An explosion of links! I’ve been seeing & reading so many good things lately I just had to include them all, from beaded hamburgers, 500 year old bras, & cardboard bicycles to functional Lego looms. I hope you enjoy.
- Here’s a handy dandy guide for gardeners. It tells you what to plant each month depending on what US region you live in.
- The first bras existed in the 15th c! That we know of. A complete lack of bras before the early 1900’s had convinced fashion historians that they just didn’t exist prior to that. Recently, several 500+ year old bras were found in an Austrian castle that blows that assumption away. Having gone to art school, I’ve heard the whole ‘no idea is new’ argument a few times more than I’d care to. But this kind of supports that. I wonder what other daily inventions we use that have longer histories than we think. Here’s another article about the find, but this one ends with a contemporaneous poem, ie thoughts about breasts haven’t evolved much.
- Great pictures of Edwardian street fashion. Need I say more?
- A fully functional bicycle made out of cardboard.
- An article showing some advancements in knitting, including knitted shoes by Nike & software that maps & realistically models knitting patterns.
- A short history on muslin fabric.
- A fantastic little video on tips for sewing jackets. I’ve been wanting to take part in patternreview.com’s August jacket sewing contest. My goal was to finish two jackets. Maybe not attainable now I’m moving, but this video is making me want to try. And now I’ve found out about Peggy Sagers I must look up more of her tips.
- A whimsical beaded hamburger. I would not have had the patience for this, but it’s very impressive. I especially like how different beads were used for different parts of the burger.
- Another slice of fantastic, although this one can probably be called magnificent too. A great satire on healthy eating. If you’re interested in food politics or health or dieting it’s a must read.
- It makes sense, but my mind is a little blown. Antarctica used to be a rainforest.
- Here’s a trick for growing sweeter tomatoes.
- A very cute & modern free dress pattern. It reminds me of a self-drafted dress I made years ago.
- A scary infographic on what multitasking does to our brains.
- An interesting survey on what people perceive wealth distribution to be & what their ideal distribution would be. All participants- irregardless of gender & political affiliation- wanted the wealth distribution to be about the same.
- See which Olympic athlete body type you have. I am most like a diver or a weightlifter.
- A loom made out of Legos. And it weaves by itself. I want one.
Sometimes browsing the Internet can be like getting sucked down a rabbit hole.
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Disparate Disciplines 
Is that going to be a right/left specific sock? I’m really interested in those! I have clearly R & L feet! How important do you think it is to start with a pair of identical socks? Haven’t made any yet…
Luckily my feet aren’t too different from eachother- one’s just slightly bigger. I would say it’s not too important to start with identical socks. I imagine the toe in the picture, the moccasin aka square toe, would be pretty easy to adapt to your feet. Every other round you add four new stitches- you could easily shift them to one side, add more, or add fewer. Toe up socks might be the way to go since you could easily knit & frog variations without worrying about messing up your almost complete sock. Or, if you really wanted to do cuff down socks you could make separate toes & graft them onto the foot of the sock. If you’ve got heel issues you should check out Cat Bordhi & her new sweet tomato heel. I haven’t tried it yet, but have heard great things about the way it fits & it’s easily customizable depending on the size of your heel. Cat has a free video of the method on her website. The more I get into sock knitting the more surprised I am at all the different ways to make socks- pyramid heels, naive gussets, swirl toes. I’m sure there’s a method out there that can really help you.
I’m looking forward to this! My big toes are clearly the leaders, not the middle two, so I’m interested in doing that. 🙂 It may not be worth the effort, but I’m wondering. Heels are another thing- some seem so boxy and a little bit ugly, but maybe they wear a lot longer? I don’t wear wooden shoes and some seemed designed for heavy abuse. 🙂
I’m half way up the foot now & the moccasin toe seems to be shaping around my toes better than the short row toe (although I found the short row toe easier & faster to make, but that could just be me). I think the boxy heel you’re talking about might be the one that uses a gusset & heel flap. It can last longer, but it’s really difficult to replace if you’re trying to darn your socks. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were originally designed for wooden shoes! 🙂 What surprises me most about it is that it beefs up the back of the heel but not the bottom. The short row heel is the one most like those you see on commercially made socks, so you might like the look of that one better. Not to be a pusher (especially as I’m not being paid to), but Craftsy.com is having a sale. One of their sock knitting (toe up) courses is only $15. It’s taught by Donna Druchunas- I really enjoyed her other toe up sock making course they offer. It’s made me addicted to sock knitting! If you get the course you could ask Donna herself & even post a picture of your feet. She’s been knitting for years & has made a lot of different sock patterns, so I’m sure she’d have some good advice for you. Other students in the course might be able to share their advice too.
thx! 🙂
Welcome! And let me know how your socks come along.