A Catherine Noon

13 Knitting and Craft Sites

Those of you who have read my blog know I’m an avid knitter and love to do things with my hands. Here are some of the sites I enjoy for getting ideas or shopping. Have fun!

1. Vogue Knitting Magazine, Knit1 Magazine, and Knit Simple Magazine
Vogue Knitting is one of my favorite knitting magazines. I’ve been subscribing for a while now and their patterns are fun, challenging, and well-written. There’s a lot here for the beginner, too. They also publish Knit1, targeted for 18 to 35-year-old knitters, and Knit Simple, which is both for beginner knitters and for busy ones – the patterns are easy, minimal shaping and construction, and knit up fast.

2. Windy City Knitting Guild
This is my knitting guild in Chicago. A truly impressive bunch of people, friendly and accomplished. Meetings are packed, usually fifty to sixty in attendance! I was expecting a room full of old ladies in rocking chairs, but that’s SO not what today’s knitting craze is all about.

3. Knitty
Knitty is an online magazine and community that has been around long enough to be a mainstay. They have all sorts of cool stuff to look at and get into. Good luck getting out of here quickly!

4. Vogue Patterns
I love Vogue sewing patterns, and they now have their own magazine. It comes out every two months, enough to whet your appetite for sewing. I find their patterns easy to use and understand and they build your skills progressively, which is nice. The site is fun to browse around on, since they also have Vintage Vogue and a link to all of Vogue’s patterns.

5. Craft Stylish and Threads Magazine
Originally Sew Stylish magazine was targeting younger readers and new sewers, but they did not last past a year. Published by the publishers of Threads magazine, Sew Stylish had a lot of interesting material on using special fabrics and adding ‘bling’ to garments. They started a website that is now Craft Stylish, which thankfully is still going strong. You’ll lose some time wandering around in here, so be warned. (Note: Taunton Press also publishes several other high-end craft magazines, so it’s worth checking out.)

6. The American Sewing Guild
I find their site a little boring, but it’s good to know it’s there. It’s nice to network with other people pursuing similar crafts and the Guilds provide a way to do that.

7. The Knitting Guild of America
The TKGA exists to network member guilds and connect knitters with each other. Their magazine Cast On is instructional and interesting. I like their programs a lot. Since their focus is on education, there’s a lot available through their site that is reputable and will help you develop your skills. I signed up for the Master Knitter Program in hand knitting and am excited about it.

8. Butterick
This is actually the same company that makes Vogue patterns, but they have a different ‘look.’ I like seeing what’s available through all of them, so this site is enticing for me. They also publish a magazine called Sewing Today.

9. Interweave Press: Magazines, Interweave Knits and Interweave Crochet
Interweave Press is one of the best knitting presses out there. Their material is consistently excellent quality and they have some incredible designers in their stable. Very much worth checking out.

10. Alice Starmore
Alice Starmore is a designer and author living in Scotland. She wrote the seminal book, Fair Isle Knitting, which I purchased as a present last holiday and would recommend highly. I truly hope they bring it back in print (my copy was on eBay for $100USD). Her designs are incredibly beautiful, both needlepoint and knitting. I am making her needlepoint Chessboard design and am learning to knit fair isle so I can make some of her designs. Check out her site, there are some beautiful pieces.

11. McCalls
I like McCalls patterns. I own a couple of their wardrobe builders and find them easy to work with and sized well. I like looking at their site to get ideas.

12. Simplicity
Simplicity patterns are another good one. They’re easy to use and well-sized. The site is fun to wander. They have more men’s patterns than the others, though it’s still difficult to find a lot of choices if you want to sew for your man.

13. Makit Bakit
I used to love making these with my mom. Remember the plastic stained glass ornaments you could melt in your toaster? These are them! Their designs are still stuck in the 70’s, which is a shame – I keep hoping they’ll join the craft revival. Soon, soon.

Happy TT!

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13 Steps to Organize Your House By the End of This Weekend

So. It’s Spring. (Well, maybe not to the WEATHER!!!) This means Spring Cleaning.

Throw away your image of Martha Stewart here, guys. Let’s play this a different way. Let’s play this like this: your mother (or step mother, or wicked aunt, or your boss – you get the idea) is going to be coming by Sunday evening to pick up something. IN YOUR HOUSE. Crap! So you rush through the house, throwing everything into the hole you cut into the floor, and covered up with plywood and put a carpet on so no one would notice.

Voila.

Clean living space.

So, who wants to join me? We have the Sven Sweating thing, the March FAD thing, all of these are related to writing. To which I say Poo! THIS is related to SANITY! So, who’s with me? (Why is there suddenly an echo in here?)

So, without further ado and entirely too much use made of the word, “So,” let’s begin!

1. Franklin Covey

This is one of the best places to go for all your organization needs. Their training is stellar. Much more than an organizer, their approach is to total-life management. I love them. I’ve carried a Franklin planner since 1994. (Yes, the year BEFORE I went on sabbatical and completely changed my life. You want that story? Tough. We’re getting organized by Sunday night! We’re busy, here!)

2. Sidetracked Home Executives

These ladies are even goofier than I am, and that’s saying something! A no-nonsense, simple approach to managing a home. Their book by the same title is a must-have for anyone trying to keep their **** together. Check them out. Very non-judgemental, fun and creative, AND organized! A lovely combination. (Reminds me of me… but I digress.)

3. The Brat Factor

Bonus site! This is awesome. Written by one of the dynamic duo behind the S.H.E. system (see #2 above), this is along the lines of the Artist’s Way meets your Drill Sargeant meets Martha Stewart. If you’ve ever procrastinated, go here. (Just finish my list first.)

4. The “Don’t Move” Technique

Yes, DON’T MOVE! Just stand there. Okay. Now. Cleaning in a rush. This is one way: figure on everything you need right where you are. Go get a box for “to be filed,” one for “to be put away elsewhere,” one for “to be given away,” and one for “to be shredded.” (Don’t have a shredder? Shame on you! Go buy yourself a cross-cut at Office Despot for $20. Identity theft is NOT a laughing matter. These people go through your trash, guys! Your TRASH! [Like, ICK!]) And a trash can. (No, that’s not a sentence. Shut up and get your boxes!) Okay. Standing where you are, grab everything within sight that doesn’t belong where it is. Put it in one of the boxes, or the trash can. Then move your standing station to the next section or room and repeat until entire living area is done.

Notice I said living area. We’re after the “Oh Crap!” method here, so no fair disappearing into the bowels of Storage Level III to clean out stuff you haven’t looked at for ten years or remembered you had. Get the major living areas – living room, office or where you do your computing, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom(s).

5. The “Staging Area”

Okay. This is unorthodox. I use a staging area. I put my boxes, MARKED AS TO WHAT’S IN THEM – shredding, to be filed, etc., in a staging area, neatly stacked. I use a spare bedroom and a corner of my laundry room. This is because we’re trying to get a clean space for Sunday, AND because…

6. Baby Steps

What we’ll tackle Monday is the Baby Step method of a box a day. You’ve heard of “one day at a time?” This is like that, only better. It’s one box at a time. We’ll do a box a day until we’re done. But for now, the baby step is to get the accumulated crap out of your way so you can pretend you’re Martha Stewart.

7. You’re done.

8. But, that’s not thirteen steps! And this is Thursday Thirteen, so what do I do now?

9. The ABC Method of Organization

THIS is what you do now. You have eliminated the crap, taken out the trash, and assigned shredding to your children. (Grab some WD-40, spray the place where the paper goes, and run it on “reverse” for 30 seconds every 15 minutes of shredding time.) Now you need to put stuff back.

A is for stuff you need within reaching distance without leaving your chair or moving away from your workspace (like if you’re in the kitchen). EVERYTHING else goes away. On a desk, this means you have a telephone and your computer out. All other stuff goes in a drawer or a shelf, not on the desk surface. In the kitchen, this means everything is put away and you have clear counters. (A “counter” is that flat space used usually for dish storage. You can actually prepare foods on it, put out cutting boards, stuff like that. Cool, huh?)

In an office, A is for stuff like: pens, stapler, tape dispenser, ruler, pencil, white-out ribbon, printer, etc.

10. Section B

This is for stuff you get up to get, but don’t have to go far. An example would be: stamps, envelopes, and greeting cards for family. Create a small section of a drawer somewhere for all your mailing supplies, so that when you go to send something you don’t have to hunt. Grab some good clear packing tape and put it there too. Other stuff for B in an office would be courier (i.e. Fedex or UPS) supplies, spare pens and office supplies, a printer/copier/fax machine, etc. Stuff you use, but not all the time. Kitchen B would be appliances like a blender, popcorn popper, etc.

11. Section C

This is for stuff you need to keep, but don’t need to access every day. Office: files that you don’t reference every day, printer toner, backup paper for printer and/or stationery. Kitchen: fancy dishes, extra glassware, specialized equipment (say, for canning). I actually use a couple of cabinets in a completely different room for this purpose, since I don’t have extra space in my kitchen. Household: backup toilet paper stash, non-seasonal clothing, guest bedding.

12. Put together a home plan

Since we’re only working toward Sunday, this would be something to do after the baby step box plan is implemented. But come up with some kind of home management plan. The S.H.E. system is perfect, but there are others. The point is, have a plan. Menu plans, cleaning schedules, all that kind of stuff. This is simple work, and repetitive. AND causes a majority of fights between housemates, married or not. Eliminate the stress by putting a plan in place so the plan, not you, is doing the work.

13. Emergency plan

In today’s day and age, it pays to have an emergency plan. There are lots of things you can do, but some easy ones are: have photocopies of your wallet/purse contents; have a list of emergency contacts; have 3 days’ supplies put together in case of loss of power/transportation; have an up-to-date estate plan and communicate this to your next-of-kin. Emergencies don’t need to be stress producers IF you are prepared. Stay calm, read up on what to put in an emergency kit, and talk to your family about what to do.

So. Sunday night, let me know how you did! Leave me a comment, tell me if your house is ready for a snap visit! And let me know if you want to do the baby step box plan – I know I am! I could use the moral support. And immoral support. And partial support. (Getting a theme here? Oi!) We don’t have to be disorganized, but if we are, we don’t have to do it alone! Let’s get organized together, so that next Thursday 13, we won’t be caught off-guard! (And Martha Stewart will be coming to US for ideas!)

Happy TT!

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My Thursday Thirteen…

13 Astronomy Websites I love astronomy. I was an astrophysics major at one point, but needed more time than I had funding so I switched majors. It’s always had a place in my heart, so I thought I would share with you. Astronomy is one of the only fields of science today that routinely benefits from amateur research. Amateur astronomers across the globe work hand-in-glove with professional scientists at academic and government institutions, furthering our understanding of our place in the larger universe. 1 – Google Moon Explore the sites on the Moon that we’ve landed and explored so far. Kind of makes you want to wander up there, doesn’t it? 2 – NASA: Our Solar System A great site managed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, it educates the viewer about our Solar System. Also links to NASA’s main site, which is full of interesting information including a history of NASA itself. 3 – Dr. Sten Odenwald’s Astronomy Cafe One of the best sites on the internet for astronomy information. He covers all sorts of things, including the job outlook in the astronomy field. I love this guy! 4 – Another NASA site, Solar System Exploration This covers the latest updates in the exploration of our solar system, from the Mars rovers to the Cassini satellite. Fun stuff! 5 – Space Weather Discusses the importance of understanding solar storms and why they’re a problem. Associated with Dr. Sten Odenwald. 6 – European Space Agency’s Science and Technology Page Produced by Europe’s version of NASA, discusses what’s new in the European theater in terms of space exploration and research. 7 – Hubble Telescope See images produced by the flawed Hubble Telescope. Talks about history and research as well; an interesting overview of applied astronomical technology. 8 – Science World Not limited to astronomy, this site has a bunch of interesting information on all aspects of current science. You could get lost in here for hours. 9 – Exploring Space: The Quest for Life, a PBS production Fascinating collection of history, research, and cutting-edge science in the field of space exploration. There’s a cool Space Simulator to play with and lots of other things. Kid friendly, as long as they’re old enough to understand the topic. 10 – NOVA’s Science NOW NOVA, a popular production of the American Public Broadcasting series, has collected a number of science resources in a family-friendly website. You can even ask questions of Cal-Tech Astronomer Michael Brown. 11 – The Sky All sorts of fun astronomy-related stuff in here. You can also get to the Ultimate Space Guide from their main page. 12 – US Naval Observatory A bit dry, but one of the best places to go for hard research (read: data) on astronomy. You may have to digest their storage methods a little before finding what you want, but if it’s available, they’ve got it. (This is a more hard-core site for those serious astronomy geeks out there.) 13 – Federal (U.S.) Government Teaching Resources for Astronomy If you have students of astronomy in your family or are one yourself, this site may help you. A collection of a massive number of resources of interest to student and teacher alike. Happy TT!