a tribute of sorts

this tempts me to buys some film, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

or perhaps a eulogy:
this tempts me to buys some film, even if Kodak has announced it will stop producing Kodachrome.

handspun lace ribbon scarf

handspun lace ribbon scarf, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

I got together with my knitting friend Michele earlier this week, which prompted me to finally start plying some handspun that had been malingering since last August. I spin with an S twist, so I'm plying with a Z twist. Or wait - is that the other way around?

This is my first stab at handspun, so to say that it's irregular and variable in both twist and weight would be an understatement. So, she suggested the lace ribbon scarf as a good project for these small and irregular hanks of handspun. I'd had it in mind as a possibility, but it was good to get validation from someone with her eye and skill level.

So far I'm liking how it's working up. I have some concerns that it will start looking kind of funky when I change skeins as there is no uniformity in colour whatsoever, but I think I'm going to consider that a design feature.

Fibre is Blue-Faced Leicester roving bought at Knitopia in Langley BC, spun and plied on locally made handspindles bought at same location.

June 20.

two daisies today

Daisies, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

I thought they were Shasta daisies, but now realize they probably are something else completely. African daisies? The plastic tag has long been broken off and sunk into the dust.

Gardening is a lot of work in southern Alberta - late frosts and cold springs are usually followed by an abrupt swing to hot, droughty conditions. We don't put in the kind of time it takes to make plants really thrive here, but a few hardy clumps keep soldiering on, surprising us with colour amidst the dust and heat.

I was thinking of trying to make this picture into a banner of some sort, and got as far as experimenting to make a watermark, but that's as far as I got. I don't really need a banner, or a watermark, for that matter. I just felt like tinkering.

leap!

cabriolet, 161/365, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

So this is the first time I've had a camera that could shoot in RAW, the digitial equivalent of negatives (or postives too, I suppose). Up till now, I couldn't really see any good reason to use it, since RAW files aren't immediately viewable in Windows Explorer, and because they're completely humongous. However, Rita at Coffeshop Photography started writing presets for LightRoom that can also be used in PSE7. Although they can also be used on jpgs, which I usually take, they work best on RAW images, and no tweaking is needed afterwards. I'm not sure how much I'm willing to use RAW, since the files are so huge, but it's fun to play with once in a while.

And again - I like the way her preset brings the contrast and texture out in these chives:

blingy goodness

I haven't made jewelry for some time now, and in the last while, it's my daughter that's tinkered with the collection of beads, wire, and chain stuffed in a drawer of the hobby room. I was compelled to pick up my pliers again the other day to repair an old choker I made about six years ago - or, not so much repair it, but enlarge it, because it felt kind of tight. I find that weird. I seriously doubt that the weight I've gained since then has made my neck actually fat, but really, it doesn't feel as comfortable as it used to. So I added a couple of links, and now it feels fine. Maybe it's my Incredible Hulk type traps. I should take another picture of these - in reality, they look quite a bit more lively and spring-y, not this firey and intense.



While I was at it, I figured I would go the quick and dirty route with some beads we picked up on clearance at Michael's. But now that I look at them again, they seem sad and lonely, so I need to find a way to spruce them up a bit - I've seen some simple pendent designs with ribbon that might be fun to try.

Idling

It is truly woeful how I have spent insufficient idleness on knitting. As of the beginning of this year, I have managed to knit exactly 3.9 socks, and 0.75 of a sweater. I could say that it is because of my crazy school schedule, and that wouldn't be untrue, exactly. But it's not the only reason. I do still have moments of idleness, but have probably spent more time taking pictures than knitting this particular semester.

A couple of reasons for this: I have always taken pictures, and can actually remember being 4 or 5 years old, taking the family camera and snapping pictures of my mom while she napped. She was understandably unimpressed, but from there, I did get a little 110 instamatic of some sort by the time I was 10, and have been busily recording relatively insignificant moments of my life since.

So, this year I decided to undertake Project 365, which I learned about through Flickr and Photojojo. A picture a day, no matter how boring your life gets. This is a considerable challenge, but also encourages me to learn to use my camera, and not just put it on Program and snap away. I always have, and still do, fiddle with the settings anyway; I just do it more, now.

a relatively recent mosaic:



and the full constantly updated photo diary set is at Flickr.