Photography, knitting & Reading: Brief Update

Regardless of whether this blog will be followed or not, I plan to start posting snippets of projects I'm involved with.  Expect a variety of reading suggestions, craft and photography explorations. I'm multitasking my enjoyments, which of course means many interests and many UFO's (unfinished objects)
Right now I'm reading 2 books: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery &  The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.

 I'm a little over 50 pages into Elegance, I wasn't too enamored with it at first. I was thinking, OH NO! SHADES OF CAMUS. I have to admit I have only read one book by Albert Camus, because I had to for a literature class in high school. It was The Stranger and I found it so bleak and depressing. Back to Elegance: I'm starting to warm up a little to one of the main characters, Renee the conceirge. Her character takes pride in being miserable outwardly to all but a few people. Propagating an appearance of dullardness while inwardly sneering at those she encounters. Also, lots of inner conversations on her intellectual pursuits, so not much happening, but I'm at a point where it seems like a story is going to start to unfold.. stay tuned.

The Rook I would actually rather be reading this book than the other, but Elegance is a book group pick. (I feel I must give it a chance, plus the book group meets next Thursday)  The Rook is a kind of Harry Potter for adults I guess.   There is suspense and supernatural elements. The book starts with a woman who wakes up in a park with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She is surrounded by bodies that are wearing latex gloves. In the pocket of the coat she is wearing is a letter from the person whose body she is in... creepy huh? very intriging story line at the get go. stay tuned for my thoughts when I finish reading.
A catalog of current crafts: Knitting a drop stitch scarf from a free pattern available on Ravelry. The yarn is a washable merino wool, hand dyed from the Fabulous Fancy Image yarn shop. (I'll post a photo soon)

Personalized E-Reader covers made from colorful journals. These could be made from any book in the right size and width for your particular E-Reader. It goes against the grain for me to rip up a book though, so I'm utilizing blank journals. (office supply stores are a good place to find these)  I've found some with a overlapping cover and hidden magnet clasp. 

Stay tuned for further details on how to make these E-reader covers.

I recently added a new camera to my bag. The Fuji X10. Photos and thoughts coming soon. This will be my all purpose walk around travel kit.

Photography is becoming more of a passion

I used to be a one camera person, using a camera until it broke or wore out, not any longer it! I seem to be having GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) I've started using my dad's Pentax ME Super that may or may not be taking pictures. I'm working on the first roll of b&w film. I replaced the light seals last week. The ME needs to be sent for cleaning etc. the metering doesn't appear to be working. I'm not so confident of my light seal replacement either. It had been stored in damp conditions for years before seeing the light of day again, so the seals as well as camera bag had basically disintegrated.

A Friend & I were all set to take a black and white photography class, it was to start on Wednesday. I've been a bit concerned on what kind of results I will get with the Pentax until it can be seen by an expert. As luck would have it, the class was canceled. On Valentines day, before I knew that the B & W class was canceled I was surfing Ebay and came across a classic Minolta SRT 201, the same camera my husband had given me as a birthday gift in 1978 after we became engaged! I couldn't resist, it arrived yesterday and it is a beauty, the only problem is the shutter-speed scale has slipped out of space. I loaded it with 100 Kodak Gold this morning and started shooting some pictures at a local harbor. Tomorrow, I'm dragging my husband out early with me on a hike and I hope to finish the B&W that is in the Pentax and the color in the SRT. I'm kinda feeling like a kid in anticipation of what the pictures will look like.

Now, about my GAS problem, in July a pretty aqua blue waterproof Samsung AQ100 was added for kayaking and pocket size entertainment. It worked great white water rafting on the White Salmon river with friends too! I enjoyed the fun of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Disney Epcot in November with this little camera. In October, I gave in to the seduction of a Sony SLT a33. This is a really fun camera to use, fast light and uses the same lenses that my Sony a230 uses. I still have my Kodak P850 too! I'm also searching for some 127 film. In amongst my odds and ends of photography archaeology I found my old Imperial Satellite II

One of the other things I did today was get some pocket spiral notebooks to use when shooting film. I'll need to keep notes to compare once the film is developed so that I can see what worked and what didn't.

I've been purging my stashes of yarn, still knitting but have forsworn purchases unless it is for a specific project.

I've been preoccupied with too many things

One of my new enthusiasms is a Sony a230 DSLR, I am a woman obsessed with learning the ropes of basic photography. The photography complements camping perfectly.

The plan is to venture out for the first camping trip of 2010 this next weekend. Needles and the a230 will come along. Supplication to Mother Nature, include some sunshine? or at least mild overcast temps? We are hoping to head for Grayland Beach State Park.

Spring Snow arrived here in the Puget Sound

This is an extremely rare occurrence here in the Puget Sound anymore. Spring Snow! As I post this, the snow has disappeared and all is back to normal.

It has been great weather to knit these past few days, but I haven't been knitting.

The dropped-stitched cardigan yet, I have mostly finished knitting it except for the collar and i-cord for the zipper. I have hit a glitch. No local fabric store has a 17" separating zipper.

A special project with a deadline for April 10Th has come up. A chemo hat for a dear friends daughter, who shouldn't be going through this at the age of 32. The book Knitting for Peace has a lovely eyelet hat pattern. I'm hoping to make it out of a skein of bamboo merino wool sock yarn or Gerry Garcia wild stripes dish cloth cotton. She needs her head covered, but California weather dictates cotton for comfort.

I want to thank the knitters from Ravelry's Newbie Cafe for stopping by and taking a look at this blog. Ravelry has become a new fav hangout recently!

Dropping those Purl Stitches on Purpose?!

Progress is being made, I read the instructions again and again..I'm supposed to go ahead and drop the purl stitch AND let it go all the way down to the cast-on edge???!!Well, I did it! and it is working out very nicely. The picture doesn't do it justice though, the neutral color in the yarn blending in with my knitting basket just a little too good.

I had to take my husband to an appointment that involved me being in the waiting room for over 2 hours. I was on knitting roll.

I found it harder to get the stitch to drop down, usually trying NOT to drop a stitch away it goes!

Another plus is that I loaded up my Mp3 player with a download from my library. "Knitting Rules" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, read by the author. How appropriate!

I'm in the middle of a WIP

I am starting on the sleeves. The pattern is from Fall 2005 Interweave Knits, the Drop-Stitch Cardigan. I have been working on this project off and on. I even took it camping with me this fall, At this point I am still enthused about this project. The yarn is so soft! Moda-Dea Cartwheel color Hazy. An italian imported wool.


Tippy the cat is really trying my patience! Constantly attacking the yarn as I am working. One moment I am in the groove, the rythym then next? A downward pull on the yarn as Tippy the cat latches on to the yarn!

We went camping on Super Bowl Sunday!

We didn't go to the casino. We went to Manchester State Park.

We had a great overnighter. Went for a 4 mile round trip hike. Curled up and watched Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man.

The town of Manchester, WA was originally called Brooklyn. The town changed its name to Manchester, sure that they would become a major port like Manchester, England. Manchester State Park, was originally a military outpost to protect Bremerton Naval Shipyard & Navy Base. There was a Torpedo Warehouse that became officers quarters, that still stands today as a picnic shelter in the park. The Mining Casement operated from 1900-1910.