Monday Musings Etc.
Donna Druchunas’ latest book, Successful Lace Knitting: Celebrating the Work of Dorothy Reade has a sock pattern of mine in it, Mendocino Socks. She has interviewed me for her blog and will we posting that interview tomorrow, July 27th so don’t miss it!
Crafty:
- Create your own one of a kind bottle stoppers - I think I need to make some of these to close the bottles of my homemade beauty products! But a great idea for the next time we give away bottles of homemade liqueur too.
- While we’re on the subject of homemade gifts, why not make your own gift bags too? I did this in high school a bunch. But I formed mine by wrapping around a box that had the same footprint I wanted my bag to have. I made bags from wallpaper sample books, clearance wallpaper rolls, contact paper, and stenciled or rubberstamped kraft paper.
- This is a really cute One Hour Bag pattern that I’m sure would take me more than an hour, but I might just have to take the time this week as I dust off my sewing machine for something work related this week. (via Craft)
- If you are new to handspinning or ready to learn more, Amelia at Ask the Bellwether has a great breakdown of many of the titles and what area(s) of spinning they cover. I definitely agree on her categorization!
- FossilGirl recently finished a great looking 2nd pair of Herringbone Rib socks!
Food & Drink:
- Tea & Cookies has a great post on salad dressings and salads in general which is helpful in the heat of summer.
- NPR shares 4 recipes for shredded salads (think slaw, some with a twist).
- How about a raw kale salad? I stumbled upon this while looking for ideas for some of the CSA produce we’ve gotten recently. I’m not certain if I’m brave enough for raw kale… Maybe…
- The same week I posted about grilling pizza, Cook’s Illustrated’s weekly newsletter did as well. We gave their crust for grilled pizza a try last night (with some really unusual toppings) and it was quite good.
- As real donut lovers, I’m not certain if muffins that taste like donuts is a good thing for our household or not… it might be too easy to justify “one more” if they are a muffin rather than a donut.
- The Scandinavian coffee lover in me (and the designer) loves this limited edition poster print of a graphical definition of 20 different coffee-based drinks from Plaid Creative.
Photography:
- Ed Verosky, author of the 100% Reliable Flash Photography e-book appears at DPS with 8 On-Camera Flash Tips.
- Diane Gilleland is back at Craft sharing some Cheap and Simple Tools for Better Blog Photography, mostly covering some DIY lighting solutions and backdrop tips.
- I know you knitters will understand - there is no “perfect” bag so you just have to keep buying and trying because surely the next one will be an improvement right? It is the same with camera bags. I’m in lust with both the Shootsac and the Kelly Moore Bag and the Epiphanie line is still a bit intriguing too.
- In a bit more affordable category are these extra long and wider camera straps from VMJESS made to allow you to wear your camera diagonally across your body more comfortably. My sister got me one for my birthday back in April and I’m loving it! It really takes the strain off of your neck.
Reading Update:
Well, last week I finished both my e-book and audiobook that were in progress, but I found little time for print (and even e-book) reading last week. The heat kept me up pretty late most nights and I’m working furiously on a few different deadline projects which frequently cuts into reading.
On the e-book front, I finished Unravel Me by Christie Ridgway. This was one I made time to read, it sucked me in that much. Plus it was on my iPhone so I could easily grab a few minutes here and a few minutes there which really ultimately adds up. I really enjoyed it and it made for the perfect summer reading. I almost wanted to turn around and buy the next one right away, but I keep reminding myself that I’ll enjoy the next one even more if I read at least a few other books in between.
This was also my first book read in the new iBook app that is standard with iOS4. I liked the app, they took a few clues from Stanza, my preferred e-book app, that Amazon still needs to take such as info about how far you are to the end of a chapter. It does not have as many controls for the display though so I think whenever possible I will continue to stick with Stanza as my primary e-book book reader on my phone. In this case, the book was a few dollars cheaper through Apple than Amazon or Barnes & Noble and it was unavailable from the other e-book retailers I frequent from time to time. So, it was a perfect excuse to give it a spin.
On the audio front I finished A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris. This was the second in the Aurora Teagarden series and downloaded via NetLibrary. I think I enjoyed the first book a bit more than this one. But I didn’t read as many books in between as I like to. I find if I take a bit of break I not only pace myself so I don’t run out of books too soon, but I also get a chance to forget an author’s habits and common plot devices and such which allow me to enjoy the books better. I’m not 100% sold on the idea that more time would have caused me to enjoy it more. It was still a fine read and kept me and my knitting good company. I’ll definitely be checking out the next in the series.
Currently Being Read
- E-book - Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank, was free for Kindle a while back
- Audio - Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke, downloaded via NetLibrary
- Print - still on The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner, sluggish progress on this is not likely the fault of the writing, but when I’m in a heavy knitting phase holding hardcover books doesn’t help me recover from the knitting so I opt instead for the e-book because the phone is so small and light
