The Norfolk Craft Mafia is extremely excited to announce their first annual holiday arts & crafts bazaar: Handmade Parade!. They are now accepting applications for vendors and sponsors. When and where: Masonic Temple, 7001 Granby St. Norfolk, Virginia 23505 || Saturday, November 10, 2007 10am - 5pm.

Poppy talk has announced a new project - Poppytalk Handmade! Jan is now calling for Submissions for her new online street market. Just like a real street/flea market, indie makers of all kinds will be able to rent a virtual table at Poppytalk Handmade for an opening date of early October/07 (just in time for the christmas season)! The market will feature products that Jan personally loves - each piece handpicked by Jan (who has a great design sense and excellent taste). More info here.

Whiptips craft advice column for readers to ask questions or offer advice by leaving comments. Whiptips archive here. Questions to whiptips@gmail.com.

Katie wrote in asking for advice on fabric purchase.

I’m interested in finding out where people who are making clothing are purchasing their fabrics. I have very few actual stores near me, and those there are stock largely quilting fabrics (if that’s what I wanted, I would have a bajillion places to buy it) and things like wacky novelty print flannels.

I’m specifically interested in making baby clothes (pregnant with our first child), and some adult basics (priority heavily on the baby side - I don’t care too much about making clothes for me), so essentially knits, jerseys, and really soft fabrics for the baby are what I’m after. Organic cottons that are soft enough for a baby would also be great. I’ve looked online and the prices are not so hot from what I’ve found, and the selections aren’t fantastic either.

Any tips would be great!

Team Sampler has been working on a new initiative to encourage their subscribers to repurpose their Sampler boxes.

To help promote the contest my daughter and I gave re-purposing the sampler box a go at home. It was a bit of a joint effort - and turned out to be a simple compartment box to organise small treasures and bits of stuff. For more repurposed boxes check out flickr

If you have received one of the sampler boxes then you can enter the repurpose your box contest - the prize is a FREE one month subscription to the Sampler. Send your entries to Marie[@]Homeofthesampler[.]com

So here’s the question: Are crafters who are making things for their family and friends that are not to be sold obligated to respect copyrights on designs the same way profit-driven manufacturers are? Before you answer, think about it from one designer’s perspective.

My husband and I design and make quilts for a living. It takes a long time to develop each design, not to mention all of the years of education that went into learning how to design. As is the case with any designer, we need these designs to pay for our mortgage, health insurance, groceries and deposits to our daughter’s college fund. Each design is worth thousands of dollars to us in potential royalty payments and commissions. Once we let someone copy a design, we have no control over who sees it and what happens to it. These designs have very real monetary value to us so we have copyrighted them. In our minds inspiration and color combinations are free for the taking but designs should be protected.

Soon after we started our company it became clear that hobby quilters liked our designs and wanted to reproduce them. We didn’t want anyone else to reproduce the designs for the quilts we made for our clients because we wanted to have some designs that would be made only by us. It’s kind of like a chef who wouldn’t want to publish every single recipe she develops. We want to keep some things exclusive to our studio. So we decided to design new patterns that would be available to hobby quilters who wanted to purchase patterns. We published two books with patterns, developed our own pattern line and often sell the rights to some of our designs to American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine so they can be reproduced by hobby quilters who want to make contemporary quilts.

A year ago a quilt that we made and sold to a collector appeared on the cover of a design magazine. The magazine credited us as the designers of the quilt. Since then we’ve had hundreds of calls from people who want to make that quilt and others that have appeared in magazine spreads that have featured our work. This leaves us in the awkward position of having to tell people that these patterns are not available for reproduction. The person always explains that they will not be selling the quilt, only making it for themselves or someone else. Their reasoning seems to be that if they are not receiving money from copying one of our patterns that there would be no loss incurred by us, which is not the case. Each person who asks assumes that they are the only one who is asking and thus it shouldn’t be a big deal to just let them copy a design, just for them, just this once.

An intellectual property attorney who is also a quilter once told us that it’s hard for quilters to understand and value the concept of intellectual property. She explained that because so many traditional patterns are in the public domain (not protected by copyrights), most quilters don’t see why all patterns shouldn’t be available to copy as easily as those that are not protected by copyrights. The believe that everything should be up for grabs to hobby quilters and that copyrights should not apply to people who aren’t selling things. Many people think that it’s wrong for a big profit-hungry corporation to knock off a designer but they don’t think there’s any harm in individuals knocking off designers because the individuals aren’t planning on making money from the designs they knock off. What they don’t see though, is that they are taking something from a designer. They are taking ideas and techniques, which are the livelihood of designers. This is less a legal issue to me than an ethical one.

The irony is that if designers let everyone reproduce designs that have not been released as patterns, the designers would have no designs left to sell, so they would no longer have a company, so they could no longer develop the designs that the crafters want to copy. When we ask people not to copy a copyrighted design that we want to keep exclusive to our studio, we’re not trying to be mean, we’re just trying to make a living and support our family. I know that imitation is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery, but flattery will not pay for my daughter to go to college.

Listography Journal: Your Life in Lists by Lisa Nola (Author), Nathaniel Russell (Illustrator), published by Chronicle Books.

Not just a book but a website too - where you can organise and create your lists for anything and everything you can possibly imagine. You can also search other peoples lists - such as music and books, things to do, quotes and lots lots more. Great for the voyeur in us all or great way to discover new ideas.

The book is an illustrated journal - great subtle water colour illustrations and design features like the rounded corners and heavy paper make it a pleasure to use. List all your favourite things - add to it over time or do it all at once and use it as a marker of where you are at right now.

Chronicle are kindly giving away 5 copies of this book. Winners will be chosen by Chronicle - please leave a comment with a list of your top 5 guilty pleasures. Comments will be closed on Friday and winners chosen, published and contacted the following week.

Here we go…

Birdie mobile. Link.

Butterfly peg dolls. Link.

Cashmere patchwork quilt. Link.

Clay stitch markers. Link, via.

Collapsible fabric bucket. Link.

DIY shrinky dinks. Link, via.

DIY bangles. Link via.

Disappearing 9 patch tutorial. Link.

Father’s day tshirt. Link.

Father’s day monogrammed tie. Link.

Felt baby book. Link.

Inserting magnetic snaps. Link.

Japanese fabric store free patterns. Link.

Oven mitt,

interesting jacket,

baby sling,

zippered pouch,

dog coat,

cape,

hat,

tunic,

fabric flower bowl,

pj’s,

bag,

apron,

baby bib and jumpsuit.

Thanks Lori Kay!

Lazy susan ironing board made from Ikea “Snudda”. Link. Further Ikea hacks over at Ikea Hacker.

Linen tote. Link, via.

Linocut tutorial. Link, via.

Make your own sock blockers from a coat hanger. Link.

Paper trees. Link.

Ragged floor rug. Link.

Recycled doggie cozy. Link.

Self portrait stencils, wow! Link, and at the same blog, list of ways to get images to make into your own stencils. Link.

Hand sewn button loops. Link.

Sew a mousey and his bed. Link.

Its really been quality over quantity this month at whiplash. I think the Zakka theme has stumped many people - but I am glad to see people questioning meaning - Zakka is a style that we in the west have taken to due its surface qualities but the deeper meaning of it all is hidden for those without an understanding of Asian culture and history. In Asian - especially Japan Zakka is a cultural phenomena/fad that is all about a certain style, but it is part of a broader feeling that comes from within their history and religion and philosophy and is ingrained in a way that those of us in the West will never be able to fully ‘grok’ and struggle to really understand.

I have loved all the entries - thank you for taking the time to upload your link and post about your fabu projects.

girl on the rocks -

I struggled with this a bit as I never had a good idea of what zakka really meant. I don’t know that I have figured it out, but I was able to see some common elements in all of the examples. To me they seemed to be simple handmade projects often for a practical use, that are occasionally tastefully embellished. I don’t have a lot of free time this month so I thought that I might be able to add a little embellishment to something. Many of the examples used very natural colors and fabrics…

Hanne from Heaven and Earth

I’ve often seen bloggers using the expression “zakka” and wondered about the meaning. What´s zakka? … I´ve just made this bucket bag out of an ancient piece of heavy homespun found at a lumber room at Samsø a couple of years ago. The lining is a faded red tablecloth. That´s recycling for sure - but I wonder if it qualifies as zakka too?

Zakka life Octopus mitt with pattern.

mettatations tutorial for a lovely heat bag.

crafty beats pockets made from a dishcloth - with pattern and instructions.

Do you know the work of Paula Sanz Caballero? Well, finally she have an official website.

¿Conoces el trabajo de Paula Sanz Caballero? Pues bien, finalmente tiene website oficial.

This is a very simple, creative recycling project children love. They are very quick to make and are fun for kids of all ages. The best part is they’re made with bits most of us have around the house. Warning: this does require diving into the recycling bin.

Supplies:
old magazines - toilet paper roll or paper towel roll - white glue - paint brush - scissors - glitter & sequins

Optional: small hole punch or large needle - narrow ribbon (about 12″ or 30cm long)

How to

Cut down the length of the paper roll.

Trim around to make rings in whatever width you like.

If you’d like to add a ribbon, use the small hole punch or a large needle to make holes in both ends of the roll at this stage.

Take magazines and cut out strips of pictures. We used images from the garden sections of home magazines for some background pattern.

Next paint white glue on the back of a magazine strip, wrap and smooth it around the width of the paper ring and continue until it is completely covered.

Cut around individual images for more detail and glue them on. My daughter used roses but any small pictures would work.

Add other bits, we used sequins and glitter but other items can be used like small beads or fake jewels (real ones might be pricey :)

Put another layer of white glue over the top of the bracelet to protect it, avoiding the sequins if you’ve used them.

If adding a ribbon, enlarge the holes as they may have got clogged with glue, thread a ribbon into both ends and tie a bow. Finished!

TIP: If this is all too girly looking for the boys out there try this: Use car, sports or travel magazines, cut out small images or use lettering to spell things out. You can also glue items like small Lego or tiny nuts and bolts. (see the first pic at top)

About the maker:
Joanie was an art director and graphic designer in Northern California for several years before moving to England in 1997. Her move and parenthood prompted a simpler, less hurried lifestyle. She’s now a primary school art teacher, mother of two, freelance designer and regular contributor to children’s magazines. She displays her work and shares ideas on her site ninimakes.

If you would like to contribute a story or tutorial please read our submission guidelines.

Here’s a quick way to make cute daisies from felt.

Supplies

* White and Yellow Felt
* Yellow Floss and a Needle
* Disappearing Ink Pen (or some other marking fabric marker/pencil)
* Two round things to trace: one big one little
* Scissors, and manicure scissors, if you have them

Trace your big round thing on the white felt. I used the cone that came with a pound of yarn. I used a purple disappearing ink marker to trace the circle.

Trace the little circle in the middle of the big circle. I used the cap from an “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spray bottle. I use the bottle (filled with water) to spray stuff I’m ironing … that’s why it was handy. :)

Cut out around the large circle. Cut from the edge towards the center on the top and bottom side of the circle. Only cut up to the center circle line for these and all the rest of the cuts.

Cut from the edge towards the center on the left and right. Cut between each of the four cuts. You now have eight cuts. Cut between each of the eight cuts. You now have 16 cuts.

I used my cuticle scissors to cut the curve at the top of each petal. I have a pair of manicure scissors just for crafting. They are great for cutting small details in felt. Especially in this case, since the blades are curved.

After I go around the circle cutting the right edge of the petals, I flip the daisy over and cut the other side of the petal. To make the daisy center, trace your small circle on the yellow felt and cut it out.

Attach the yellow circle to the daisy petals with French knots.

Now your daisy is ready to be attached anywhere you’d like. I’m putting mine on a blue crochet handbag.

About the maker:
Alice has kept a craft blog on futuregirl.com since November 2005, but she was passionate about crafting long before that. Currently, Alice is focused on crochet and hand sewing felt, and enjoys creating original designs for both. She contributed several projects to the Anticraft book that comes out November 2007.

photographer: Andrew Merlino

If you would like to contribute a story or tutorial please read our submission guidelines.

I bought a package of 4 Flour Sack dishtowels for $9.99. The flour sacks are 31” x 38”, so they’re a good size. My plan is to cut them in half, hem the raw edges and make dishtowels that aren’t quite so large. That’s 8 dishtowels at $1.25 each. Talk about thrifty!

At about the same time, I noticed my grandson wanted to put his toys in a grocery sack and carry them around. We didn’t think that was a good idea, so I came up with this Toy Bag.

(1) Fold the towel in half lengthwise and cut down the center. You will only use one piece, so put the other piece away and use it for a dishtowel.

(2) Press. Fold in half again, and straighten the edges.

(3) Press under ¼” on one long side. Fold over another ¼” and sew along edge. Cut (2) 2” x w.o.f. strips of a colorful fabric. I chose blue. Press under ¼” on both long sides of (1) blue strip.

(4) Mark center of towel with a pin. Cut the length of the strip ½” past the center mark.

(5) Finish raw edges of blue strips – fold over ¼” twice and stitch. Place strip wrong side down, 2” from the top. Finished ends are in the center of towel.

(6) Pin, and then sew along edges, leaving the centers open. Second strip – fold edges toward the middle, press. Fold in half lengthwise again, press. Sew. Cut this strip in half. Finish (2) of the raw edges by folding under ¼” twice and sewing. Use a safety pin to thread the blue strip into the blue casing. You’ll want the finished ends to be hanging in the middle. Pin unfinished ends even with the edge.

(7) Fold the bag/towel right sides together, pin edges and sew. Sew a 1” seam at the bottom. Fold and press a ¼” and then again, sew to make a finished edge. Turn right side out, press sides if needed and fill with toys!

The beauty of doing the drawstring this way, is that it will never pull out. It won’t hang around the house, waiting for the day we finally get around to putting it back in.

This bag is the perfect size for toys, jammies and a change of clothes to go to Grandma’s house, books or stuffed animals. Very easy and quick to make. And if you don’t need dishtowels, you could make 8 of these bags and give them away as gifts – filled with toys of course! Use one of them to make 2 smaller bags, or 4 tiny bags. Let your imagination run wild!

About the maker:
Karen Gass is the editor of Cotton Spice Quilting Magazine. She learned to sew when she was 9 years old and has been playing with fabric, thread, yarn and things textile since then.

If you would like to contribute a story or tutorial please read our submission guidelines.

I just stumbled across a blog called My Half Of the Brain that boasts more tutorials than you can shake a stick at, and they aren’t lying! This is a crafters dream! It a resource of tons of craft tutorials from all around the web, collected linked all in one place! Wowser!

The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys: 159 Games, Toys, Tricks, and Other Amusements (So Many Projects, Not Enough Time) (Paperback)
by The Editors of Popular Mechanics, published by Hearst (June 1, 2007).

This is an adventurous child’s dream book. Originally published in the early 1900’s it is part of a larger series of Boy Mechanic books. See the original advertising poster below…

This book (and the others in the series too no doubt) is one of those incredible books that encourages creativity in young minds. It begins by extolling the virtues of the cardboard box along with the skills of old fashioned ingenuity and craftsmanship, and a warning - these projects have not been updated with modern ideas of safety and safeguards should be taken.

Mostly though the projects are really quite wonderful, with gorgeous little illustrations and imagination invoking titles. There is a whole chapter on Magic, ’slick tricks’, ’sleight of hand’ and ‘old time magic’. It all sounds so mysterious. For the child more interested in science, and mechanics, there is a chapter titled ‘The science of fun’, with projects including a ‘motor made of candles’ and the section on ‘gizmos and gadgets’ includes instructions on building a ’simple radio receiver’. Other science projects include a ‘perpetual calendar’ and a ‘magic lantern’. Makes me yearn to be a child again.

Other sections include ‘The great outdoors’ with instructions on making boats, and jetties and camping equipment - one project really caught my eye here (well lots did but I can’t tell you all of them) ‘An ice glider’, which is a wooden scooter like contraption with skate blades attached to the underside. All of these so far seem like they are more for the older child, but there is a section for the little ones. With wooden toy projects and a ‘jumping toy frog’ which is made from the wish bone of a fowl. There is a also instruction on making a ‘whirligig clapper’ an ingenious little toy that is designed to make a lot of noise. And for the older kids there is a section called ‘clever amusements’ with paper toys and mirror boxes, a neat little fun idea that no doubt would keep kids amused for hours is the ‘gold fish travel’ a glass tube is heated so that it bends at both ends (this is the dangerous bit they warned us about at the start) and after it cools the u-shaped glass tube is filled with water, as are two fish bowls, one end of the glass tube is placed in each fish bowl and the fish can travel from one fish bowl to the other.

The images come from the original Boy Mechanic, which I downloaded for free from here, (it is out of copyright) via MAKEzine. And the poster is from the Modern Mechanix - lot of vintage mechanic books, mags and posters there - a fun site.

Baby and children’s quilts tend to be done simply and quickly, 1. because you’re usually working on a shower or birthday deadline and 2. because you know they’ll get messy. Yet they are
some of the most satisfying and beautiful quilts around.

Soulemama’s quilt, made for her son

Becket of Craftlog’s green and brown baby quilt

Six and a Half Stitches’ baby quilt — it includes tags to attach toys to — genius! (Currently being auctioned on eBay as part of One in Ten)

Anita of Bloomin’ Workshop’s monkey & crab baby quilt

Blempgorf’s baby quilt with vintage and japanese fabrics interspersed with embroidery blocks

By Small Means’ baby quilt

For a limited time Amy Butler is offering some products at a 40% discount. Their way of saying “Thank You!” for making their new web store a great success! Visit her web store to check out the sale.

Go and check out Sister Diane’s new podcast - craftypod #57 - featuring …. me Kathreen from Whipup.

SiopaEile.com today launched auditions for a new premier Irish Artisan group blog. The auditions follow on the trend from other countries where there has been a boom in artisan blogging. Blogging has been slow to take off in Ireland, but this is rapidly changing with many media personalities and businesses starting blogs. A lot of bloggers are now becoming well known names in Ireland with book and newspaper deals. Auditions for the SiopaEile.com group blog will be accepted until October 30th, 2007. Full details on www.SiopaEile.com

I wanted to let you know about a unique craft fair in LA called The Little Monster Market. It’s made up mostly of vendors who are moms who left the corporate world (VPs, designers, ex-tv execs) to stay home with their kids but found a way to turn a hobby or new found creative outlet into a work from home situation by selling cool, hip, handmade clothes, furniture, blankets, etc… For more information on the market, go to www.littlemonstermarket.com. It’s being held in Studio City at the Sunnyside Preschool on September 4th from 9am-3pm.

So, because its super fun to make random stuff out of material/paper/anything - a sewing “jam” could be fun. With like minded people, sewing machines, coffee and stuff. Bring some crafty supplies, a sewing machine, or anything at all. We can make a group project or individual things, or just listen to cheesy community radio and chatter.

Sunday 16th September 3-5pm || Friends of Blue Gum Lounge, Hackett Shops || RSVP Fri 7th sept. heather.cocquio[@]gmail.com

Knitting Loves Crochet: 22 Stylish Designs to Hook Up Your Knitting with a Touch of Crochet by Candi Jensen, Published by Storey Publishing, LLC (August 1, 2006)

A book for those knitters who also crochet and the crocheters who knit. An end to the dilemma - Candi shows how they can work together.

This is quite a detailed book with over 30 patterns for the home and to wear. From blankets and place mats, to mittens and hats and cardigans and jackets. There are only a few patterns in here appeal to me though - and that may be the fault of the book’s styling and the colours. It is all a bit too dreamy and pink for me, with curly fonts and marbled treatments on some pages. And the designs seem to be either a very icky baby pink or brown and burgundy. One more note is the yarn specs - there is no generic yarn weight given - rather specific yarn brands are mentioned without alternatives offered - I always find this problematic. Apart from those nit picky aspects, Candi Jensen is an old hand with writing patterns and there is nothing to fault with that.

On to the designs … I like (apart from the icky pink colour) the lacy beaded fingerless gloves. These are so delicate and small, and would be lovely with a matching shawl and worn with an elegant frock to a fancy party - this is a combo of lace knitting with crochet trim. The ‘flower garden felted bag’ is very stylish (a bit overdone with the huge crochet flowers - though these are optional). There is a gorgeous ‘granny square dog sweater’ which utilises crochet granny squares for the main body and knitted sleeves and front in rib knitting. The cover design is the stand out one for me though and what a great choice for the cover. The body on this cute little singlet is simple rib stitch with a crochet bodice top and bottom edging that really add a touch of class to this simple but elegant little top. And that is what this book is all about - simple and elegant.

……………………

The Knitters Bible Knitted Accessories (Knitter’s Bible) by Claire Crompton, Published by David & Charles Publishers (September 30, 2006)

Another book in the Knitters Bible series by Claire Crompton, another sure classic

This is a quite a funky book, with a simple and clean layout with lovely images, the occasional design sketch gives an insight into the designers process. There is quite a large section at the front on yarn, different fibres and how to achieve certain textures - design secrets and insights, The whole book has a yarn focus. One really excellent aspect of this book is the variations given with each pattern. For example the simple mittens - the pattern is given straight up and then with variations for a striped mitten, embroidered mittens, felted (fulling) and furry mittens using textured yarn. The hooded poncho in red riding hood style is lovely, it is shown in a textured yarn and in furry yarn. I love the focus on showing each pattern in the different yarns. One of my favourite designs in the book is the mitred squares scarf which has been slightly fulled for a very dense texture with the different colours melding into each other lusciously.

This book is perfect if you love to experiment with different yarns and textures in your knitting. A beautiful book.

Help Eireann raise funds for her mother’s unexpected medical bills. A huge list of very talented peeps have donated goods for auction on ebay. The auction started today and runs until 24th August, so get in quick and bid!. Link.

On June 4, an aneurysm on an arteriovenous malformation in my mother’s cerebellum ruptured, causing a subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding between the brain and skull). Blood also collected in the center of her brain and caused a stroke. She was in the ICU for 3.5 weeks, then in physical and occupational therapy (inpatient) for 1.5 weeks.

We were told by the doctors only a week ago that one in ten people survive this. Very few people are expected to recover. My mom has astounded her doctors and therapists with her tenacity, her strength, and the progress she has already made and continues to make. She has diminished function in her left side and has lost her hearing in her left ear. She is expected to make a complete recovery within a year, for which we are unspeakably grateful.

Although my mother does have some health insurance, a pre-existing condition makes it such that the insurance she does have will not cover things like this. My dear friend Shana suggested an auction of handmade things to help cover my mom’s medical bills.

The making community is incredibly supportive, kind, loving. I’ve been borne up by your comments and prayers over the past 5 weeks. My family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Homemade Contrivances and How to Make Them: 1001 Labor-Saving Devices for Farm, Garden, Dairy, and Workshop by Skyhorse Publishing (April 1, 2007) (First published in 1899)

There has been a recent spate of re-published early 19thC Do-it-yourself books. Its a wonderful eye opener to me, I love old technology, history and ingenuity and that is what this book is all about. By the title you can see it is aimed at those living on the land - or who are aiming at self sufficiency in some way. A lot of this stuff is not relevant for me but some is, but in any case it sure is a good read.

There is a lot of advice on animal husbandry like how to ‘extricate a mired animal’ and ‘how to hang hogs’, and more advice on tools and workshops like making a ‘mitre box’ and ‘a convenient ice hook’, as well as appliances for the garden, the home, the orchard and so very much more. This is a fat book with small writing and illustrations, there is a lot of information packed into it.

And despite the age of the technology in the book, many of the ‘contrivances’ are still relevant today. For example ‘Barrel strawberry culture’ is an experiment in growing strawberries on the outside of a barrel and it says it is perfect ‘if one has only a small city or village lot’. First you need a wooden wine barrel, and you need to bore holes all over it and insert a drain pipe then fill with soil. Then plant the strawberry plants into the holes and over the top. - A great weekend project for anyone who loves strawberries. There is a great little ‘convenient nest for hens’, with good advice for keeping poultry - it say “Hens as a general thing are remarkably self willed and obstinate”. There are plans for making a simple ‘paper plant protector’, and a ‘protected plant label’, which consists of a wooden stake, with a wooden label screwed over the top which can be swung outwards.

There are whole chapters on building and fixing a variety of fences, on keeping and slaughtering all manner of animals, but the main section and my favourite is the farm conveniences with a huge array of small and large inventions to make life easier in and around the farm. Lots of very sound advice including sun shades while working in the garden, “many a severe headache, and a restless night after an exhausting days work in the harvest field, might be prevented by the use of some simple precautions”. Part of managing a farm in 1899 included managing ‘night soil’ and how to go about this is explained in some detail, including “making use of it very conveniently”.

This really is a wonderfully enlightening book, with some terrific and fun projects for the garden or farm today.

The image of the strawberry barrel came from the site the back road home, which has some wonderful excerpts from the original 1899 book and lots of advice on farming and gardening and building.

Bloody excellent idea, Dinner Daily, for all you vegetarians out there. Link, via

Welcome to Dinner Daily - your solution for week night dinners! Before we start, I thought I might just run through the scheme of things:

- First things first - each weekend (hopefully Saturday morning) I’ll post a list of meals that we’ll be having from Mon to Fri. This menu will be accompanied by a list of ingredients which shall be sorted into Fresh Produce (i.e. fruit, vegies, dairy and meat), Dry Goods (i.e. tinned tomatoes, tins of beans etc) and Cupboard Staples (which will be things you’d have on hand normally, but might need to stock up on i.e. flour, rice, olive oil etc)

Reading through this list will give you the chance to make any alterations to the menus as you see fit before you hit the supermarket. For example, if Tuesday’s meal is listed as Roast Pumpkin Risotto, which you don’t fancy making, then you can substitute your own meal there. Then, each recipe will be posted, hopefully with a pic (I always like to see what I’m eating before I cook it!)

- Just so you know, Dinner Daily is a vegetarian site. It’s all part of my evil plan to have vegetarians take over the world. Bwahahahahahahahah! (manically rubbing hands together in glee)

- Most of the meals that are featured will feed four people. For my family, this generally means left-overs for lunch - always a good thing! However, occasionally I might post a recipe that seems able to feed eight. Don’t think I’m going mad - just put the left overs in the freezer as I instruct you and sit tight. I’ll generally ask you in the next week or so to pull it out and use in another dish. Economical, oui?

- Friday’s menu usually won’t generate any leftovers, just so you know.

- Comments and feedback are always welcome (please keep abuse to a minimum, though… I don’t want to be crying into my stockpot).

- Generally, each month I will feature a mostly new dishes, but some old favourites might make the occaisonal cameo appearance.

- Most of the recipes will be on the table within 30ish minutes, however some might require some initial prep i.e. roasting of vegies etc. Don’t kill youself over it - if the recipe calls for roasted caps and you just don’t think you’ll find the time for it, then buy them from the deli. This is meant to be fun and easy - not a competition!

- Always take the time to read through the recipes at your leisure before you begin cooking them, so no nasty surprises pop up at you (like salting eggplant for 1/2 hour etc). Organisation is the key!

- The recipes are seasonally based - that is, using the fruit and vegies that are in season for the current times. Not only is this a better way to eat, but it’s generally much cheaper, too.

- For a treat, I might occasionally pop in an easy dessert recipe. I know, you’re about to fall over with excitement.

I think that’s about it. Above all, have fun, enjoy the new meals and keep the suggestions coming. And if you want to contribute recipes of your own, be my guest!