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This is a nice crafty little DIY idea — embroider over a seam in either knitting or crochet.  On my to-do list.

Casting on for a friend’s baby.   The Little Old Man Jacket

Seattle-based artist Carol Milne knits with glass, or rather, she creates wonderful glass sculptures that make it seem as though she’s either a superhuman glass knitter or in possession of enchanted knitting needles and very specialized gloves. The reality is actually much more complicated, but no less awesome. Milne invented her glass knitting technique back in 2006. It’s a process that involves knitting with wax instead of glass, followed by lost-wax casting, mold-making and kiln-casting.

First, a model of the sculpture is made from wax which is then encased by a refractory mold material that can withstand extremely high temperatures. Next, hot steam is used to melt the wax, leaving behind an empty cavity in the shape of the artwork. Pieces of room temperature glass are then placed inside the mold which is then heated to 1,400-1,600 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the type of glass. Afterward, the piece is slowly cooled over a period of several weeks, followed by a careful excavation process, where Milne delicately chips away like an archaeologist to reveal the final piece.

To check out more of Carol Milne’s extraordinary artwork visit the Glass Art Society, Milne’s Facebook page or her online gallery.

Close-ups of butterfly wing scales! You should definitely click on these images to get the full detail.

I’ve paired each amazing close-up (by macro photographer Linden Gledhill) with an image of the corresponding butterfly or moth.  The featured lepidoptera* are (in order of appearance):

Madagascar diadem Hypolimnas dexithea (photo by Michel-Georges Bernard)

Comet moth Argema mittrei (photo by Axel Strauß)

Sunset moth Chrysiridia rhipheus (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Giant Blue Morpho Morpho didius (photo by Didier Descouens, Muséum de Toulouse)

Rippon’s Birdwing Troides hypolitus (photo by Robert Nash, Ulster Museum)

*Lepidoptera (the scientific order that includes moths and butterflies) means “scaly wing.” The scales get their color not from pigment - but from microscopic structures that manipulate light.

Ogel’s Patch Display, $10

These awesome laser-cut cardboard displays can be tiled on your wall to show all the patches you earn. One special touch, a precut hole makes it easy to hang on a nail or tack.