Design Heart - Silk Ribbon Embroidery Design Tutorial By Carol Daisy of Embroideries From Daisy's Garden

There is something very elegant about a silk ribbon embroidery heart. If you agree then you'll be pleased to know that Carol Daisy had created a beautiful heart design on her Silk Ribbon Embroidery blog that she is sharing with all of us. I can hardly wait to try it.

Design Heart - Silk Ribbon Embroidery Design

Copyright © 2009 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Carol Daisy of Embroideries From Daisy's Garden.

Here's what Carol had to say about her tutorial:Could also be embroidered with Two Hearts intertwined.

Please respect Carol's TERMS OF USE:  The patterns and designs are available for your private use only & remain the copyright of "Embroideries from Daisy's Garden". Ribbon Embroidery Supplies are available from our Website " Embroideries From Daisy's Garden."

Carol's Bio: My life is at the stage that I can indulge in my interests of Embroidery and Crafts. Ribbons,beads,threads, laces and trims all have a special place here in my studio. 

My childhood was spent on the family dairy farm in Toowoomba, Queensland. When I was about 12 years old, my Grandmother (nicknamed Daisy – hence the name Daisy’s Garden) introduced me to the joys of needlework. I am so thankful to her for giving me a skill that I could enjoy and build upon for life. After the chores were done, whenever I had some spare time, I would sit quietly on the front porch and stitch away. I remember these times so fondly. When I retired, and finally had some time to myself, I had the desire to do embroidery again. I didn’t get far with the fancy work tablecloth however, once I discovered Silk Ribbon Embroidery, I became addicted!

Copyright © 2009 - All Rights Reserved - Carol Daisy of Embroideries From Daisy's Garden.

Please visit her Embroideries From Daisy's Garden website at http://www.daisysgarden.net.au, her Silk Ribbon Embroidery blog at http://www.caroldaisy.blogspot.com/, and her Create-Enhance blog at http://www.create-enhance.com/.

How To Make A Pincushion Ring Tutorial By Alma Stoller

I just LOVE Alma Stoller's tutorial for making a pincushion ring. I'm definitely going to make a few of these.

How To Make A Pincushion Ring

Copyright © 2011- All Rights Reserved - Written By Alma Stoller of Alma Stoller blog.

Here's what Alma had to say about her tutorial:  Inspired by the pincushion ring the adorable and insanely talented Mondo Guerra often wore on Project Runway, I decided to make my own.

Please respect Alma's TERMS OF USE:  I encourage you to link back to my post. Please give credit where credit is due. Unless otherwise noted, all photos, text, ideas, tutorials and artwork on this blog are the property of Alma Stoller. I'm happy to share with you, but please do not copy, reproduce or use without permission. Thank you.

Copyright © 2003-2012 - All Rights Reserved - Alma Stoller of Alma Stoller blog. Alma is an artist, designer, and blogger.

Please visit her Alma Stoller blog at http://www.almastoller.blogspot.com/, her Alma Stoller Facebook Page at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alma-Stoller/179752818769188 , and her Alma Stoller Tutorials ETSY Shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlmaStollerTutorials.

How To Make A Tie Tutorial By Alma Stoller

Do you love wearing ties? How you always wanted top make one of your own? Well, Alma Stoller has a wonderful tutorial on her Alma Stoller blog showing you how. Enjoy.

How To Make A Tie

Copyright © 2010- All Rights Reserved - Written By Alma Stoller of Alma Stoller blog.

Here's what Alma had to say about her tutorial:  I heart ties, but I have yet to find a cool one that actually fits. Men's ties are either too wide, too long or too 'ugh'. Boy's ties are too short and the fabric is always too 'blah'. It is never small enough, long enough, pretty or flattering enough. Traditional tie making is a total drag. You have to cut one length on the bias and the other length on the grain of the fabric. Then you have to cut interfacing and the lining. By the time I was done cutting, I couldn't tell what was what. So, here is a colorful and easy alternative. I know I am not the only one out there dying to get her tie fix on. So for all you tie-loving gals out there. This one is for you. Make it and Rock it. Any color, any size, any design you want.

Please respect Alma's TERMS OF USE:  I encourage you to link back to my post. Please give credit where credit is due. Unless otherwise noted, all photos, text, ideas, tutorials and artwork on this blog are the property of Alma Stoller. I'm happy to share with you, but please do not copy, reproduce or use without permission. Thank you.

Copyright © 2003-2012 - All Rights Reserved - Alma Stoller of Alma Stoller blog. Alma is an artist, designer, and blogger.

Please visit her Alma Stoller blog at http://www.almastoller.blogspot.com/, her Alma Stoller Facebook Page at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alma-Stoller/179752818769188 , and her Alma Stoller Tutorials ETSY Shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlmaStollerTutorials.

Cryoconite in Birthday Canyon

Adam LeWinter on the rim of Birthday Canyon on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The black deposit in the bottom of channel is cryoconite. Birthday Canyon is approximately 150 feet deep.

The photo (credit James Balog/Extreme Ice Survey) comes from a small gallery at The Guardian depicting scenes of glacial melting in the Arctic.  Second gallery.

Blogged for the stark beauty, but it also prompted me to look up what "cryoconite" is.

Cryoconite is powdery windblown dust which is deposited and builds up on snow, glaciers, or icecaps. It contains small amounts of soot which absorbs solar radiation melting the snow or ice beneath the deposit sometimes creating a cryoconite hole. 

Cryoconite holes have been suggested to play important roles in the glacier ecosystems because many kinds of living organisms have been reported from this structure on the glaciers, for example, algae, rotifer, tardigrada, insects and ice worm.

Details about cryoconite granules. 

"Reversed" map of the world

An anonymous reader mentioned in a comment that he/she had seen a map of the world in which the oceans were depicted as land masses, and vice-versa.  The closest I could find to such a map with a quick web search was the one above (available commercially as a poster), via Big Think and 42 Concepts.

This one doesn't quite "work" for me because my mind still sees a conventional map (it worked a little better when I inverted it).  I would prefer for the artists to have extended the "reverse" effect by depicting the mid-Atlantic ridge as canyons and the Marianas Trench as a towering mountain.  And to have rendered the "oceans" in blue.

Still, it's a nice diversion to view such a map and wonder in a reversed world where I would like to live, which areas would be strategically important, how history might have evolved differently, and so on.

Addendum:  Reader Heather found the map I wanted to see, credited to mygrapefruit at DeviantArt, via P as in Pterodactyl:

Nicely done. (I think I would like to live in the "lakes" district around Indonesia or Papua New Guinea...)

Calvin and Hobbes search engine

There is now a Calvin and Hobbes Search Engine that will retrieve cartoons based on either text or description of the panels.

Via Boing Boing.

A thought-provoking view of life

YouTube link. 

Narration by Alan Watts.

Watts felt forced to decide between the Anglican Christianity he had been exposed to and the Buddhism he had read about in various libraries, including Croshaw’s. He chose Buddhism...

Watts' fascination with the Zen (or Chan) tradition—beginning during the 1930s—developed because that tradition embodied the spiritual, interwoven with the practical, as exemplified in the subtitle of his Spirit of Zen: A Way of Life, Work, and Art in the Far East...

He attempted to work out a blend of contemporary Christian worship, mystical Christianity, and Asian philosophy. Watts was awarded a master's degree in theology in response to his thesis, which he published as a popular edition under the title Behold the Spirit. The pattern was set, in that Watts did not hide his dislike for religious outlooks that he decided were dour, guilt-ridden, or militantly proselytizing—no matter if they were found within Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, or Buddhism...

As part of his growing popularity, Matt Stone and Trey Parker—creators of the animated series South Park—have also contributed a video tribute by animating some of his lectures. 

Via Boing Boing.