Contrariwise ramblings

Adjustable Sliding knot tutorial

Sliding knots are adjustable knots used to make all sorts of adjustable-length jewelry. No clasps, crimps, or jump loops are necessary. I have some pendants that would look great with a leather cord but hadn't figured out the best way of finishing it. This would be perfect.

Gypsy-woman has a tutorial with great photos. (She cleverly used 2 diffent colored cords to make the steps-by-step instructions much easier.)

Phoenix Sterling also has a downloadable pdf, with 2 variations of adjustable sliding knots.

I must be knotically challenged, because I still had a hard time figuring out how to replicate the technique until I found a You Tube video. So, if you're like me, this might help:



Pin Cushion Tutorials
There must be a lot of sewers out there because there are a ton of tutorials on how to make pincusions . All of these use repurposed materials and stuff you probably have hanging around your house.

Tin Can Pincushion
Your cat will be very happy if you make LOTS of these pincushions because they're made using the cans from wet cat food. (Remember, empty the food first. Also, you will find that washing the tin cans is not optional.) I'm sure you could also use tuna fish tin cans or even caps form spray paint.

Teeny Tiny Pincushions
I found these adorable tiny pincushions made from bottlecaps at How About Orange. The colors as so pretty, they look almost good enough to eat! (Probably a bit prickly going down, though.)

Canadian crafter has a variation on these. She adds an elastic so that you can wear your pincushion as you sew.


Flights of Pincushion Fancy
The queen of Pincushions has got to be Schmaltzy Craftsy. Her pincusions are like little artworks.

I think my favorites are her eyeball pincushions (which can be custom ordered in whatever eyecolor you want - with or without the bloodshot option) and her beehive pincushion.

Several of her amazing pincushions were featured as projects in the book Pretty little Pincushions which can be found at Barnes & Noble.

She also has many flickr pages with galleries and tutorials. Check them out! (They're fun to look at. But I think I''d prefer to buy them instead of making them myself. l'm much better at wielding a hammer than wielding a sewing needle. )




...and more!

Simply select your candidate, download. Cut and fold. Glue and stick on your finger! Hold your own presidential debates with family & friends - in the kitchen, the bathroom, the classroom! Email Adi, the creator, your photos and videos of your debates, she'll post them on her Flickr site. Brilliant!

The only problem I had with the downloads, was that Hillary didn't want to fold.



Cute Overload.
...so...much...cute...head...asplode...



Not enough for you? How about this weiner dog race? So cute it'll make your teeth hurt.

(For even more weiner dog pics, go to Show Us Your Weiner.)