World Hypertension Day might sound like an intensely stressful day, which causes high blood pressure, but it is in fact an educational event, designed to prevent instances of hypertension.
Created by the World Hypertension League in 2005, the day is intended to increase awareness of the condition and issues surrounding it. Awareness of hypertension is considered to be vitally important, due to the number of deaths linked with associated heart attacks, kidney disease and strokes. There is also a perceived lack of awareness about hypertension amongst the general public, which the WHL hopes to change.
The day generally takes on a specific theme. For example, in the past, one of the themes was ‘Healthy diet, healthy blood pressure’, which aimed to improve people’s understanding of how poor diets can contribute towards high blood pressure and how a more healthy diet can help to rectify the problem.
So join in, test your blood pressure, learn about hypertension and stay healthy.
thanks for taking us along on your spring "photographers' adventure (part 2), patty
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (adjective) Full of mettle; spirited and plucky. | ||
| Synonyms: | spirited, game, gritty, spunky | ||
| Usage: | Joe, being a mettlesome fellow, returned the stranger's angry glance with a steady look. | ||
Idiom of the Day
feed (someone) to the wolves— To sacrifice someone to ruin, destruction, or hostility from others, especially for one's own benefit or survival. |
History
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 | The Kentucky Derby is a classic US thoroughbred horse race. Established in 1875, it is run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Kentucky. The field is limited to three-year-old Thoroughbreds, and the track distance is 1.25 mi (2,000 m). With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up US racing's coveted Triple Crown. | ||
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 | Now infamous as "Black Bart," Roberts was a Welsh pirate who raided ships off the coasts of the Americas and West Africa in the 18th century, during the period known as the "Golden Age of Piracy." Considered the most successful pirate of the era, he is estimated to have captured more than 400 vessels in a matter of a few years—far more than some of the best-known pirates of his day, such as Blackbeard or Captain Kidd. | ||
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 | May 17, 1814, marks both Norway's declaration of independence from Sweden and the day on which its constitution was signed. This day remains the great spring festival in Norway, and today it is celebrated primarily by young people. The children's procession in Oslo, the capital city, is the largest of many school parades throughout the country. Marching behind their school bands and banners, the children pass under the balcony of the Royal Palace in salute to the king. Everyone joins in the procession, waving Norwegian flags. | ||
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| Specks of ancient space dust, preserved in limestone in Western Australia's Pilbara region, could upend current theories about the history of oxygen on Earth. | |||
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1630 - Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi saw the belts on Jupiter's surface.
1792 - The New York Stock Exchange was founded at 70 Wall Street by 24 brokers.
1877 - The first telephone switchboard burglar alarm was installed by Edwin T. Holmes.
1954 - The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled for school integration in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. The ruling declared that racially segregated schools were inherently unequal.
1985 - Bobby Ewing died on the season finale of "Dallas" on CBS-TV. He returned the following season.
1999 - Alex Trebek received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2001 - The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp based on Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" comic strip.
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, May 17
You are inspiring, excellent at promotion and sales, and strong-minded. Music may be a talent, or at least extremely important in your life. When confident, you are radiant, helpful, and a joy to be around. When insecure, however, you might have a tendency to bring others down with you! Stubborn yet attuned to progress, there is a well-defined spiritual bent to your personality. Famous people born today: Erik Satie, Dennis Hopper, Sugar Ray Leonard, Trent Reznor, Enya, Nikki Reed, Bill Paxton, Tahj Mowry.
| Picture of the day | |
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A screenshot from Charlie Murder, a 2013 action role-playing beat 'em up video game developed by Ska Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game features five playable characters—all members of the garage punk band Charlie Murder—who fight a demonic army raised by a former band member in an attempt to save the world from the apocalypse. Charlie Murder has both single-player and four-player online and offline cooperative game play modes.
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Butter Believe Your Eyes
Photograph by Achintya Guchhait, National Geographic
Achintya Guchhait captured this photo of brave “travelers and locals taking shelter under a huge rock [that’s been] stuck for ages in Mahabalipuram, India.” The rock, perched in a gravity-defying position on the edge of a hill, is nicknamed Krishna’s Butter Ball. Scientists believe it was likely placed by ancient glacial activity; however, legend has it that Lord Krishna, a fan of butter, dropped it where it sits.
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TX343 North Bag
NORTH hand knitting & crochet wool in a Bag pattern is available in Australia, Katia North is 52% Wool 48% Acrylic, www.texyarns.com has it available now in Austral...
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Owlish Netbooksleeve pattern by Corrisande
This pattern is a very flexible one – which means that you can basically adjust it to any netbook, tablet PC or notebook, but which also means that the pattern does...
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knit
thanks, helen
thanks, helen
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undeniable glitter
This shawl is so soft and light, perfect for spring or summer, especially with the pretty pinks of the yarn.
Co 3 sts, long tail
Row 1: k across
Row 2: k1, (yo, k1) twice
Row 3: k1, yo, k3, yo, k1
Row 4: (k1, yo, k2, yo), pm, rep (to) once more, k1
Row 5: k1, yo, k to marker, sm, k to last st, yo, k1
Row 6, k1, yo, k to marker, yo, sm, k1, yo, k to last st, yo, k1
Rep rows 5-6 until you would like to start the edging.
Row 1: k1, yo, *k2tog, yo; rep from * to end to last st before marker, k1, sm, *yo, k2tog; rep from * to end to last st , yo, k1
Row 2: rep row 6
Row 3: k1, yo, *k2tog, yo; rep from * to end to last 2 sts before marker, k2, sm, k1, *yo, k2tog; rep from * to end to last st, yo, k1
Row 4: rep row 6
Rep these 4 rows until you would like to bind off
Rep row 5 once more, the bo loosely in knit. I recommend using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy bind off.
I wet blocked this to open up the lace and give it more drape.
I just love the drape on this shawl. It makes it so perfect for warmer months, or so that you can wear it inside all day.
My blocked, finished shawl measures 22" from the top to the tip, and 75" across. The lace edging is 3" wide, measured after blocking.
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Lacy Shells Sun Hat pattern by Dorianna Rivelli
This patttern is available for free!
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Lacy Shells Dress pattern by Dorianna Rivelli
This pattern is available for FREE.
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Felted "Hat" Accessories #121 pattern by Patons
Skill level: Easy
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Fruit bags' trio pattern by Maria Isabel
Gauge 24 stitches and 20 rows = 4 inches in single crochet in the round
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Ohrengarn für Ponies/fly bonnet for ponies pattern by Na...
English version is now available.
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RECIPE
CROCKPOT RECIPE
SWEETS
CRAFTS
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How to Make a Bird Feeder Using a Bagel | About Family C...
Learn how to make an easy bird feeder in less than 30 minutes!
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CHILDREN'S CORNER ... coloring
PUZZLE
QUOTE
CLEVER
Make your own buttons!
theyarnloop
Searching for the perfect button to finish your project?
Finding the right button to complement a hand knit can sometimes be a challenge. You might discover the perfect color, only to find the size is all wrong; or you may want a button that blends in with your garment, rather than standing out. It’s easy – and cheap – to make your own buttons to suit any project. Here, we bring you seven methods to try.
Fabric-covered buttons
1) Most haberdasheries sell self-cover buttons, which come in a wide range of sizes. They are made of two parts: the face, which you cover with the fabric of your choice, and the back plate, which snaps on to hold the fabric tightly in place.
To cover your own, simply cut out a circle of fabric around 5mm larger than the face, fold it over the face and catch it on the row of ‘teeth’ around the inside edge of the face. Then simply snap on the back.
2) Self-cover buttons can also be covered with knitted fabric. It’s best to use needles slightly smaller than those recommended for your yarn, to make a tight fabric – our sample shows a 4ply yarn worked on 2.5mm needles.
To make a simple hexagon, cast on four stitches then knit in the stitch pattern of your choice, increasing one stitch on each row until the piece is slightly larger than the button face. Work two rows straight, then decrease one stitch per row until you reach your original cast-on number. Cast off, leaving a long yarn tail.
Place the fabric over your button face, catch the edges on the teeth, and use the cast-on tail to work a row of running stitches all around the edge. Draw it tight and secure with a few stitches. Fit on the backing plate – this can be tricky if your fabric is thick, so try using a pair of pliers to press it on. If necessary, you can leave the backing plate off, and simply sew the button onto your garment.
Here, we’ve used stocking stitch, but moss stitch, coloured stripes and mini cables are incredibly effective, too.
Knitted bobbles
3) If your project would suit tiny buttons, you could consider using knitted bobbles.
Make a slip knot, leaving a long yarn tail.
Row 1: Knit into the loop, but keep it on your needle; now knit into the back, front, back and front again of the same stitch, and slide the stitch off the left needle. 5 sts.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: *K1 without dropping stitch off needle, yo, knit into the same stitch again. Rep from * to end. 15 sts.
Row 4: (P2tog) along row to last 3 sts, P3tog. 7 sts. Now lift the second st on the left needle over the first st and off the needle. Repeat for every stitch on the left needle until one stitch remains.
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail, and thread through the remaining stitch. Tie the two yarn tails together firmly, forming a bobble shape; shape it gently with your fingers until it is round.
Crochet buttons
If you’re comfortable with a few basic crochet stitches, you can make a variety of buttons. Here we give two examples (UK crochet abbreviations are used).
4) Lozenge button: Ch11, turn and dc in the second ch from hook and in each ch across (10 dc) – turn with a ch1. Work 5 rows more, working through the back loops only. Sew up one end, fill with wool, then sew bottom and other end.
5) Round button: Ch4 and ss in first ch to make a ring. Ch3 (counts as a tr), work 15tr in ring. Break off yarn, leaving a long yarn tail; thread this through a yarn needle. Make a stitch into the top of each treble, pull threads tightly together to form a dome shape, then sew the yarn across the back.
Yarn-covered rings
6) You will need a ring shape to form the base of your button; this could be a small curtain ring, a plastic washer or even a circle of plastic cut from a yogurt pot, with a hole in the middle. Use a length of yarn at least one metre long, threaded onto a yarn needle. Sewing through the centre of the ring, wrap the ring base until it is completely covered, as if you were making a pompom. Once covered, sew around the edges of the ring using blanket stitch, looping through the top layers of yarn. Fasten off at the back.
Dorset buttons
7) These traditional buttons made of yarn look wonderful on hand knits and are fun to make.
To make a simple Cross Wheel button, stitch around a brass curtain ring in blanket stitch using your chosen yarn, until the ring is completely covered. Turn all the stitches so they face inwards.
Create ‘spokes’ around the ring by wrapping the yarn evenly around the ring, 12 times. Make a couple of stitches in the center of the wheel to hold the spokes in place. Now the yarn must be wound around each spoke using back stitch. Bring the yarn up from the back between two of the spokes.
Take the thread to the back of the ring around the first spoke and bring it up between the next two spokes. Repeat until you reach the start of your round, and continue back-stitching rounds in this way until the entire button is filled. Secure the yarn at the back.
EYE OPENER
Cool Non-Literary Uses for Books
neatorama
I know you are a smart bunch, so I know most of you would rather read a book than destroy it. That being said, there are still far too many books in this world that are destroyed or contain terrible stories. Even if you like a book, you might end up with a copy you just can’t get rid of because there have already been 10 million copies of that book printed. So if you have a few extra titles you have no further use for, here are a few ways you can still use your books even after the words inside have lost their value.
Buildings
Starting on the big scale uses for leftover books, you can build entire structures with them. While Slovakian artist Matej Krén’s building inside The Museum of Modern Art in Bologna (above) may not be structurally sound enough to exist outside another building, the Yellow Pages building (below) might be able to hold its own in a storm. Students from the Dalhousie University Department of Architecture in Nova Scotia built the house using a few wooden and metal beams to hold the thick books in place.
Of course, even if a book building could survive the elements, it would soon become subject to destruction via mold and insects.Home Insulation
Just because your home can’t be made completely from books doesn’t mean they can’t improve your home though. According to Joel Rickett, deputy editor of The Bookseller magazine, books are an excellent form of insulation, so even if you don’t want to read certain titles any more, they still can be useful for filling up bookshelves that line the exterior-facing walls of your home.
Bookshelves
Artist Jim Rosenau specializes in making bookshelves and book cases from old books. Why bother chopping down trees to make wood for these book holders when you already have all the materials you need in your pile of books to get rid of?Desks
If you have a lot of books and need a desk, you’re in luck. All it takes to turn a bunch of books into desk is a nice heavy slab of wood or glass in order to press down on the volumes and give you a smooth writing surface. Both the Brunswick Bound bookstore of Melbourne (above) and the library at the Delft University of Technology (below) are equipped with these stylish and incredibly inexpensive desks.
A Couch
If you need a couch more than a desk, a lot of unwanted books and some tape can be used to make a couch that’s certain to get attention. While the idea comes from “Paper Man,” a Jeff Bridges movie where a frustrated writer uses unsold copies of his first book to create a new couch, the idea is entirely possible –the set designers used real books and packing tape to design the furniture.A Chair
For something with a substantially smaller book investment, these paperback chairs by artist David Karoff are always a good option. He designed them for a Rhode Island bookstore called Myopic Books, so since they were made to be used by customers on a regular basis, they’re probably quite a bit more comfortable than the book couch.Lights
“Light up your life with books” sounds like something you’d see on a cheesy library poster from the eighties, but in this case, it’s actually a decorating tip. While you can always buy a beautiful $550 book chandelier from artist Lucy Norman (above), it’s surprisingly easy to make your own less sophisticated model, like the one below, at home. All you need is a lamp shade, a lamp kit, a few hardcover books, a clamp and a drill. 
Ceiling Décor
While these books hanging from the ceiling may not provide any useful function, they do look really cool and will certainly make a home with really high ceilings feel a lot more personal and cozy. The original art installation is by Richard Wentworth, but if you wanted to adapt this to your own home, I’m sure some fishing line and a drill would be all you would need.Christmas Tree
Why chop down a tree when you can make your own out of the same basic material? To be fair, most people couldn’t find enough green books to create a whole tree and even if they did, they might be disappointed with the lack of lighting and ornament options, but for the Gleeson Library at the University of San Francisco, the tree was a perfect holiday decoration.Planters
One of the coolest things about using a book as a planter is the fact that you’re using something that was once a living plant to provide care for another plant. I wish I could tell you more about these cool planters, but the company that makes them, Gartenkultur, is Italian and their website doesn’t have an English language version. Using the Google translator though, I was able to discern that they use some kind of insulating materials to ensure the plant can be watered without ruining the book.Vases
Similarly, these book vases by designer Laura Cahill can be filled with water because hidden inside each papery base is a test tube for water collection. Miss Cahill also makes a great lamp out of book pages and a fun stool out of hard covers.Clothes
If you’re not interested in decorating your home with books, what about your body? This stunning ball gown by Ryan Novelline is comprised of the covers of discarded Golden Books.Jewelry
If you need some jewelry to go along with your new Golden Books dress, Little Fly has just the thing –rings, necklaces and more made from the laminated pages of discarded books.Kindle Case
Are you afraid people will make fun of you for owning a Kindle? Do you hang out in bad neighborhoods where it’s best to hide your valuable possessions? Either way, Etsy seller Busted Typewriter’s carved out book that works as a Kindle case might be just the solution you’ve been hoping for.3D Artworks
These days, most people are willing to acknowledge that the best part of a Pulp Fiction novel is the cover. Artist Thomas Allen took this idea to a whole new level by cutting and folding these covers and then shooting the images with a shallow depth of field. The result is a fascinating narrative that is even more artistic and vivid than the original artists could have ever hoped for.Cutout Arts
Brian Dettmer uses a similar medium as Thomas Allen. Only instead of photographing the covers of books that he has moved into position, he instead cuts away at pictures inside of books until the many layers of pages form an all new image. The results are amazingly detailed and strikingly beautiful.Art Canvases
When most people see a book, they see a series of pages that form a story. Mike Stilkey sees a blank canvas. While he doesn’t exclusively paint on book covers, some of his most eye-catching artworks take advantage of the unique canvases. The only problem I see with the art is how you would take it down if it needed to go to a new museum or to a buyer’s home? Of course, you can always give your books away to Good Will if you don’t have the motivation to tackle any of these projects yourself.
Oh, goody! BUTTONS--my brain could dance with buttons all day:)
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