Episode 9: Beach Bound!

Thanks everyone for tuning in this week! 

Segments Include:
On the Needles
Off the Needles
Brainstorming
From the Armchair
Crafty Adventures
Life in Focus
In My Travels
On a Happy Note
Knitting in Passing
Quote of the Week

Announcement

Jessica from the Knitting Brooklyn Podcast's contest is over. Knitters absolutely rock and helped Julie reach her $407 goal in record time. I apologize if you didn't have a chance to enter this contest, but I know we're all grateful that some kids in need will have some challenging reads this upcoming school year.

Thank you's
Thanks SpikeySandy for your iTunes review!

Thank you to Paula from Knitting Pipeline for the very kind review on your latest episode! 

On the Needles

Abyssal Shawl

• Yes, this is back on the needles! I found a second skein at my LYS and figured it was a sign! so I told you i wasn’t quite happy with this shawl, even though i had it bound off before the last podcast.

Heirloom Blanket

• The world’s ugliest, 100% acrylic from the 70’s or 80s has no dye lot...some skeins are darker than others so I'm alternating every 5 pattern repeats.

Rocky Coast Cardigan

As of now, the right sleeve is finished!

Off the Needles

Milo Vest

My second Milo Vest. A really quick, fun, satisfying baby knit!

Brainstorming

• Planning my vacation knitting:
• Another Abyssal Shawl with my Unwind Yarn Company yarn that I won
• Maybe another Milo vest...
• Chinook Scarf/shawlette
• Romney Kerchief
• Age of Brass and Steam

Also dying to cast on the Color Affection Shawl by Veera Valimaki. Kristin from the YarnGasm Podcast's is especially beautiful- find her project here. I bought some Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine, and will start that in the next couple weeks.

From the Armchair

Wool People 3 from Brooklyn Tweed

17 gorgeous designs - lightweight layering items in neutral tones. Stunning.

My favorites:

Biston  
Ferrous Wrap
Walpole cardigan

Crafty Adventures
No new work in the studio- too much summer fun getting in the way!

Sewing- Retro Apron (in progress)

9 square-quilted pocket for the apron

Photo from Mom (thanks!)

Life in Focus

Overview of the Aperture Priority Setting DSLR cameras

• Great blog post to show how to adjust camera settings on Canon and Nikon here

How I usually set up my camera- Aperture Priority Mode:

• Set your camera to Aperture Priority Mode- AV on Canon or A on Nikon
• Set your focus to Auto Focus

• Set your ISO first (100 bright sunshine, 200 natural light but not really harsh, 400, inside with lots of light, 800 darker, 1600/3200 very low light)

• White Balance

• In natural light I find that using the Auto White Balance setting generally works ok, but most of the time I change this setting.
• More information on White Balance here.

• Set your Aperture

• What does that mean? Aperture is how open the lens is to receive the light

• How to do it: (usually) turn click wheel on the camera near your shutter (depends on model)
• Tips:
• Low number means that your camera’s lens is more open (so more light comes through). This also means that it will exposure for subjects that are closer to the lens-- creating a shallow depth of field. Example of larger aperture- f2
• High number means that the lens is less open to light, will expose for something far away and create a deeper depth of field. Example of smaller aperture- f32.
• In Aperture Priority Mode- you set this- and the camera will choose the corresponding Shutter Speed to create a good exposure. 
• Move your Array Point (in your view finder) to set the focus on your subject.

On the next episode, I'll review:

The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos: The Best Techniques for Showcasing Your Handmade Creations by Heidi Adnum


In My Travels

Very excited about our summer vacation! 


I may (or may not) be attending this local event:
Interweave Knitting LabWill take place from October 4-7, 2012 at the Radission in Manchester, NH


Ravellenic Games 2012  (formerly Ravelympics)
Gave a really short reader's digest version of my comments about the USOC's threat to sue Ravelry if the name of this event wasn't changed, but was very unkind in the process. Mentioned an interesting blog post by the Yarn Harlot. Bottom line: knitters rock. We still get to knit this summer. Maybe this whole thing brought some more awareness to knitting and empowered knitters :)

On a Happy Note
New ipod nano with its handy built-in clip.
The new fawn who visits our backyard!
Knitting in Passing

• Love chatting with knitters on the train! This week someone actually helped me wind yarn.

Quote of the Week“The cure for anything is salt water—sweat, tears, or the sea.” ― Isak Dinesen



Thanks again for listening and for all of your kind messages, posts on the Rav group and blog comments!

Episode 8- Coast, Cake & Crafts

Thanks for tuning in for Episode 8!

On the Needles

Heirloom- by Madeline Tosh
Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig

Off the Needles

Abyssal Shawl by Karen and Karyn

This shawl might end up back on the needles (or frogged) at some point. I ran out of yarn well before I would have been finished properly. Totally my fault. We'll see what happens with this, but for now its finished.

Brainstorming

Spent some time this week searching Ravelry for quick gifts to knit up for Christmas gifts.

Odd Ends Pattern by Carina Spencer (free!)
Echo Flower Shawl
with these mods by Rav user- elven

Keyhole Sand Dollar Wash cloths

Crafty Adventures

I started sanding the cabinets that go in my studio!

I’ve received a few new additions for my collage wall as birthday gifts from friends:

Life in Focus

Part II of Tips for Better Photographs of your Knitwear
Focus this week is on point and shoot cameras:
What I used for some testing for this segment- Nikon CoolPix  S51
Usually use a Canon Powershot SD4000 IS or my Canon Revel xti

{Double Click on Images to see a larger version}

Started with no plan in mind. No set-up, indoor lighting, poor arrangement of the knitted item.

This is my favorite of this series of 3. Try a few settings on your camera to see what works best.

Get some close-up shots, so you can draw attention to the pattern, the stitches, the yarn, the texture.

Other tips:

• Take a bunch of photos!!
• Don’t trust what you see in the LCD display on the back of your camera. It can be difficult to see what it really looks like until you get it on your computer.
• If you can do a self portrait try it- or learn how to set your timer and try it that way. Of course this can be harder with a garment than with an accessory but if you put that much time into knitting a sweater, find a friend and ask them to take your picture- its worth the few extra minutes.

Photography Podcasts

• I have listened to some but haven't been in love with any yet.
• There's one I listened to only one episode of (New to Photo Podcast), whose website looked promising. More of a review on the next episode.

From the Armchair:  Knitty - First Fall

There were a couple patterns I really enjoy in this issue and I thought I’d share.
The Political Process- fingerless mitts


Portlander- fingerless mitts with option to do a full mitten
There is also a book featured in the reviews section called: The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos: The Best Techniques for Showcasing Your Handmade Creations by Heidi Adnum

In My Travels

Summer vacation is coming up!

Ravelympics
July 27 - Aug 12, 201

NY Sheep and Wool in Rhinebeck  
October 15 & 16
Workshop Schedule is posted!


Stitches East
October 11-14
Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT
(Not sure if I'll be attending since its so close to Rhinebeck on the calendar).

On a Happy Note

I had a great birthday weekend!


Spent part of Saturday June 9th at Nantasket Beach for World Wide Knit in Public Day.

My Abyssal Shawl in progress


At Nantasket Beach- home of the old Paragon Park.

Sunday night I went to the Company Theater's Gala to raise money for their upcoming Paragon Park musical based on the story of the old Paragon Park and its beautiful carousel at Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA.

Kris, Me

Gram, Mom, Gail

Contest

Congratulations to our 6 contest winners! Tune in to see if you've won!


Special thanks to Alana Dakos for sponsoring these amazing prizes!!

Quote of the Week

What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade. - Gertrude Jekyll