In case you haven't noticed I love sewing and all things DIY. Another thing I love, is unique t-shirts. I'm not a fan of slogan tees or t-shirts with brand names plastered across them. With that said, one can imagine that it's hard for me to find t-shirts that I like{which is why I make them}. The few times when I do buy a ready-made t-shirt it's usually from a company called Threadless.
Threadless is a community-based online apparel store run, since 2000, by skinnyCorp of Chicago, Illinois. Members of the Threadless community submit t-shirt designs online; the designs are then put to a public vote. A small percentage of submitted designs are selected for printing and sold through an online store. Creators of the winning designs receive a prize of cash and store credit. Here are some pictures of a t-shirt called Alice's Sewing Basket designed by Jillian Nickel {who also has an Etsy shop}:
I love the illustration style and the artful way in which the artist melds various sewing paraphernalia into the heads and bodies of animals. The color scheme complements the whimsical nature of the illustration and the subject matter. I love the bright pops of color. I happen to have just bought a pair of yellow canvas sneakers that match the yellow in the t-shirt design quite nicely. I'm definitely going to get this shirt before it sells out. You should stop by Threadless sometime— I promise it'll be worth your while!
We all know that President Barack Obama’s Mother, Ann Dunham, was a huge influence on the President, and that she exposed him to many cultures around the world. But did you know she was also an art collector? During the family’s time in Indonesia in the 1960’s, Ann Dunham collected amazing hand dyed batik textiles.
Batik is a traditional technique in which hot wax is used to create designs on fabric during the dye the process. Craftster has tons of examples and discussions of batik and other dyeing techniques. Even more information can be found on the Fiber Arts Boards.If you are lucky enough to be in Washington DC this weekend, you can see Obama’s Mother’s collection at the Textile Museum until Aug 23.
I wish I could go to DC ans see the exhibit at the Textile Museum. I LOVE fabric so I'm definitely going to go there one day. As a crafty person, I love the fact that President Obama's Mom had an appreciation for the arts. Yet another reason to love President Obama and his family.
In my senior year of high school, I saw a hysterectomy performed by Dr. Michael Pitter— Chief of Gynecological Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center— with the Da Vinci® surgical system. That experience made me confident in my decision to become a Bioengineer and a Doctor. That experience made me. Here is a video of Dr. Pitter speaking while performing a laproscopic myoectomy using the Da Vinci® surgical system.
This summer I started shadowing doctors in preparation for Medical School. My Mom suggested that I contact Dr. Pitter. I wrote him a letter telling him about how my experience was an epiphanic and how I wrote my college essays on it. In the letter, I spoke about my college experience so far and included my resume, the Liberty Science Center article on the "Live From...Robotic Surgery" Program featuring me and a copy of the college essay I wrote about the experience.
His secretary called me today while I was shadowing a cardiologist. I'll start on Monday and I might get to see a surgery using the Da Vinci®...live! I'm sooo excited!
A recent NY Times article highlights the creation of yet another innovation in bioengineering— the biomimicry of human cartilage for use in knee repair:"ONE way for surgeons to repair injured knees is to take cartilage and bone from another part of the knee and transplant it in the damaged area.
Now companies are developing potentially simpler knee patches: small, off-the-shelf plugs engineered to mimic the composition of human bone and cartilage." Here is a picture of invention and one of its inventors, Lorna Gibson:
"These ready-made cylinders can be inserted in an arthroscopic procedure and are known as osteochondral scaffolds, because they support new bone and cartilage as it grows. Stem cells from the bone marrow that can form bone or cartilage impregnate the pores of the cylinder."Yay for Bioengineering and Medicine! ♥ Efe ♥
I was driving today and this awesomely chill song came on. It was 'Oscar Wilde' by up-and-coming Chicagoan indie rock band, Company of Thieves. Their first release, Ordinary Riches, will come out on February 24, 2009. It's melodic sound has been stuck in my head for a while. Maybe it'll have a similar effect on you...
