Knot Sew Crafty

Little Bits of Reality on the Web

Not as much fun as design blogs, to be sure, but in these days of $5 gallons of gas, I'm afraid they are necessary. They are the cure for that "wanty" feeling.

Frugal/Personal Finance/Simple Living Blogs:

the lean green family--if you have a month to spare, check out their unbelievable blog roll!
the frugal duchess
squawkfox
almost frugal
blunt money
being frugal
living (frugally) well
frugal homemaker plus
frugal fabulous
the simple dollar
on simplicity
mrs. micah
frugal hacks
living the low-income life
simply home remedies
thrifty mommy
the family wallet
paid twice
one frugal girl
frugal fu
greenstyle mom
four pillars
clever dude
dollar frugal
the amateur tightwad
ms. moneypenny
consciously frugal
the hillbilly housewife
living on a dime
simply thrifty
the consumerist
frugal village

**As Squawkfox pointed out in her comment to this post, these sites are actually quite a lot of fun to look at--great tips, recipes, etc. I didn't mean to imply that they were boring and dry! I just meant that they take away the "wanty" feeling by making me aspire to consume less, and come up with creative, rather than monetary, solutions to problems. These blogs are very inspirational and life-affirming! And fun!

Little Bits of Heaven on the Web

Craft blogs are my first love, but lately I've been spending some time with design blogs. I can't visit too often, because I get all "wanty" (a term coined by angry chicken, craft blogger extraordinaire). Also, sometimes the images on these blogs are so stunning that I find them a little bit painful to look at--a good soul-stirring pain, but pain nonetheless. Check them out, if you dare, and please recommend any others that I might have missed, because I am a design blog masochist.

Sweet Paul
The Bedlam of Beefy
a cup of jo
emma's designblog
design*sponge
grijs
Lobster and Swan
My Marrakesh
Made By Girl
black eiffel
Oh Joy!
Design Mom
sfgirlbybay
So Sylvie
tiny k
d.sharp
Bloesem
Bricolage
decor8
layers of meaning

As CMR's Grandma Ellie often said, as much in accusation as in praise, "People are so clever!"

100th Post Giveaway!

OK, this is my 114th post, but better late than never, right? I'm new at all of this stuff, so if I do this wrong, please let me know!

I will be giving away:

A brand-new copy of Basic Crochet Stitches by Erika Knight

A Japanese Craft magazine (TBD)

and miscellaneous goodies from my stash!

Please leave a comment and say hello and I'll pick the winning entry on Wednesday July 2nd. I'm happy to send everything anywhere in the world, so don't be shy!

I've Been Tagged...

I was tagged by Pots and Pins. You should definitely visit her because she is inspiring me to begin quilting and she has great recipes.

Out of all of the unimportant things about me, I'm supposed pick 6 to tell you about. Here they are:

1. I have no middle name. I've always told people that it is "Peppermint."

2. When I was a kid, I read somewhere that if you eat lots of tomatoes, you won't get appendicitis. I still eat tomatoes as often as possible, and yes, I still have my appendix.

3. If I had been a boy, I would have been named "Michael Colin."

4. I won my school's districtwide spelling bee in 6th grade.

5. I vote for the American Idol.

6. I am powerless in the presence of bacon.

Now, I tag:
The Procrastinating Girl
four patch
Betty Lives!
Turkey Cookies
Springtree Road
and Lance at Greenthumbr

Some Posts I Love

Jar Love from fourpatch

Eggs with Skordalia from Betty Lives!

Dum Da Dum Dum from The Procrastinating Girl

Sweet Tea and Plum Juice from Springtree Road

The Sanctimommy from Mom-101

Cars Tell Stories from Berlin's Whimsy

Sweltering

It is hot here at Knot Sew Crafty HQ and I am feeling really lazy. I read a post on one of my favorite blogs, Betty Lives!, and I thought I'd like to make the "Eggs and Skordalia" from Elizabeth David's Summer Cooking. Then I realized that I'd actually have to go to the store to get ingredients, which would mean leaving the air-conditioning, and I thought that a peanut butter sandwich would be just fine.

Maybe I'll just drink some Sweet Tea and read Summer Cooking. There's value in that, right?

Home

I have joined an interesting website/group with the unfortunate name of Nablopomo, which stands for "National Blog Posting Month." It is open to all bloggers and all you have to do is promise that you will blog every day for a month about a specific theme. This month's theme is "Home," which should be easy enough, since that's what I write about mostly anyway. Today is a great day to start with this theme, because it is Sunday morning and we've just had a delicious and harmonious family breakfast. Willa set the table, Beatrix made the batter, and CMR manned the griddle, and, even more importantly, made the coffee. India ran around naked and sang.

Bliss.

Bea's Homemade Raspberry Mush Jam

Blogs that I Love But Can Only Vaguely Understand

I've always been frustrated by foreign languages. It drives me crazy that there are things that I can't read and conversations that I can't understand. I'm also not especially adept at learning them, probably because I am quite lazy and also shy about speaking in public, even in English. I took high school French and college German, and I can get by, but just barely.

I await the day that a computer chip can be implanted in our brains which will allow us to speak any language at will, but until then I will visit these blogs and simply coo over the pretty pictures.

Portes et Fenetres
"windows and doors"

little circus
plaisirs et merveilles pour enfants
"pleasures and marvels for children"

Krawuggl
WOLLE, STOFFE, MILCH UND HONIG UND ALLES WAS SPASS MACH
"wool, fabric, milk and honey and everything that's fun

Olivelse

Bientot Demain

B Comme Bon

A Ervilha Cor de Rosa

husmusen

Tunnelmaa

Another Reason to Love Mark Bittman

As if one were needed...

Mark Bittman discusses what's wrong with the way we eat, in the same vein as Michael Pollan.

by way of
The Jew & the Carrot which is a great food blog, whether you are Jewish or not.

I have a fear of knitters

There. I've said it.

I had been looking forward to going to Colorful Stitches in the Berkshires for a long time. I extricated myself from the family for a precious hour during our trip and headed to downtown Lenox. I entered that store and it was even more beautiful and fabulous than I had imagined. Unlike other yarn stores I've been to, they actually even had crochet books and hooks for sale, but I was still overtaken by feelings of inferiority because I CAN'T KNIT. The salespeople were very friendly but I couldn't shake the feeling that I am still unworthy of such incredible yarn. Maybe I'll stick with Lion Brand Yarn, which I can buy at those huge, impersonal craft stores, until I feel more confident, or at least until I master casting on.