Archive for May 2008
With the upcoming summer Olympic games and Singapore playing host to the Youth Olympics in 2010, I was just wondering have I ever taken any Olympic-related pictures anywhere?
Umm (running through album pages)…here it is!
The statue of Paavo Nurmi, standing outside the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.
Paavo Nurmi, one of Finland’s greatest long-distance runner, won 9 golds at the Olympics in the 1920s and set more than 20 world records. Wow!
Picture taken on: 31 November 1997
Steps:
1. Get one index card (or cardstock) and a pair of scissors.
2. Fold it in half and crease the fold.
3. Position the scissors at the fold.
4. Make straight cuts but don’t snip right off the edge.
5. Flip (towards you) to the opposite side and be ready for another round of cutting.
6. Cut on the middle of each strip. Again, don’t cut right through the end.
7. You’ll get a zig zag like this.
8. Go back to the fold, skipping the FIRST and LAST strip, trim off the fold on all the remaining strips.
9. Open up and you’ll find a hole that is indeed big enough for you to make your way through from the head down or from the feet up.
This is adapted from Dr. Robert Krampf’s science experiment #11 on the science of topology.
Tips:
If you cut narrower strips in step 4, the hole gets even bigger. And if you accidentally snip off the first or last strip, you will have cut yourself a paper streamer.
Say if you (ever) have to entertain someone with a simple trick or make a paper-party-necklace, you know what to do!
Meet Carminita, a little matryoshka doll I ‘adopted’ recently. Isn’t she sweet? Even hub couldn’t resist taking a closer look at her. She and her other friends are designed by Rosy and you’re all cordially invited to visit them at the Micasita house.
Thanks Rosy for such a darling!
It’s described as an unwoven cloth with crushed fine peach seed to remove soil stains on vegs and pesticide residues on fruits. Not meant for other cleaning jobs.
The sound of peach seed was what drew me to this sponge and not its shape.
I’m currently using this as a scrubber for step no. 5 in the vinegar wash.
Here are the books that have introduced me to the history and techniques of the art of knotting:
English
Japanese
There are more jap books (which I wish to read) over here, here and here.
Hub and I met my family for a buffet dinner in an open-kitchen restaurant in a hotel on Saturday. That’s how cutlery is arranged on each table.
When I was heading to the salad bar, just a distance away someone signaled to me to have his plate removed from his table. Clearly it was my black blouse, which was somewhat similar to the waiters. If only he had seen my bermuda shorts. To pretend that nothing had happened and perhaps save him from embarrassment, I just went straight for my greens. :-)
During the course of the meal, the waiters band together to sing a birthday chorus and to present a cake at 3 different tables. There’s actually one more May baby at our table but the birthday girl didn’t want the attention.
Sweet Denise sent me all these which includes a Spanish home decor ‘Mi Casa’ (My Home) magazine and pin buttons made with lovely prints by Kirin & Co.
I think the buttons and Lotta’s berry blobs go hand in hand.
Among the many tea packs, she packed in some from Stash which brings to my mind a sample pack of Stash white tea which I was once given together with a copy of this write up and the thing was because I wanted to reserve the tea for later, I kept it safe, forgot about it and eventually it expired. Never got to taste it but now…
Thanks Denise for a great swap! You can visit her at Flickr too! Lots of crafty + lovable pictures + paper toys too.
- Chinese knotting is an old and traditional art form developed in the Tang (618 – 907 BC) and Song (960-1279 AD) dynasties.
- Many Chinese knots are identical both sides. They are decorative and functional, able to hold things securely.
- Knots were a form of communication and a means to express good wishes and blessings.
- This ancient art was on the verge of being lost due to the effects of industrialization and the Cultural Revolution. The how-tos were passed down from one generation to the next through word of mouth.
- A series of articles on Chinese knots was published in a Taiwanese magazine after its publishers sought out the few remaining elderly women knotters in Taiwan. That was in 1976.
- It is believed that the Japanese (hanamusubi) and Korean (maedup) knotting originated from China.
[Source: 'The Complete Book of Chinese Knotting' by Lydia Chen]
Some basic Chinese knots
-:- Clover leaf -:-
Front view
Back view
-:- Cross -:-
Front view
Back view (aka square knot)
-:- Creeper -:-
Front view
Back view
-:- Tassel -:-
Front view
Back view
-:- Double connection -:-
Front view
Back view
-:- Round brocade -:-
Front view
Back view
[Update I've included a link to the book and if you like to know the books that inspire me to knot, do join me next week for a complete list.]
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