New Style

Hey there! What do you think of the new style? I want to thank the blogger team for making this update to the blog as easy as possible! I nabbed the photo from Yarn 365. But then, I guess it's not really nabbing it if it's my own, right?

The next blog project is going to be to cut down on some of the clutter there on the sidebar. I think the main offender is the blog list. It'd be good to cut that down to size. Back in the day, I used to use that blog list to read all the blogs. Now I use google reader, so I'm a little less concerned about it, but it's still nice to show some love to the folks I follow. Trouble is, I read a LOT of blogs now, and I'm not sure I really want ALL of them listed on the sidebar, for fear the sidebar will never end!

I do, however, think you should check out this post by Knit Princess. It's a hilarious comic panel and kind of made my day. I wish I were going to Comic Con this year so I could get a great photo of Darth Vader holding up some nifty yarn for Yarn 365.

At any rate, I'm really happy with the way the redesign of the blog turned out and I'm looking forward to going through that blog list on some other day.

Travelling Yarn Gifts

There's not much to post here. I'm still working on a Christmas gift. It's taking a while, but it's a lot of fun to knit, so there's that. I'll chat about it after it's been gifted.

To prepare for life without Christmas knitting, I feel like I'm bringing an overabundance of yarn with me to Rhode Island for the holiday. Granted, I'll be there for a good week and a half with not much else to do but knit, I still feel like I'm bringing too much. Here's the list:

• I've got yarn to knit another cowl out of (the light blue one is awesome, but it doesn't match my hat!).
• Yarn for a pair of fingerless mitts for me (my hands keep getting cold!)
• Yarn to finish the Christmas project

Once I get to Rhody, I'm going to have to pick up an aran weight yarn to knit a pair of fingerless mitts for my brother's fiancee's mother. She's cool and will actually wear them. You know, looking at that list, I'm not actually sure I did pack too much yarn. Maybe it's the christmas gifts in my backpack that are taking up all the space. I totally should have mailed them instead of bringing them. Maybe I'll mail them once I get to work.

I should send out a public huge thank you to blogless NanLam. She gave me the coolest bit of yarn:


It's Dream in Color Knitosophy in the Superhero color way. It's a really great blend of colors. Kalajoki (RavLink) popped up when I did a search and I knew that the two were meant to be together. I'm stuck now though. Because this yarn would be perfect to tout around Comic Con and use for Yarn365. While I want to cast on RIGHT NOW for those socks, I should wait. I'll have to come up with something else in the meantime.

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Today's Yarn365 shot is of a centerpiece of knitting needles. In order to get this shot, I pulled a bunch of knitting needles out of the tin I keep all of my needles in. I seem to have a ton of needles I'll never actually use ever again. I think 2010 for me is the year of getting rid of clutter for me - liquidating material things that don't need to be around etc. I'll post a list of the needle type, size etc. once I get back from Rhode Island and y'all can see if there's anything you need. I figure I should just donate them somewhere to charity after that. Anyone know of any charities that accept knitting needles?

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I want to post about my visit to La Casita Yarn Shop yesterday, but I've REALLY got to get this damn gift finished!

Yarn 365 Is A Month Old!

That's the most recent yarn photo which looks way better on the Yarn 365 Blog. I want to thank Illanna for helping me out with the project the week I was in London. I think the photos I've been taking of yarn have gotten better recently because of the constant practice. Hopefully that will be helpful with regards to other aspects of photography.

If anyone else is interested in photography like I am, I just found this awesome group on Ravelry: Yarnographers. They have photo assignments every now and again, and I might be taking part in some of them to keep myself challenged while doing the Yarn365 project

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Oh, and just one other thing: I'm loving that the yarnharlot's 365 calendar that Beth gave me last year for Christmas has a note for a Nonknitter Who Loves a Knitter up today. I know it's recycled from a book, but it's the most thoughtful thing ever. Also, since it's written like a note, it's perfect to leave lying around *someone's* house. You could even make copies of it and leave it lying around multiple houses! :-o

I'm noticing that there are a ton of 2010 kntiting/yarny calendars out there. I might have to review them at some point.

Yarn 365

I've started a new adventure!

Ruth and I were chatting on our subway ride back from SNB this week about coffee table books. I mentioned that it'd be really cool to have a book of just really good yarn photography. I started thinking that it might be fun to do a 365 project where all the photos were of yarn. I'll take a photo a day and add it to a flickr website and then to a blog I just created called Yarn 365. There's a few fun categories that I'll be posting into:

• Yarn in the Wild - this category will encompass yarn in places you don't generally see it such as: chilling on a stoop, maybe a green hank hanging out with some red apples in the produce section of whole foods, or even balancing on a sheep's head
• A Close Yarn - this category will be for close ups (macro shots) of yarn
• Glamorous Yarn - this category will be for photos of yarn that strikes a pose in a studio setting
• Puppy-Eyed Yarn - this category is for the yarn that stares at you from the cubby holes at the yarn store. You know, the hanks and skeins that beg you to take them home with you regardless of how much space you have for them or what you'll knit with them
• Yarn Transformed - this category is for photos of yarn that has been knit, crocheted, or played with in a way that makes it no longer string-like

I can use all the encouragement I can get I think. It's really hard to do something every day of the week. I have a lot of momentum going on this project right now and I'm really excited about it, but I'm sure that will fade at some point, and I might need some cheerleaders. Can you help me out? I'll make you some pom-poms if you want them... :)