Be Inspired

In the past year, I've noticed something interesting. All of us inspire each other, pushing each one of us to think beyond, knit past, unvent something. But for true, pure inspiration, I've realized that it's not the fiber artists who have truely pushed me beyond my creative limits. It's the creative "everythings". I'm sure that I'm missing a few key sites here, but these are some incredible blogs and podcasts that have opened up my mind more than I might have imagined.

Blogs
Ali Edwards -- scrapbooker and paper artist
Design*Sponge -- umm, you haven't heard of Design*Sponge?!
Hula Seventy -- thinking outside the box, she is inspired by the things around her, and encourages others to do the same. I want to look at everything in my life more closely after a visit to this blog. Beautiful pictures, too.
Post Secret -- I find that my most creative moments often come out of some shade of melancholy. This site contains just enough to set me off on my creative dark side.
Treats and Treasures -- get beyond the difficult-to-read template, and you'll realize that the true "treasure" of this blog lies in the gorgeous little posts. It's like looking over her shoulder into her creative journal.
Whip-Up -- the hub of all things crafty and creative in the online world as we know it

Podcasts
We all know about the knitting/crochet podcasts out there (like, you know, the incredibly popular and beloved Knitting Cook), but here are three shows that spotlight a different creative artist via interview in each episode:
CraftCast
Craftypod (this one is unique in the fact that Diane also gives crafty "how-to's" occasionally instead of an interview, making this almost more like a little audio zine. Very cool.)
Craftsanity
Creative Mom Podcast not an interview show, this one instead is full of ideas, creative prompts, and interesting perspectives on creative parenting, all sandwiched between a tiny bit of peaceful music. It's a full hour of creative zen that I save for naptimes when I'm all alone with my knitting. She even has a Flickr group for listeners to post their projects, and has just completed a listener Artist Trading Card swap. Love it. This podcast just reeks of inspiration.

If there are other podcasts and blogs that have been very inspirational to you in the past year, please leave me a comment! I'll be updating my sidebar with the list in the weeks to come. (Along with updating the blog template in general...I upgraded to "Blogger Beta" and, well. Let's just say that it's going to take a bit of work and time to get everything all set back in order.)