Blog

Big Al’s

Posted on by Anna

One of the highlights of picturesque Wiscasset, Maine, is Big Al’s, the giant odd lots store on the edge of town. Big Al’s doesn’t have everything, but it has everything else.

bigals1

The place isn’t as big as a Super Wal-Mart—it might not even be as big as most regular Wal-Marts—but its warehouse-size building is huge by Maine standards. (And I believe it existed before the L.L. Bean outlet in Freeport.)

Permit me to share some of my favorite finds at Big Al’s from my recent visit.

Thank goodness! They have scrubs.

bigals2

Thank goodness they have faux antique canned goods?

bigals3

And they have lots of yarn! Lots and lots of novelty yarn in neon colors.

bigals4

Don’t ask how many candles Big Al’s carries. As how many nautical candles Big Al’s carries. (Answer: I count at least 10 varieties.)

bigals5

And finally, a cow computer cover:

bigals6

Fits over monitor or PC!

Knitted Knitting Group

Posted on by Anna

My friend Audrey (the one who designs jewelry) sent me an interesting photo that seems a perfect followup to the creepy polyfil bag.

natlgeo

The photo is from a 1988 issue of National Geographic, from an feature titled “Wool: Fabric of History.” (I cropped out a flash reflection, but there was also a knitted tea set in the photo.)

Here is the caption that Audrey also passed along:

The cat’s alive, but the rest of Noeline Black’s friends are stuffed. Created by Black and other members of the Fabric Art Company in Wellington, New Zeland, they reflect the humor and ironies of domestic life. Taking yarn from her own leg, the woman at her far right is unraveling herself to make the baby she has always wanted.

It seems as though the Fabric Art Company no longer exists (at least not to the internet), but there are a couple of photos from a 1983 gallery installation they did on the Art New Zealand website.

Thanks Audrey!

Creepy Polyfil

Posted on by Anna

A while back, I picked up an extra bag of polyester fiberfill while staying with my parents in Oklahoma. It’s got to be the creepiest polyfil packaging on the market.

creepypolyester

Has anybody else seen this? I think I got it at a Hobby Lobby. What I find especially unsettling is the way that the sewing grandmother almost looks like she could be a real person (perhaps the user of said polyfil?), but then if you look at her hands, she’s pretty clearly a very realistic-looking doll. And then we’ve got what look like three little gypsies, something colorful that doesn’t really look like anything, something faceless on the left that might be an art piece (?), and a scary giant Santa.

I just wish I had taken a better photo of the bag—I left it at my parents again for use next time I’m in town (if they don’t throw it away first). The polyfil itself is pretty good though.

Resisty the Resistor

Posted on by Anna

For the past year or so, every time I hit John up for a knitted toy idea, I’ve gotten the same enthusiastic answer:

“How about Resisty the Resistor!”

If you’re not electronically inclined, a resistor is something that regulates current in a circuit board, or at least that’s my basic understanding. What else could I expect from the author of Geek Out New York?

So, partly because I was looking for a small project to whip up yesterday, and partly because today is our second wedding anniversary, I finally broke down and made little Resisty.

resisty

Right now he’s on the hunt for a circuit board and maybe a few friends!

Update: Thank you to Michelle at the Craft blog for featuring little Resisty!

Tiny Wooden Animals

Posted on by Anna

Just returned from a lovely 4th of July visit with relatives in Maine. (It was cold enough at night to wear fleece to see the fireworks show!) My aunt and uncle there have the most beautiful old house, which they’ve decorated with carefully chosen antiques.

These little animals on a mantle particularly caught my eye during this visit. They are part of an antique Noah’s Ark set made in Germany. (The wooden ark was just outside the frame of my photo.)

tinywoodenanimals

If I had a fireplace and mantle of my own, I would want tiny wooden animals on it too.

Win These!

Posted on by Anna

prize08_handrest

Aren’t these guys adorable? According the the tags, they’re hand rests to use when typing. But they also make cute blobby creatures in a pinch.

They’ll be included in the big box o’ awesome prizes to be given to the first place winner of the Mochimochi Photo Contest. You have until July 31st to enter, so… enter!

A a happy 4th of July to everybody in the US! I’ll be in Maine for the next few days.

Oh! AU

Posted on by Anna

New music! Verbs is the just-released album by the Portland group AU, and it’s pretty delightful.

auverbsThe album is a nice mix of big, high-energy orchestrations and quieter songs, with equal weight given to vocals and instruments. I’d say the sound of Verbs lands somewhere between Sufjan Stevens and Animal Collective, which is just fine by me.

You can hear a happy song from the album, “rr. Vs. D” on the Aagoo Records website.

Snails vs. Slugs: The Eating Contest

Posted on by Anna

For their third and final competition, the snails and slugs are battling it out in a gastronomical challenge of epic proportions. Whoever can devour their leaves first will be the superior species!

However, a third party seems to have disrupted an otherwise fair fight…

svs_eat1

The slugs may not have won this round, but one snail in particular has most certainly lost.

svs_eat2

I think that leaves us with no clear winner in Snails vs. Slugs, but a very happy bird instead.

svs_eat3

No matter, though—the others are still blithely munching away.

svs_eat4

svs_eat5

And thus concludes our pointless competition.

If you missed the first two rounds, you can see them here and here, and you can also knit some snails and slugs for yourself with this free pattern.

Update: Thank you to Plush You and Softies Central for featuring the Eating Contest!