Thursday, February 28, 2008

Isn't She Lovely?

Isn't she lovely? Meet my newest knitting tools.... a swift and ball winder.



They showed up in the mail today to greet me after an especially tough day at work. Of course I had to try it out right away and show you all. I purchased them from Joanne Fabrics on a ridiculous sale with a coupon. I just couldn't pass them up!



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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I am in Love!





With my new camera lens. Here are some test shots. Bell Sleeve Jacket. A frog holder for my tape measure and other accessories. And last, but definitely not least, a little cheer me up I picked up from the yarn store yesterday.....Selbuvotter!

Love the lens, and I have only had it 4 hours!
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Sunday, February 24, 2008

On the subject of photography


A collage of some of my favorite photos that I have taken. A large number of them were on my honeymoon in Alaska.

I shoot with a Nikon D80. Love it. Still a novice. Perhaps someday I will take photos like Brooklyn Tweed. Every time I go to his blog, I am wowed!
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Yarn Photography (and a sneak peak)


So the days when I have schoolwork to do are the days that I always come up with some crafty project that must be worked on immediately lest the idea leave me forever.

Yesterday, I ordered a brand new lens for my camera. A Nikkon 50mm f 1.8 lens. It hasn't even arrived, and I am already getting excited about using it. It should be great for portraits, low light photography and you guessed it....yarn and knitting photography.

In anticipation of the lens arrival, I was researching tricks for photographing yarn and came across a tutorial for creating a light box. Basically this is box that disperses light to create a softer picture with less harse shadows. You can buy these (for a lot of $$$), but I decided that by making my own the worst that happened was to waste a perfectly good Cardboard box. And perhaps the opportunity to stop using my ugly carpet as a backdrop!

These photos are a few of my first test shots. I need to pick up some poster board to make the box more useful, as right now it is two pieces of paper taped together which does have a seam that is visible with larger objects. In addition, I also will make a reflector of tin foil and a leftover box piece to help get rid of more shadows. Also, the box I made is pretty small, so I might be making a larger one in the near future. It takes all of 20 minutes to make.

I really need to get photoshop, but for now, a little editing in Picasa, and here they are.



You might notice that one of the photos shows a WIP, my Jaywalker socks I am about to turn the heel on the second sock, and with a little train knitting time tommorrow, they should be finished soon!

Once I get my new lens, I will post some more photos to show it off.
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Saturday, February 23, 2008

Bell Sleeved Jacket Progress


DSC_1340, originally uploaded by suntheim.

I haven't posted in awhile. As many of you may have guessed or known, I am back in the swing of school, and the blog has taken a backseat. However, I am still knitting a little bit.

Here is the progress I've made on Bell Sleeve Jacket. I have about 7 inches left on the back. I have made some modifications to the pattern which I will outline once I am done with the sweater. The biggest of these was to make a bigger size than the pattern instructions go up to. Even with that, I still wasn't convinced it would fit me. Once I pinned the edges out to take the photo though, my gauge is dead on, and I am pretty sure it will fit.

So much fun to knit!