DIY
Need a free woodworking plan, a tutorial or inspiration? You'll find all that and more here. This super busy mom in Alaska takes the mystery out of building projects. Sure to give you a case of the build-ies.
Entertainment
I am addicted to Crunchyroll and Korean Drama. Crunchyroll is a website that streams East Asian drama, music, anime, etc. Most of its content is free but includes commercials. By watching through a Roku device, the commercials are reduced or eliminated. You can also purchase a "membership" which allows full access without commercials.
I love this almost as much as Crunchyroll. Simon and Martina are Canadians living in Korea sharing their experiences and ever-expanding knowledge of Korean food, culture, and music. Their videos are a hoot and their WTF Korea (stands for Wonderful Treasure Find Korea) videos will have you laughing till you cry. One small caveat, the language isn't always G rated, so don't watch the videos with the kids until you've had the chance to preview them.
Food
This is my new favorite website for recipes. It is filled with recipes and instructional videos for Korean cooking.
Nice Blog about Korean Food & Things
Chocolate and Zucchini is a blog written by Clotilde Dusoulier, a French food Writer based in Paris who shares her passion for all things food-related.
Historically Minded
Great site by Elizabeth Stewart Clark primarily geared toward women and children reenacting the years 1840-1865. This is a very comprehensive site offering articles, patterns for sale and free project instructions. Topics include assembling your wardrobe, tips for keeping historic, and comfortable with a minimum of fuss at events and how to accommodate children and their special needs at events. Free project instructions/patterns include slatted sunbonnet, split drawers, chemise, petticoat, pinafore and more.
Local Charities
The Ark is a no-kill animal shelter run by some very kind and dedicated volunteers. It is always in need of our support. Please consider making a donation or adopting an animal in need.
Sewing Machines- General
All about treadles.
International Sewing Machine Collectors Society
So much great stuff, a little tricky to navigate, so be patient.
Look up your singer by model number and find when it was manufactured. Singer will also shoot you a PDF certificate for your machines "birth".
Want to know how to restore your sewing cabinet the right way? Then before you grab the stripper or heaven forbid the paint, look here first. Then check out the rest of the site. There is so much fabulous stuff here, but it is a little tricky to navigate.
Sewing Machine - Singer Model 66
Sure, Claire may not consider herself an expert at sewing machine cleaning and restoration, but she's put together a really nice tutorial to help you figure out where all those "bottom pieces" of your Singer 66 go. You can also follow as she sews some pretty adorable duds.
Sid and Elsie may no longer be contributing to this blog, but it is still filled with lots of good stuff. If you took off your balance wheel and can't figure out how to get it on and functioning, this link will do the trick. But don't stop there. This site has great info on oiling, adjusting tension and more.
Tools for self-reliance is an interesting organization whose mission is to reduce poverty in Africa by helping people build sustainable livelihoods through the provision of tools and training. Their site has a manual for cleaning and restoring several singer treadle and hand crank models. It's just too good to pass up.
How to service and clean a singer 66. This blog is full of great info. The only catch is that you might have to search a bit to find exactly what you are looking for.
- resetting timing takes you to my sewing machine obsession post on this topic.
Silkworms
Great site to get silkworms, eggs, mulberry chow, and exotic chow in colors. The proprietor is extremely nice, knowledgeable and eager to help. It also offers Mulberry seeds and saplings.
If you can only visit one site, this is it. This was the first site I came across on silkworm rearing. It is very comprehensive with info on rearing, reeling, spinning, weaving, breeding and diseases of Bombyx Mori as well as containing info on a variety of other silk bearing moths. If you're squeamish, skip the section on Silkworm foods, as in food for people made out of silkworms. However, do not skip his blog as it is an awesome assortment of fascinating things.
Sites with Free Printables
31 days of printable pages for home organization, plus extras for the kids and holidays.
You need it, Clean Mama's got it. An extensive list of printables to make cleaning and organizing a breeze.