How to
An Instructable for how to condition and dye hemp rope. Better (?) they list a rope source that I had not heard of before. It’s interesting that there’s a disclaimer at the beginning about using your rope safely, but nothing in the dyeing part that once you use your nice big pot for dyeing your rope, you should never use it for food again.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Condition_and_Dye_Your_Own_Hemp_Rope/ (via)

Frayed Knot has an index of how to/tutorials to which a variety of knot tyers have contributed.
,http://www.frayedknotarts.com/tutor1.html>

Events
On March 29, 2009 at a blood drive in Malasia at the Tzu Chi Miri Liaison office, they are also doing a number of craft activities and demos including teaching Chinese knots.
http://snowswallow-theordinary.blogspot.com/2009/03/blood-donation-activity-29032009.html

March 16, 2009 Boy Scout Troop 150 of Staten Island, NY met for a knot tying competition.
http://www.silive.com/local/advance/index.ssf?/base/local/1237203911324670.xml&coll=1

Fashion
For a haute couture kinda guy, Kenneth King is surprisingly crafty and accessible as a media persona. With Chinese knots in his new book, Cool Couture: Construction Secrets for Runway Style (Singer Studio), I’m sold (but then I’m a soft touch for books in general and books mentioning knots in specific). (via)

Speaking of pretty things to wear, coming soon is a new micromacrame book: Micro-Macrame: 30 Beaded Designs for Jewelry Using Crystals and Cords

An opinion on ties and “proper attire” in modern times.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1160179&srvc=home&position=rated

A pictoral guide to chosing the knot for your tie.
http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/03/18/just-the-tips-how-to-choose-a-tie-knot/

Current Indian fashion has the girls in ties and the boys in scarves.
http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4318337.cms

Picture of a Jennifer Behr knot headband and an Avant Garde knot brass cuff on a fashionista.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20267503,00.html

Blogs
Casey Muronaka explores Chinese knotting and kumihimo in Los Angeles.
http://cassymuronaka.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/all-knotted-up/

IWOM has been talking about Chinese knot name translations with her cadre of knotters. Looks like they’re going with calm knot for crown sinnet (turtle head) and plum blossom for ocean plat (turtle back)
http://iwom.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/knot-translations/

Another candidate for the name plum blossom knot.
http://oronemoredream.blogspot.com/2009/03/plum-blossom-chinese-knot.html

Double checking, in Chinese Knotting 3 Lydia gives the English name as the sublimely poetic Odd Number Round Compound Double Coin Knot.

Stormdrane has a nice example of the knot I think of when I’m thinking turtle back or ocean plat (except that he calls it an ocean plait). Loren Damewood has an extended ocean plat. If you minimize it does it go pentagonal? Something to analyze at length in the future…

Speaking of Stormdrane, he’s made a very nice dreamcatcher style keychain.
http://stormdrane.blogspot.com/2009/03/dreamcatcher-fob.html

Knots Indeed (Rita Bartholomew) is keeping a decorative netting blog.
http://knotsindeed.blogspot.com/2009/03/diamond-netting-not-diamond-mesh.html

Speaking of decorative netting, have a gander at Sandra Norrbin’s sculptures which include knotless netted works as well as other pieces that include cordage as a major component.
http://www.artnews.org/sandranorrbin (via)

Make Magazine, for their Make Kids blog, posts a short round up of knot links.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/03/animated_knots.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

Knot head, Rick (skyout), shares the link to a custom whip-making site. There are some very interesting knots and braids associated with whips, but my local bookstore people usually look at me a bit funny when I special order those books. 8)
http://www.midwestwhips.com/Knots.html

Articles
Apparently, it was a slow news day and the Toronto Star wrote about shoelace tying. Specifically about Ian Fieggen’s online shoelace extravaganza.
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/608034

Things to do
A Disney-led trip to China includes “learning to tie fortune knots at the home of a skilled artisan in China”. Wonder which ones are “fortune knots”?
http://www.mouseearvacations.com/web/disney/adventures/2009/china/?ID=ITIN (via).

In Memoriam
This has not been a good couple of weeks for knot tyers. Knot artisans, teachers and guild members: Bud Brewer and Garry Sessions both passed away on March 17, 2009.
http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=1323.0

Also, sculptor Shinkichi Tajiri who created the friendship knot in San Francisco Japantown as well as one in Bruyeres, France, also passed away recently.
http://www.rafu.com/en/2009/0328/comm.html

I was going to backdate this to my usual Sunday (22^nd) link dump, but I’ve crashed my browser once this span with too many links, so I really need to clear it out. Also, artificially chopping it in half seems to be a waste of effort. Between being sick (and the kids being sick) and the World Figure Skating Championships getting in the way, I’m very far behind my goals, but I’ll backfill with something knotty. That’s the plan in any case. 8)

Books mentioned in this post: