I loves me some tea towels!

Came across Suzie Stanford's work yesterday and I am just floored.  My favorites are her chairs.  Second hand, she reupholstered them using vintage tea towels from all over Australia.  

This makes me so happy to see, and a little sad that I didn't think to take heaps of them home with me so I could do this myself.  Anyhow, enjoy the rest of the eye candy.

             

And you can check out the rest of these chairs on her site here.

Open Embassies

Here's a really cool thing for anyone who lives in DC. This Saturday (May 2), more than 30 embassies will be holding open houses! Visit everywhere from Australia to Zambia, all in one day. Wish I could go, sounds like a real blast! And bonus: free shuttles around town!

I don't know how to explain to you how yucked out I am.

Let it just suffice to say: Vegemite Cheesecake.  I have had some gnarly experiences with the stuff, even when not living in Australia.  The brown stuff and I are not friends.  It looks appealing, but don't let that fool you!

(via web-goddess)

I love... lamp?

Nice easy instructions for a cool pendant lamp/lantern.  Basically, it's like papier mache, only easier (if that's possible).  Plus, I love a good "make this around a ballon and then pop it" craft.

Enjoy!  And no, I have no idea who those people are.

(Found via Readymade.)

Expansion

So one of the things I find I'm challenged by in knitting and crochet is how frequently you are limited to garments or blankets.  Yes, you can knit or crochet (yes, that's crocheted even though it says it's knit) almost anything, but really, the functionality or the beauty (in my opinion, at least) is compromised by the decision to make it that way (versus another material, like fabric or natural materials).  So I love when I find things like these.  I think once I get my machine tuned up again and the bag-in-progress I have half-sewn finished, I'll try the doily pillow, and really those lamps are great design inspiration.  Hopefully I'll have a submission from that for the holiday issues of the needlework magazines.  (I figure if I write it down that might make me more accountable to my goals.)  Anyhow, check it out.

(Both images via old entries at Apartment Therapy.)

Jump rope to the EXTREEEEEEMEE!

These girls from a local junior high in Ohio.  Really, it's just bananas.  Why didn't my junior high have this?  Oh man, I'm at a loss, this is so cool.  Thanks mom!

Check it out!

I want to live here, please.

Mainly because of this:

But this:

and this:  

certainly help.  Plus, it's in Australia.  Sign me up!  Found via Apartment Therapy LA.

Finally, some knitting.

OK, so I think I've figured out why I never actually get to the project part of colorwork knitting.  It's that I try to be all good and swatch, but I can't stand the frustration for just the swatch, convince myself that the whole project will be like this and give up.  Next time I'm just going to trust that the gauge will be "right enough" (knitting gods, please don't strike me down!) and just get started.  This is enough already!  Plus, if I start mittens in April, I might actually have them done in time for it to get cold again, right?

OMG Shoes

Apparently today is a day for "ohmigod"-ing.  Oh well what can you do?  Just go with it.  And frankly, I can't avoid it when talking about (omg) shoes.  Can we talk about how awesome these are?

All found at Office via Tea and Whimsy.

And really, I want them all.  But the whole not having money, and not wanting to buy anything in foreign currency because the USD is in the toilet kinda makes me think I'm just going to sit here and lust about it for a while.

OMG Small

Despite being cool as heck, I would not want to live here.  Even in London, 101 sq. feet is just too small!  To be honest, I'm not neat enough for that.

I love wickerwork

I want one of these:

and perhaps a picturesque estate on which to put it.  And the carefree existence necessary to enjoy it.

(Found here.)

Reasons why I would like to live in a treehouse.

1.

2.

But mostly 3.

Inspiration from Kristomatic and a google image search.

For Real This Time...

I hope at least.  I've tried this blogging thing before in various incarnations.  I've had an online journal, and a knitting blog that was hosted on a site that was not very compatible with lots of photos and links and the like.  So I think I'm just going to try this and see that happens.  It won't be a "my life" or a "knitting" or an anything else blog.  I just come across things that I think are cool, and now I'll have a place to share them.

Proof in point (both that I come up with cool things and that I need to practice this blogging stuff) is this tutorial on how to make an ottoman from a vintage suitcase. 

Thing is, I don't remember what site I found the link from.  Oh well, I'll get better at this.  At least no one's watching yet.