Just some neat things I have found on the internet...

Okay. Neat things I have found in the internet.

Pinterest. Now that's a kind of neat thing that you have to have a look at to figure out what, exactly, its purpose is. And I've decided in my own mind that it is a visual book mark system. You may have a passion - say Chocolate recipes. So you look recipes up on the internet. And you find one that is wonderful.... but later you can't find the darned thing! So using Pinterest, you Pin an image from that webpage onto a Board that you have named - maybe Chocolate fondues... (if you have several chocolate fondue recipes, or you think you might like to collect Chocolate fondue recipes). Later when you are feeling a bit bored with life, you might be looking at your Boards - and oh my, the chocolate fondue looks SO good - so you click on the link (and if it hasn't been removed or moved!!) you will go right to that recipe again. Heaven!!!

How about a search engine? This doesn't sound too exciting until you need to find something on the internet. I have to tell you my favourite one is Google - but not the simple page. I like Google's advance search page. In that portion of the search engine, you can put an exact phrase in. Remember the lyrics of a song (or part of them) but have no idea of the artists or the title? In the exact phrase window type the portion you remember - and click search. I have an iPod, which I love, and I love to buy music from iTunes - but I can NEVER remember who sang it or what it was called!!

Facebook. I love facebook. It has its weird moments - but I love keeping in contact with my friends, and sharing pictures and ideas. I frequently play a game (only one at a time, is my new rule) on facebook - that's enough time wasting for me. But I love to look at other quilter's work - and many of us share on facebook.

Craftsy. I LOVE craftsy's classes. I don't buy much fabric off of the internet - I like to touch it, as well as look at the colour, but I have bought two of Craftsy's classes on the topic of quilting and I have been MOST impressed with them!!


Have you looked at the free tutorials that Jenny Doan does on YouTube from the Missouri Star Quilting Co.? What fun! Very professionally done, and so fun and informative! YouTube itself is pretty neat. You can even share videos with your family privately on YouTube.

Blogspot is pretty cool too. If you want to start a simple Blog (web log, in case you wonder where that word came from) this is a pretty nice spot to be.

Urban Dictionary is a good place to look up slang terms and all those initials that are so baffling the first time you see them. By the same token, it is definitely an 'adult' site - the slang is often a bit rude. WTF does not mean, Well That's Fantastic!

Canada411. My mom and dad frequently ask me to confirm an address or phone number or find someone in Canada. I have even, although not using Canada411, found relatives in the States for them. Canada Post has all the postal codes in Canada too - if you have the snail mail addy, they have the postal code. And if snail mail means nothing to you, I refer you to the Urban Dictionary above.

Are you looking for quilt blocks? Have you looked at Quilters Cache? Oh my heavens!!! It is wonderful, I have had such a lovely time scrolling through blocks.

Another wonderful quilting site is About Quilting. Terrific - patterns, how tos, blocks, basic stuff, intermediate and advanced. It is wonderful too, well written and a huge resource!!

Quiltville is pretty neat! Bonnie Hunter writes an entertaining blog (not always about quilting) and does a mystery quilt each year. I haven't taken the time to get ready to do it - but I have two 'flesh' friends who are and at least one of my facebook friends is making this year's. I would LOVE to do it... when I have time! :-)

I like podcasts - and several of the ones that I like (mostly on Science or Social Science and Humanities) have webpages where you can listen to their podcasts. Quirks and Quarks, the Vinyl Cafe, Naked Astronomy, Naked Scientist, RadioLab, 99% Invisible, Stuff You Should Know, all come to mind.  I listen to these on my iPod, while I quilt, frequently!!

Have you ever watched a Ted Conference? They have a webpage, and two podcasts - one is audio only and one is video - and the video one is better... they are on a range of topics. And I haven't watched any that weren't amazing! (There must be some that aren't amazing, there are more than 1000 of them available!)

Oh, the Nova Scotia Webcams are worth looking up and taking a boo at!! I especially like the Peggy's Cove Lighthouse webcam - when the weather is not so good, the waves are amazing!!

Other things that I have looked for on the internet lately; hiking or snowshoeing trails near where I live (they are there!),  and beaches I should see in Nova Scotia (they are there too), rules for Mah-jongg (found them and they saved my bacon!), maps for various places - downtown Halifax, Westville, NS, Dartmouth NS. The hours of operation and the directions to find various stores. I have bought movie tickets on the internet and done Christmas Shopping on same. Lee Valley has its catalogues on the internet - wonderful!! And Amazon can save your life!!

I love my eReaders and I like looking at Project Gutenberg - if you go on there, make sure you spell Gutenberg with only one U and two Es. Lots of ebooks all in the public domain!

I think I could go on and on - there are lots and lots of great things out there. There is also a lot of junk, so you have to be somewhat discerning. It is frustrating if you have found something in the past and you can't find it again... but sometimes you find such neat things.

This is another reason why I like facebook. I have a facebook friend who is the BEST at finding neat stuff on the internet and then she SHARES her links on facebook.

Well, excuse me, I have a class on Craftsy that I ought to be listening to or a Big Star Block that I ought to be making. Jenny Doan at Missouri Star Quilting Co, showed me how!!!

Have fun!