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A cute fabric camera strap has long been on my List of Things I'd Like to Make. This week, I came across two new tutorials online that have reminded me of this project and maybe bumped it up a few notches on the list. No matter how many projects I do, this list just never gets shorter... This is the classic strap one I'd been thinking of making... Fabric Camera Strap - Tutorial by Make Something This one has the added benefit of having a lens cap pocket. Clever! Camera Strap Cover with Lens Cap Pocket- Tutorial by Little Big Girl Studio This tutorial for a shorter strap caught my attention, as it's definitely how I prefer to hold my DLSR, usually with the long strap all curled up around my wrist a kazillion times... Wristlet Camera Strap - Tutorial by Being Geek Chic And last, but not least, this one is also awfully cute... Perhaps for fancy dress occasions? Scarf Camera Strap - Tutorial by Photojojo

 I love this initiative from Vancouver-based outdoor clothing company, Arc'teryx. Under the name of The Birds Nest Project , Arc'teryx employees volunteer their time to sew scrap material into weatherproof capes, which they then donate to homeless shelters and people living on the street. Now in the third year of the project, in 2011 they donated over 700 windproof, waterproof capes to those in need. Good for the environment, good for people. Amazing. (Also, 'capes' and 'helping people' do tend to go hand in hand, don't they?) Read more about Arc'teryx's The Birds Nest Project here.

Today is 11/11/11. The Date That Most Resembles Corduroy. Yes. This is for real. And it is brilliant. Read up on this fabulous fabric Friday on the Guardian , then check out Corduroy Club for more details  and maybe even an event near you. I would also highly recommend celebrating by donning your cords and curling up to read the Corduroy the bear picture book .

I realize that we're now deep into October, but this past Sunday morning has felt so summery . The sun was out in full force. I slept in, made a pumpkin pie, then did a few household chores, all while listening to Michael Franti's Sounds of Sunshine album and dancing around a little. I didn't blog too much this summer, but it was not for lack of crafting. I was outside a lot of the time, spending time with friends, travelling, and getting up to Squamish to do some rock climbing. My sewing machine did see a little action, too, and I made a couple of handbags. I was really happy with how each of them turned out, especially as  I made up both patterns myself. Little Sunshine Clutch I made this bag to use at a couple of weddings I attended this summer. I planned to wear a charcoal grey dress from Smoking Lily , sassed up with bright yellow Miz Mooz flats . (I looove their shoes - super fun and super comfy.) So I needed a yellow bag, big enough to carry a camera and a few item...

"The home does not have to be planned out in detail, just put together by pieces its inhabitants love." - Josef Frank (via ScandinavianDesign.com ) Google's all dressed up today, to celebrate the125th birthday of Josef Frank, an Austrian/Swedish architect and designer of furniture and textiles. Google homepage on July 15, 2010 I don't know much about Josef Frank (and his Wikipedia entry is pretty limited), but I like what I see. Reconfirming that I have a weakness for eccentric Scandinavian fabric design... " Brazil " pattern on the walls (1943-45) " Terrazzo " Fabric (1944) "Green Birds" fabric (1944) I also like what I read about Frank -- this is from ScandinavianDesign.com : Josef Frank's, life could be wonderfully characterized as on always in motion. Moving with ease from architecture and furniture design to glassware, lighting and metalwork--his was an eclecticism fueled by curiosity. and nothing captures this roaming imagina...

I have just two words for these pillows by Donna Wilson : FUN and FABULOUS. Donna Wilson makes a ton of cute things including blankets, ceramics , and softies ( Charlie the tall monkey and Cyril the squirrel fox are great!) and more. She also recently created a maze using thousands of strands of yarn ! Now that's a place I'd happily get lost in. (via Shayo )

Molly at the Purl Bee posted a great a tutorial for a 20-minute tote bag . It looks super quick and super cute. Best of all, her examples are made with the Spring 2010 Echino Ni-Co fabric collection . I am such a sucker for Echino fabric... I adore the pink glasses print, and the bus pattern is pretty darn sweet, too.