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More at his Web site. Purr.

Photo by kluv32, under a Creative Commons license

I used to love Jersey City, a quaint hodgepodge of an enclave where cutting edge abutted the antiquated, and peals of church bells dinged the hours on the hour. Well, alright, a part of me still does, but the neighborhood keeps changing on us, subtle and chameleon-like, until one day I peeked out of the window and barely recognized the new thing it’s become. Condos are being erected—huge concrete phalluses that soar into the sky and obscure the waterfront. The musty secondhand bookshop moved, then the bakery, which always had fresh, piping-hot peach pastries and melt-in-your-mouth chocolate croissants. Our favorite tea shop shuttered. The following month, the Chinese restaurant that was practically an extension of our home changed owners. (The food just doesn’t taste the same. Plus, they’ve repainted the walls a nauseating salmon.)

The lovely lesbian couple upstairs bought a house in Journal Square, so we don’t see them anymore, nor do we hear their yapping Lhasa Apso, Lola, or feel her wet nose nuzzle into our hands. A man and woman now live upstairs; over the course of a year, they’ve became more than roommates, adopted a pair of kittens, and have loud sex. We think they must wear combat boots and herd rhinos the way they stomp about at night. Our landlord and his wife—as well as his Indonesian Chinese mother-in-law, who always pressed containers of leftovers into our hands—moved out from the downstairs apartment to find room for their growing brood. In their place, two nondescript girls who never say hello, and a crass smoker who tosses his garbage into the recycling bin and never picks up his mail. If this is “progress,” then I think I’ve had just as much as I can stomach.

Oh, and we’re getting a STARBUCKS.

Handmade in Germany by artist Sandra Monat, these cuddly fabric toys are patched together from new, vintage, and organic-cotton fabrics, including designs from Harmony Art.

I can’t get enough of the Vikings. Those horns! That nose! When Harmony and Dave Susalla showed them to me at the Green Products Expo last month, I was tempted to stuff a Viking under my shirt and bolt for the exit. Dave is about 10 times bigger than I am, though, so I changed my mind.

Snowflake 66’s tops, available online at Cut+Paste, have me all a-swoon. Patched together from recycled fabrics in unexpected color and pattern combos, each shirt is exquisitely one-of-a-kind. I adore the puff sleeves and the contrast bib on this pretty little tangerine number, which some lucky, lucky girl has already snagged. She’d better pray she doesn’t encounter me in a dark alley s’all I’m saying.

Photo by 24thcentury, under a Creative Commons license

Whoever invented Styrofoam peanuts needs to die a laboriously slow, painful death. Even if I weren’t an environmentalist, Styrofoam peanuts would still be near—if not AT—the top of my shit list. They stick to everything: your hands, your clothing, your rugs—even your cats, who of course make things worse by cannonballing into the white abyss, spewing the putrid things everywhere. If that’s not enough, Styrofoam has the temerity to crumble into static-cling-loving confetti that you will be breathing in and cleaning off your floors and furniture FOR DAYS. I mean, you must really REALLY loathe someone to mail them a box full of Styrofoam peanuts.

I don’t care if you “recycled” them from another source, I’d rather have my exposed liver julienned by a flock of psychotic, inbred geese than try to shake off another fistful of Styrofoam peanuts, while I scream ineffectually down the darkened hallways of my own private Hell.

Click on each image for details

Photo by Jek-a-go-go

I’m actually a Valentine’s Day Grinch, but this card is both vintage and knitting-related, so that’s OK. And would you check out the fluffy kitten and those Mary Janes!

Photo by Cakehouse

Just look at that face! These four double-layer cloth napkins by Cakehouse were refashioned from preloved pillowcases and then hand-printed with water-based inks. Odysseus, a cat belonging to the designer’s sister-in-law, served as the model in exchange for a few months’ lodging—fair-enough, don’t you think?

Because Cakehouse works with recycled fabrics—the Brooklyn-based designer gravitates towards secondhand sheets, bedspreads, curtains, and the occasional house dress—every item is limited edition. I was tickled by the disclaimer she puts at the bottom of each page to indicate why you’ll find slight variations in each napkin: “I am a woman, not a womachine.” I might have to start using that as my e-mail signature. ($40 for four, Etsy)

Photo by Bella Knitting

No messing around with flapping scarves—or dealing with unsightly bulges under your coat—with this snug little scarflet. Click on over to Bella Knitting for the free pattern.

[via Craftzine]

We’ll have a different tip each month to help you spread the word about just one thing everyone can do to make our planet a little bit greener. Insert the code now, then lean back and relax—our Internet elves will magically replace your existing tip with a new one every 30 days or so.

[Via Atticmedia Junk]

Illustration by Eleanor Grosch

A free downloadable desktop wallpaper to get you in the spirit of the witching season, by one of my favorite illustrators, Eleanor Grosch.

In other news, anyone want to buy a kidney?

Photo by Shop with Love

I saw these plush birdie cages at ABC Carpet & Home yesterday and became instantly besotted—they look much cuter in person, too. The bars of the cage are made from wire wrapped in fabric tubes to give it that structured, sculpted look.

The gears instantly went whirring, of course, which I’m sure is almost instinctual with crafty types. (It made me feel naughty, though.)

By the same artist, these magnificent oysters and the most-exquisite peacocks, ever! Green with envy, I tell you. Absolutely GREEN.

Photo by Viva Terra

How brilliant was the person who conceived of this Festive Sweater Wreath?

Photo by piper, under a Creative Commons license

Take Action, Start a Petition
The Care2 Petition Site makes it a snap to start your own petition. First, identify the target of your protest, then draft out a call-to-action message and decide on your goal number of signatures

Quote of the Day: Carlo Petrini on Taking It Slow
“The quest for slowness, which begins as a simple rebellion against the impoverishment of taste in our lives, makes it possible to rediscover taste.”

Event of the Day: Farm Aid 2007
Are you going to Farm Aid?

Farm Aid 2007: The Press Conference
While we’re recovering from yesterday’s completely awesome Farm Aid 2007, here are a few clips from the press conference, courtesy of the official Farm Aid blog.

Quote of the Day: Marion Nestle on Advertising to Children
“Adults may be fair game for marketers, but children are not. Children cannot distinguish sales pitches from information unless taught to do so.”

(more…)

Here’s a bed I sewed for Mir—he’s a boy kitty, for those who’ve asked—last night, following a great tutorial I found online. I used leftover fabrics from previous projects, as well as fiberfill salvaged from a couple of discarded pillows. I’m no big whiz with the sewing machine, but this was an easy-enough project that took under an hour. Considering how pricey pet beds can be (upwards of $60, I believe), this was a low-impact and zero-cost endeavor that—according to my sister, anyway—looks store-bought.