Jonah @ MAKE writes:

"Hyperlink" is series of large needlepoint canvas and yarn sculptures of the typical hand icon that your cursor changes into when you hover over a link on any web page. The set consists of 4 of the large hands by the artist Ben Fino-Radin who is known for his remakes of technological objects and icons made out of spun yarn.

Jonah @ MAKE writes:

These cool "Oscillator Cabinets" by Ben Fino-Radin were made with wood, paint, yarn, plastic canvas, portable cd players and use needle point cones as speakers to play several voice recordings.

I love the bright colors and the idea that the yarn and plastic are making the sounds.

Related:
Crafty Kindle?

I love the work instructables user Pulsea is doing with her tutorials for soft sensors. This one uses a piece of neoprene and some conductive materials to create a soft bend sensor useful for incorporating into smart dance outfits. Via MAKE.

More:

HOW TO - Flexible pressure sensor on MAKE

Tex
Sunday, August 10, 2008
1pm - 3pm
at Machine Project
1200 D North Alvarado Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-483-8761
machineproject.com

From the CRAFT Flickr pool: user Kinda Kinked made this fabulous crochet raygun. Pew pew!

It's high time felting and electronics come together. I got some knobs from Radioshack and felted over them with wool roving and added some embroidered detailing. They can be used for guitars, amplifiers, or any other electronics with knobs. They feel much fuzzier than their traditional counterparts.

Cassie in Georgia has taken on a project: to knit a scarf featuring the entire map from Super Mario Bros. level 1. From the looks of the "not even a third" section, it's going to be about 30 feet long. Looks great, and I'd imagine would make an excellent wrap-around-the-room decoration. Via the CRAFT Flickr pool.

Syuzi was also a guest on New Hampshire Public Radio's "Word of Mouth" program. You can hear the webcast of it here.

Buy Fashioning Technology by Syuzi Pakhchyan in the Maker Shed today!
This book demonstrates how to blend sewing and assembly techniques with traditional electronics to assemble simple circuits using conductive thread, solder joints for snaps, and switches for buttons. With the sewing machine as a viable substitute for the soldering iron, you can craft a new generation of objects that are interactive, quirky, and fashion-conscious.

Look for Fashioning Technology Kits soon this Summer in the Maker Shed! For now, check out the rest of our CRAFT Kits.

Collin @ MAKE points us to this clever interactive artwork: "Fold Loud" by JooYoun Paek (NYC) is a musical toy played by making folds to complete various electrical contacts. The design uses conductive fabric and threads to perform on the flexible paper surface. It uses human voices, and when multiple contacts are made, they harmonize. Check out the video on her site.

These stuffed animal headphones by instructables user WurlitzerGirl have Japanese schoolgirl chic, for sure. She made a neat how-to for making your own. This could be the perfect use for those old beanie babies.

While at Maker Faire in May, I got a chance to get a terrific demo from Vivian Lavinskas of Singer Sewing Company on their Singer Futura line of computerized embroidery machines. Having one myself and being a techie, I can vouch for how amazingly cool these machines are. They connect easily to a PC and allow you to embroider from pre-set designs or in the CE-250 and CE-350 models, you can also use your own images for embroidery!

As mentioned in the podcast, each month a new embroidery motif is available for free download from the projects section of the Singer web site. You can also check out the many great sewing and embroidery projects as well.

My first project with the Singer Futura CE-250 embroidery machine was to test out the CRAFT logo above. The software was really simple to use and imports lots of file formats, then coverts it over to embroidery stitches that the sewing machine reads. Then I used that design template to embroider the logo onto vintage tablecloths which were used at our booth at the recent ICE Atlanta craft fair.

Here's more about the event:

Fashioning Technology: Come Witness the Future of Crafting! What will our homes and clothes look like 5 years from now? 10 years? 50 years? If the new book Fashioning Technology (O'Reilly) is any indication, it will involve a healthy dose of "smart" crafting--a term coined by author Syuzi Pakhchyan--to describe crafting with "smart" materials that react and change in response to their environment. In this exciting new book, readers can learn how to make: LED bracelets, chandeliers and headphones; pattern-changing blinds; a space invaders tote bag that alerts you to incoming phone calls; a "birdie" brooch that "chirps" to sunlight; and much, much more!

A find from the CRAFT Flickr Pool: Audrey Robots made a classic IC bug, but with seashell wings!

More:

One minute project "Chip bugs" on MAKE

So simple, yet so lovely: these bearded men were laser engraved on wood for Christopher Bettig by Engrave your Book. Spotted in the MAKE Flickr Pool. These guys combine three of my favorite things-- lasers, wood, and bearded men.

We are excited to announce a new book from CRAFT -- Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro into Smart Crafting by Syuzi Pakhchyan, is available starting today. Learn how to take your craft projects to the next level with "smart" materials where you can create accessories, housewares, and toys that light up, make sounds, or do even more. Fashioning Technology offers jargon-free primers and lots of how-to projects that will have you making -- and even wearing -- functional works of art. Watch this special CRAFT Video Podcast and get a preview with Syuzi herself as she takes you through some of the fun projects!

Buy Fashioning Technology by Syuzi Pakhchyan in the Maker Shed today!

This book demonstrates how to blend sewing and assembly techniques with traditional electronics to assemble simple circuits using conductive thread, solder joints for snaps, and switches for buttons. With the sewing machine as a viable substitute for the soldering iron, you can craft a new generation of objects that are interactive, quirky, and fashion-conscious.

Look for Fashioning Technology Kits soon this Summer in the Maker Shed! For now, check out the rest of our CRAFT Kits.

Related:
MAKE Blog - Turn Signal Bike Jacket

Jonah @ MAKE writes:

This couch was built from hundreds of old mouse pads that were on their way to the garbage bin since newer optical mice don't need the pads for traction anymore. Rather than toss them, this maker decided to turn them into a spongy sofa that is perfect for the tech obsessed office.

Check out these scarves laser cut into letters and numbers. They're cut from strips of ultrasuede and are available in uppercase, lowercase, and numbers. Via Core77.

Found in the CRAFT Flickr Pool: These pillows use fabric pixel magic to recreate the characters from Dig Dug, one of my favorite old video games. I'm glad more people are starting to understand the connection between low-res and high-craft.

Here's a quickie conductive thread project for those of you looking to get into electronic crafts. Take a sewable mimeolight and incorporate it into a bracelet. In your eleventh minute, figure out a better closure than a binder clip.

I have a soft spot for plush technology, including this soft "Evil Router" by Flickr user craftytails. Via the CRAFT Flickr Pool.

Related:

• Plush Sewn Nintendo Gaming System
• Boombox Softie
• Fabric Boombox

[ It ] focuses on how the rise of the social web has influenced the knitting community and opened the craft to an amazing number of new possiblities. whether it's etsy, ravelry, craft or the umpteen knitting blogs- there are an endless amount of resources to blow your mind with regards to what people are doing with fiber these days. if you are interested in stopping by and hanging out, i invite you to bring a laptop, some needles & yarn, and tons of ideas for how you can kick start your own creative adventures.

Friday June 13th, 7:30pm - 1am
911 Media Arts Center
402 9th Avenue N
in South Lake Union
$10 presale, 15$ at door, 21+ only

Polyvore is a unique, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching products from any online store. Items are pulled together into a visual set of products that can be shared with anyone. Each product within the set is then linked back to the online store where it is available for purchase.

Crafters have been getting in on the fun by using Polyvore's "Clip to Polyvore" tool to upload their own items users can then play with (see the Monica Burnett Hats and Naughty Secretary Club groups, for example), and I love the idea of handmade goods by independent designers being included in the over 1 million products featured on Polyvore. It's an interesting from a marketing standpoint, sure, but playing with Polyvore is also just plain fun.

Here's a set I made called "Crafternoon", which features some personal faves like Mohop Shoes (featured in our latest issue, which also appears in the set), a boygirlparty notepad, and some pins by Happy Owl Glassworks. To see the full list of set credits, click here.