog is Dead!Part Two

It still is rather looking like Social Media is killing the blog stars...but

There were a couple responses to my original post that made me think. They mentioned the quantity of the blogs supporting Etsy artists and the habit of communicating on Ravelry or Craftster, but still blogging. I think they missed the point of the original article. So I responded:

The arguments being made are not that there is a dramatic drop in the quantity of blogs that exist. That was not the point. New blogs spring up every day in scrapping, quilting, crafting, and knitting, everywhere!

It was rather that the number of blog posts on individual blogs have declined in number. Instead of writing 4-7 times a week, many only blog 2-3.

It was partly that the conversations do not travel from blog to blog anymore. After Cara's post Sunday, it used to be that half a dozen or more readers would take the discussion to their own blogs, writing posts responding to the original statement. Conversation. Community. As of this morning, KnitNuts post cited above and one other: Ravelry Killed the Knitting Blog Star by Expat Knitter are the only examples of the community carrying the conversation further.

It was strongly that the conversation and community that was built on these blogs (and I've seen it in knitting, quilting and crafting) has nearly disappeared. This is exhibited in declining cross-blog conversations and declining comments on blogs.

It was rather that some of the quality of the writing has declined. Instead of talking about the joys and challenges encountered while creating something, the posts tend to be drier: I finished this; it's for honey bear. I used supplies A, B, C. (BTW, if you don't explain in your side bar, or somewhere who "honey bear" is? I care less about the fact he/she/it is getting it, no matter how precious it is.)

It was rather that many "A" list bloggers have now gotten designing jobs and book deals and blog about "I'm working on project X which you will love when I can show it to you."

It was in part the monetization of the blog post:
"Here are 5 earrings I finished for my Etsy shop. Click here to buy them."
"This is my latest scrap lay-out, to download the specifics click on the paypal button at the end of the post. "

Again these are not posts that lead to community building or conversation. If they do, I'm not seeing it. Please feel free to point specific examples out to me so I can be enlightened.

-----------
Now that you've read my entire spiel (sorry for verbiage. Well, no I'm not!), what do you think? Has there been a decline in blog quantity and quality? Has it merely shifted to newer bloggers I haven't found yet? Is simply that life changes create blog changes? Or is that social media sites (like ravelry, burda-style and Ning communities) have taken over some of the roles that the blogs used to fill?


also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

The Craft Blog is Dead! Long Live the Craft Blog!

Lucky you, today. I wrote this yesterday for BlogHer, got a couple responses there that made me think and formulate a response. Today, you get the article. Tomorrow comes my additional response.

Maybe it's just summertime, I think. Posting on craft blogs always slows way down in the summertime. That's the likely explanation.

Except the slowdown began way before summertime.
Except the slowdown includes blogs just going away.
Except the slowdown includes bloggers lowering blog posts because of book deals.
Except the slowdown includes a lack of interesting posts on the blogs that are there.

Which makes some wonder, is the craft blog dead?

Cara Davis of January One, was considering the same thing this weekend when she wrote KnitBlogs. New knitblog webring software was requiring everyone to re-register. From an active ring with firm rules, the ring has now dramatically relaxed its rules: only one knit-related post a month is required. Yet many of the original 1300 members will probably not join the ring or not qualify to join the ring.

But what does this mean?

It might mean that blogging has evolved beyond the "common interest" ring. Early in blogging, the blogrings were a way to find new members, to connect to those with common interest, to build that blog-community that we all rave about. Now, with RSS feeds do we really need blogrings? Is that the part of the formula that's become archaic?

For myself, I've got to say yes. I think I may belong to several rings, though I never click through one anymore. I have my quilting blogs in my BlogLines and Google reader; clicking through a ring to find something new takes too much time.

Davis suspects it's more than our simply outgrowing the "technology" of blogrings. Looking back over the past year, she believes that the dramatic shift away from a blog-based community began with the birth of Ravelry.

There are many many blogs on my bloglines list that post very sporadically and when they do, they blatantly say they've been on Ravelry. It's MY OPINION that the interesting discussions about knitting and projects that used to be on the blogs have moved over there - instead of many in-depth posts about a project we generally get one wrap up post that says the details are over on Ravelry. No doubt, Ravelry is an extraordinary tool in this community, but the social aspects of it have had a huge impact on what I loved about knitblogs.

The same thing has been written about Twitter and Facebook and Fill-in-the-blank-latest-social-media-site. Yes, it's easier to connect on one of these sites. On blogs, often we feel alone in the woods or lost among the masses. There seems to be no in between ground anymore. You write and occasionally get one or two comments, or you write and always get 50 or more. On a network sites there is the impression that you are always involved in the conversations and the community.

I'm not certain that this is indeed true, but is it even a valid observation? The comments (68 and still growing) keep the discussion going:

Amber summed up part of my feeling about the decline in craft(knit)-based blogs:

I think you're right that Ravelry has had a huge impact. In some ways though, I think that's good. A lot of blogs were just like here's the specs - and didn't really write about the process or their thoughts. Sort of like what one blogger once referred to as a "Cheese sandwich blog" (Dear Blog: Today, I ate a cheese sandwich. The end.) I felt like the same old big names were always writing the more involved posts everyone would talk about (I think that's still true); there's just fewer basic stats out in blogland.

"Cheese sandwich blogs"... I'm going to have to remember that. I've admitted that the draw for me in any craft blog is the author explaining their personal process. What they did, why they chose to do that one thing, how they feel about it's outcome. (If you need a great example of a knitting process blogger, look no further than Grumperina. All process. All the time. And one of the best damn knit blogs in my reader.) Many's the day that I click through 50-100 blog posts searching for that one unexpected process post without success. I used to find them all the time. Now, frequently I find a simple "Here it is. I finished project XYZ." No thought, no analysis. Simple news.

BeadKnitter was the first to state the other main argument, that lives change and blogs change with them:

Blogs change because peoples lives change. There are blogs that I used to read religiously that I don't even visit anymore, and new blogs that I new read religiously. It's part of the human condition. Everything changes. Nothing stays the same.

As for Ravelry being to blame for this, I disagree with that. The blogs I stopped reading didn't change because of Ravelry. They changed cos the authors life/interests did.

Alice points out another problem with knit blog successes:

Another factor is purely commercial. A lot of the most popular bloggers have gotten book contracts. Design details that might previously have been discussed on their blogs are now saved for their books.

KnitNut's Wool & Words,took the discussion to her blog with The KnitBlog is Dead! Long Live the KnitBlog! She mentioned another factor missing from many knitblog communities that was like ants at a picnic 2 years ago: The Knit A Long (KAL). I had noticed a decided gap in KALs on blogs, but thought I was just missing them somehow. Perhaps not.

However, in one of the clearest distinctions between her interaction on Ravelry and her reading/writing of blogs, however, she states (emphasis, mine):

The blogs I read are the ones where I feel a connection to or have an interest in the personality of the blogger behind it. I go to Ravelry to find the information I'm seeking about projects, yarns, patterns, communities. I go to blogs for people.

So lives change, the internets change, successes change. It all leads to a decrease in quantity or quality of blogging. We shall see if this is a temporary or permanant change. While Davis acknowledges her own blog has changed dramatically in the last year with a pregnancy and the birth of her daughter, I sense we all believe that eventually she will return to blogging obsessive series of posts on mitred squares and we will check back through our readers for every word.

What do you think? Have you seen a decided change in the craft blogs recently? Do you believe that other social media sites have taken some of the action? Or is it just life coming between the blogger and the page? And who are the new bloggers that are replacing those that have left?


I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

350. Craftivism for a Greener World

(crossposted at BlogHer)

Everywhere you turn this summer, conversations, both private and public, seem dominated by the topics of the environment, global warming, carbon footprints, living greener. Not surprising with the daily reminders that's something not right with the world today. Besides changing lightbulbs, reducing driving, and saving water, though, what can a crafty person really do? Turns out we can do a lot.

We can use our craftivism to spread the word about the importance of the number 350. Bill McKibben has started the website 350.org to encourage us all to work toward a a global CO2 reading of 350 ppm. How better to spread the word than through art and craft activism.

First, there is the 350 postcard project. (an example of these postcards above)

Though we strive to keep our campaign up to date with the most cutting edge, open-source, web 2.0 organizing tools, we've decided to start out the 350.org campaign by getting back to basics. So to launch the global open source movement to spread this number, we’ve begun an experimental project to spread the word through one of the oldest forms of communication – the mail. In words, collages, drawings, or any other form on the back of a postcard, we want to hear from people all around the world, why it’s worth it for you, your community, and the rest of the world to aim for 350 parts per million?

More importantly, though is Creativity 350:

a partnership between five craft- and DIY-themed websites who are looking to help creatively spread the word about the important new climate change awareness group called 350.org.

The websites are familiar ones:

Craftster (who is hosting the site)

Etsy

Craft:

Burda Style

Thrifty Fun

To get us all involved in spreading the word and having some craftivism fun, Creativity 350 is hosting two wonderful contests at the moment.

The first is creatively called Creativity 350 Craft Contest. Make a project that expresses the importance of 350 using any technique or materials that you wish. Upload a picture of your project between July 15th and August 15th. Then from 8/16-8/31 vote on your favorite projects. The winner will receive a wonderful pack of prizes!

Looking for something to keep your school age kids busy for a while this summer? I'd think having them craft about the environment would be a great busy-time activity.

The Creativity 350 T-Shirt contest runs in the same frame. Come up with a completely original design that will help spread the word about 350.org, upload a GIF or JPEG file of your design and let the public vote. Another fabulous prize pack is being offered (I so want to win this!).

The word is already spreading.

Rob Walker of Murketing wrote:

One of the reasons I devoted one of the closing chapters of Buying In to the DIY/craft/handmade scene is that while it’s clearly a material-culture phenomenon, it’s a material-culture phenomenon that seems to have, on some level, an ideology....
(The Creativity 350 Craft Contest is [author edit]), in other words, about getting the word out, on a subject of greater significance than most of consumer/murketing culture,..

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags: craft, green, craftivism, Murketing, 350.org, CRAFT, Etsy, Craftster, Burda-style, Thrifty Fun, creativity350

Now a Pair..

A couple more photos from our trip up to Suisun. They just seem to go together.


Duck, Unfed


Please Do Not Feed Ducks Sign.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

Friday we braved the smoky air to drive up Suisin and our favorite Greek restaurant for lunch. While walking along the waterfront, this was too good to not record.

For the record: lunch was my oh-so-predictable meze plate.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Smoky NorCal

This photo was taken last night about 7 pm. It was, I think, the only time all day that the sun was visible at all through the smoke. This smoke is being blown down the coast from up near Mendocino County, a couple hours drive away on the freeway.

The latest reports are over 1000 fires burning in the state. Add the threat of dry lighting strikes again this weekend, and we are looking for a chance of a dark, sunless summer for a while. Here's a map with many of the major fires pinned.


I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

Link Love

In the normal course of my reading through my RSS feed every week, I find way more great exciting posts and articles than I use for my posts on BlogHer. While sometimes it's because these are off-topic, usually it's just that I can't find a way to rope them all together that makes sense in my head.

So I'm going to start just laying them out here in a crazy link-fest. It seems to be I should be able to make this easier using Google Reader, or del.iciou.us or something. When I figure it out, I'll let you know. If you've figured it out, please fill me in.

First, for the crafty shoe-obsessed among us, check out Spyderella's photo demo on a summer sandal re-fabrication.

Second, Calamity Kim demos how to use a photograph as the basis for an embroidery design. Easey-peasey!

Third, Painted Fish Studio threw a Friday night pARTy and had her friends all decorate IKEA Gronos lamps.

Fourth, I thought it was expensive to fill up my VW Passat. Pammy Beancounter convinced me otherwise.

And Knitting points out that UCSF's Memory and Aging Center has set up a channel on YouTube.

Imagining that someday you might get a flat belly? That's Fit points out that the best foods to eat to get there are all healthy fat foods.

Ok. Not bad for a start. The smoke from all the wildfires are keeping me inside and at the computer. So I'm sure I'll be finding more things that fascinate me.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and at BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Childhood Home

Fresh Scrubbed and Ready for Bed: left to right, my older brother Mike, me, my younger brother Mark. I'm guessing this was 1957 or 1958.

I lived in the same house from the age of 3 until 24. It's the longest I've ever lived in one place; it's much longer than I can imagine ever living someplace again. I seem to tire of a place after about 7 years; yearning for something different, something that will with who I am at that moment. Something that will feel like "me".

I have had homes that I liked, homes that I tolerated, homes that I loved. That 7 year itch hit me with all them. I've lived in my current home for 10 years, and yes.. I yearn for something much different.

Still, I look at this photo and have such memories:

• The plaid wallpaper is tones of gray and yellow.
• My older brother's pajamas were white, black, brown and orange. (how do I remember that?).
• When we first moved into the house, I slept in this bed, sharing the room with my older brother, Mike.
• I was a restless sleeper and would fall out of this bed almost every night hitting that table (sewing machine cabinet) on my way down. Sometimes I'd hit my head; sometimes an arm or shoulder. My upper body must have been a collection of permanent bruises.
  
• As soon as they could, my parents switched Mark into this bed and gave me the "jr." bed- with half a railing - in the other bedroom.
  
• Many a morning I would wake up with my arms twisted through the rails.
• Eventually, they put me in a double bed to give me plenty of room of move.
• My grandmother once stayed overnight and shared the double bed with me. I punched/hit her 3 times in my sleep. She never stayed over again.
• When my youngest brother was born, he shared that room with me until he was 3.
• When I was 9, I was moved back into this room, and didn't share it with anyone. The boys were put in the master bedroom, and my parents took the middle sized room. This was my bedroom until I moved out.
• When I was 10, my mother (in a fit of decorating zeal) painted the ceiling true red, and put a carpet the same color on the floor. The walls were white . I was stuck with those decisions until I moved out.
• In the few pictures I have of me from childhood, I never smile with my mouth open. My mother didn't either because she disliked her teeth. I think I just mirrored what I saw.
• At that time, the three of us were a singular unit. Rarely was one of us punished or rewarded separately. What happened to one to happened to all.
  
• That singularity changed as we all started school and completely dissolved by our teenaged years. Now I'm completely estranged from my brothers.
  
• Look at my hair! It is as wide as my (very narrow) shoulders! Perms were a regular part of life back then.
• I'd love to have a red room again. But this time, I'd put the color on the walls.

I also blog at: Weight for Deb and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

The wildfire near Fairfield, CA. is about 40 miles ENE from my house. Still the smoke from that fire is creating hazy and unhealthy air conditions. The wind is blowing it all right down upon us.

Compare the photo above (taken on Monday) to this one taken Friday evening. Notice several somethings missing? Like the sun? The bay? The distant hills?


I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Strawberry Season

This is my strawberry pie recipe. I've had this note on a piece of scratch paper for about 30 years or so. It is stained with strawberry juice from mashing too close to it; it is marked with fat from stray bits of pie dough that fell on it. As one of my favorite recipes, you'd think I'd take better care.

But the thing is, it has survived this long just as it is. I know the look of the paper, and can grab it from a pile of other similarly stained and marked cherished recipes without a thought. For about 3 decades I have managed to keep this.

It hasn't been ruined by stains.
It hasn't been mistakenly thrown away.
It hasn't been lost in a move.

It has remained.

Is it silly that I fear if I were to copy it to a "better" piece of paper that it would somehow vanish? I wouldn't recognize it on an index card and would spend hours looking for this particular scrap.

And for those struggling to read it's blurred directions:

Deb's Strawberry Pie

1 pint strawberries, mashed

Add 1C sugar, 3 Tbs. corn starch, 1/2 tsp. butter
Boil over low heat about 5 minutes until thick & clear - stir - cool.

Put 1 pt. berries in a baked pie shell and pour cooled mixture over.

Garnish with whipped cream.

Sometimes the mixture gets too thick to pour. I simply add a little simple syrup (I always have some mixed for the hummingbird feeder), and stir until a nice pourable consistency develops.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

The cooler air has returned, at least temporarily, to the bay area. With it's return, I actually switched into cotton knit pants this afternoon to walk the dogs. That's when I noticed something interesting.

All of my "non-gym" shorts (plus a "skort") are a khaki or tan color. All of them. There are no black, no gray, no olive drab. Just khaki.

I don't a thing in khaki except the shorts/skorts. I can't imagine wearing khaki pants or a long khaki skirt (all my pants/skirts are black, gray, olive).

I think the khaki/tan short color compliments my summer leg color (thank you Dove Energy Glow moisturizer with subtle self-tanning). But it's too close to my skin/hair coloring to wear in larger doses. It make me visually appear a tannish blob.

Now the question is, since I know I won't be adding to other wardrobe items, should I try to bring my black/gray/olive bottoms colors into the shorts, too?

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Looks Like Heaven, Feels Like Somewhere Else...

It's HOT in the Bay area today. Friday, the official temperature in my town was 101F, though the Weather Channel online tried to comfort me by saying that it "felt like 95!" Today is supposed to be replay.

Fortunately, we live in a newer home, which means we have AC. Many parts of the bay area, have older homes; and most of the time AC would be a waste. When the fog rolls in by 9 pm, dropping the temperatures into the 50s, houses cool down quickly. This makes AC an expense that's hard to justify.

Even though we have it, I normally run ours only 10 or so times a year. (This is the 5th or 6th time so far this year. Can we say climate change?) When the fog returns, the AC goes off even if the house gets rather warm during those late afternoon hours. Our unit is really undersized for our house, so the energy to cool things for 3-4 hours just isn't worth it, IMO.

Even though I'm not a Bay Area native, I've grown to love the bay area fog most of the time. Or at least until I'm wearing polar fleece on the 4th of July while I'm trying to watch some fireworks.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tags:

So much for NaBloPoMo this month!

It's hot here in the bay area. Not HOT like it is in other parts of the country in the summertime, granted. But hot for here. And just plain sunny all day. Yesterday the high at my house was about 91F; today it's supposed to get closer to 95F. Thank goodness the daytime humidity is down about 30-40% or I'd be dying.

As it is, I try to sit in a dark shady corner of my house (my house with 20 some windows facing an unshaded southern exposure) and not sweat. The dogs move from spots on the tile to spots on the marble whenever the floor beneath them warms to thier body temp.

What's there to blog about. I'm here alone with the dogs, or out at a store using their A/C. My life is dull repetition and isolation. My thoughts are slowed. My life is boring and dull and I'm completely unable to find one interesting moment to tell you about.

The dogs just both sighed in unison like they know how boring my life is too.

Waiting for the fog; waiting for the cool.

Considering how the f*&k I'm going to improve my life so my I have more social contacts. When you have so few, how do you build more? (without the more traditional fall backs of kid's schools, sports activites, or a church?) I've tried to volunteer at several places; they love me, they have work for me. I call them; they promise to get back to me. It never goes anywhere.

Melt into a puddle...

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

The Girl Effect

This effect video explains The Girl Effect. Improve the life of one girl, and change the world:



I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.