Saturday, May 14, 2011

Photography Tips for Crafters

This site gives seven excellent tips for taking photographs of projects.  These are two of most important techniques that I need to use:
Tip1 - Always, always, always use natural light. Unless you've got a tungsten balanced professional light kit or box, shoot your photos in natural light. It will keep your colors true, and add a certain warmth that you just can't get from an artificial light source. It is best if the light isn't too direct, as that can cause harsh funky shadows, and/or a washed out look. An overcast day is great, or late afternoon or early morning when the sun isn't directly over head. If you can't go outside, shoot your photos in a light filled room near a sunny window.
Tip2 - Never, never, never use your flash. It just looks bad. It changes the colors and causes weird glares, reflections, and hot spots. Do yourself a favor and turn the flash off.
This picture was taken inside, using a flash, (the project is the Drop Leaf Scarf, free download page here):

This picture was taken outside, without a flash, on an overcast day:


Can you tell the difference in the clarity of the picture using natural light?

Even after reading through the techniques suggested in the article, I'll likely just grab the camera, shoot a picture, and be thoroughly relieved that it downloaded to the computer.  No one is paying me for doing this, after all. :o)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Dogs



Dogs never cease to fascinate.
Libby and Mercy, our current fur babies

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog."
- Edward Hoagland

Monday, May 9, 2011

Cancer and My Daughter

Malignant, malevolent, invasive: cancer

It has happened again, and to my daughter.  And it is breast cancer.  And how will she choose to deal with it during the normal course of Stages of Grief ?
  • Denial (this isn't happening to me!)
  • Anger (why is this happening to me?)
  • Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)
  • Depression (I don't care anymore)
  • Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes)

She could be stuck and stay angry and depressed.  But knowing her, she will not.

Allow me to give you a background for Julie.  This is a picture of my daughter and me in her first week of  life, along with a little social history:

(the rest of the story can be read at More Magazine by clicking on this link)

Daughter Julie has been dealing with this latest diagnosis of an advanced breast cancer for about a month.  She has a myriad of medical complications to go along with this recent diagnosis.  But she has taken on this current medical problem with her usual courage and a complete lack of self pity.

So when I dare to complain, I remind myself to look to my exceptional daughter and her life.  How can one not marvel at her successes and her positive outlook?  And how could I think of ranting my despair from petty disillusionments or physical pains? 

God unceasingly reminds me of Julie, my role model for serene acceptance of what life throws at her.  I am blessed because she blesses.

There are things that we don't
want to happen but have to accept,
things we don't want to know but have to learn,
and people we can't live without but have to let go.

~ Author Unknown

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day

"Making a decision to have a child-it's momentous.
It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around
outside your body."
~Elizabeth Stone

Elizabeth Stone's quote was found on Susan's blog this morning.

Today, I want to say an even bigger "thank you" to my own children, for they have made me grow, stretch, be aware of my glaring and not so evident faults, and have taught me gratitude and a modicum of forbearance.  Thank you for being my children, Julie and Heidy.

“It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.”

 Erma Bombeck


Mother's Day is the Big Day to say "thank you" to the mothers of the world. But there are others who also lay blame when "things go wrong" with children...

Thoughts on Mother's Day from The Citizen:
While fathers, teachers, religious leaders, and numerous other elders in the society deserve acknowledgment for their roles in the nurturing of children, it is a mother’s role that is extraordinary. Mothers are naturally the primary caregivers for young children.

It is a mother who teaches how to nurture and how to love. It is through her guidance that we as individuals learn how to be empathetic and sympathetic to those around us.Today mothers have lots of routine work, and responsibilities. They are normally always busy fulfilling their children’s needs, in such a way that they forget to care for their own.

However, there is a tendency to put blame on mothers when things go wrong with children. This isn’t a new aspect. Everyday we hear how mothers are to blame when children fail to live up to our expectations.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Coffee: Flavored and Otherwise

When is the best time for a cup of coffee?  Your mood dictates the answer, but here is a thought from Bon Appetite Magazine:
The Daily Mail reports that Professor Spence and a team of experts nailed down a formula that combines great flavor (F), the perfect environment (E), the coffee container (P), the company you drink it with (C), and the time of day (T). These factors add up to the most enjoyable coffee moment (M). In other words:

M = 0.5 x F + (0.5 x E + 0.3 x P + 0.15 x C + 0.05 x T)

M = the perfect coffee moment

The study showed that the best time to have coffee is actually at 11am in a well-lighted room or outdoors in the sun with friends listening to Italian opera or any singer with a low raspy voice. (According to the research, a person's palate is most sensitive at 11am.)

11:00 AM you say?  How about the moment you awake? 

After debating for a week over the issue of whether or not to buy a one cup coffee maker, I took the plunge and ordered a Black and Decker beauty for $17 (no shipping 'cause we are Prime members) along with a bit of flavored coffee just for moi, as the husband wants no part of fu-fu java.

It should be at the doorstep Monday, along with some flavored coffees.

Carin, video podcaster at Round the Twist, is always talking about her San Marco coffee as she chats about her crafting projects, her pup, mentions her job as a night nurse, and just generally entertains with her dog begging for pats in the background.  She got me thinking that I really need my own coffee maker for just that one perfect cup of flavored coffee.  Whenever I want it!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf

This Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf  by Karen Baumer (free download available here) will get lots of use because of the color combinations inherent in the superwash yarn.


The yarn is a wool superwash (machine washable) made especially for sock knitting.


Stripes evolved as knitting progressed.  Fringe was added.  Dimensions: 8" x 74".

These are a few other scarves made by other ravelers from the same pattern,  displayed on Flickr.




I'll definitely be knitting this pattern up again in a different self striping yarn, as it keeps you wondering how the next section will appear.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Twig Art and Lime Buttermilk Chess Pie

SIL Jack sent me a link to twig art by Patrick Dougherty from North Carolina.  Jack took this picture of Dougherty's work displayed in Rock Hill, SC.   Cool picture, eh?
More Dougherty artwork:


From a linked link on the Deep Fried Kudzu website (i.e, the sidebar had a link) the original recipe for Lime Buttermilk Chess Pie was given, and since I am a big fan of chess pie, I just had to make it.  But I digress.  Here is the recipe from Ginger:
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
splash good vanilla
pinch of kosher salt
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp lime juice (I think I actually used a little more. Taste the mixture and add more if you think it needs it, but be careful.)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl, add vanilla and salt. Set aside.

In a Kitchenaid, mix buttermilk on low speed until frothy. Add eggs, butter, lime juice. Add dry ingredients. Don't mix for a long time - just incorporate. (my note: the idea is to keep all of this nice and cool. Frank says to cover and put the mixture in the refrigerator for two hours, but again, it was late in the evening.) Pour the mixture when it's nice and smooth into the pie crust. Bake at 300 degrees F.

The cookbook says that this needs to cook for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is just set but still jiggly in the center. At 25 minutes, this filling was only beginning to set at the very edges. It took about an hour for it to cook properly (and again, you don't want it to be completely set in the middle
Here is how it looked after an hour of cooking time:

but with three modifications: 1) added the zest of one lime; 2) covered the edges of the pie crust with foil; 3) cooked it for 60 minutes. Note: this pie was cooked at high altitude, so it took longer to bake.

Ginger at Deep Fried Kudzu says to let it set overnight and it will firm up.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Fascinators (Women's Hats)

The Royal Wedding showed off its finest.  Some links for your enjoyment are included at the bottom of the post relating from fashion to the sanctity of marriage.

But first, let's talk about the hats almost all wedding celebrants were wearing yesterday.  I learned from a television commentator a new term for those hats that sit on the side of the head: "fascinators".

The hat style, as SIL Charlotte remarked, it not new.  In fact, fascinators were quite in style in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Here is Marie Antoinette in what could be called a fascinator on her head:
Hats are not required to sit atop the head, but can be an adornment to an elaborate hairdo.  Marie shows her up-do to advantage with the fascinator adding at least 10-12 inches to her height!

From yesterday's ceremony, note the hat that Posh Girl wore yesterday with a sleek pony tail:

Kate Middleton has generally favored Philip Treacy as her favorite hat stylist.  Now that she is Catherine, Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge, Mr. Treacy will likely continue to be a designer icon world-wide.

Remember Catherine in this Philip Treacy hat?

So an old made new style is coming back for hats.  The Fascinator!  Let's all run out and buy a few.

Satanica on Etsy has these lovely fascinators for sale at a reasonable price; swing over to this page to see more and/or to purchase on Etsy (everything hand made).



As promised, web links, courtesy of Living the Grand Life:

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Top Down Summer V Neck Sweater #2

Finished is Heidi's Top Down Sweater, rendition 2, with a lace inset under the neckline:



While listening to the Knitting Pipeline, Paula mentioned that BConstanze on Ravelry uses Picasa to make collages of her knitting projects, so I thought I'd give it a try and came up with this:


All Pink!
Details on this sweater can be found here.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Updates on the Tea Party for the Royal Wedding (from Ravelry)

Sharing updates from the Anglophile tea party group on Ravelry...

Queenie, complete with this avatar she has on her informational page, said
As you can guess by my user name, I think I am royalty. I have always said that I just need the birth certificate to prove it. That said I have backed out of a girls weekend, and tickets to the opening night of the Joffrey so I can devote the entire day to my pretend world. Years ago my DH bought me a tiara with genuine cut glass “diamonds” so that will be atop my head all day long. I am a sad sad sad individual
And Auntsugar adds:
While I wish I could come to your tea party I suspect I will hostess one of my own with the neighbors across the road. I will also be making pastry cups for the curds I preserved last summer,both made with the luscious very dark large egg yolks from her mothers chicken eggs, and the fresh, huge raspberries off their bushes! This is an Easter treat for her whole family. I wonder if the weekend figured in the bride and grooms decision to marry that weekend? The commute for me would be too long even in the virtual world. So do enjoy and savor you lovely scones and creme.
I added:
Yesterday I cruised over to WalMart for the weekly haul, strolled through the kids’ toy section, spotted a rhinestone tiara, thought hard about it, but then walked on by.
I am still thinking I should go back and get that tiara and wear it at breakfast.
Cristi adds:
I’ll be watching the wedding in real time.. since I live in England.  I’ve been getting wedding “fever”.. I’ve just finished watching the William and Kate special on BBC1. I’ve got all my wedding kit. :) and the day off.. because the day has been made a bank holiday.. yay!!

I took this picture in Sainsburys the other day.. yes I’m a saddo.. but I bought a bit of everything.

Looking forward to Friday..
Our Colorado/English breakfast menu is still being discussed.