Posted in camera lucida, knitting, photography, posers

Camera Lucida – Still Life: Giraffe, Pears

Giraffe in progress

This week’s Camera Lucida challenge made me smile as I thought of this picture I had taken of the body of my Itty Bitty Giraffe  (pattern by Susan B. Anderson).  The combination of color and shape was so evocative of pears (which I love as a design element), that I just had to take this picture.

The challenge:

This week’s theme: ‘Hidden’

  1. kept out of sight; concealed;
  2. difficult to find, lying beyond what is obvious or avowed.

Share with the world your latest discovery…something that made you smile…something that was concealed from the naked eye…something that inspired you!

Finished giraffe:

Giraffe reading

Check out Julia’s weekly photo challenge here: Camera Lucida – Hidden.

Posted in Cannon Beach, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Photo Challenge, photography, The Coast

Weekly Photo Challenge: State of Mind

This week, let your inner world and the outside one converge in a photo.

Beach glade
Beach Glade

Viewed through a protected glade north of Cannon Beach.  Looking outward, finding joy in observing the world around me, enjoying quiet solitude and thought. The inner world and the outer converge in this photo.

Photos show us the surface of things, but they often tell much deeper stories about the objects they depict — and about the people who take them.

Every photo we take says something about our emotions at the moment of taking it. So this week, share an image where you see a particularly strong connection between what we see and what you felt as you pressed that shutter button on your camera or phone.

Weekly Photo Challenge: State of Mind

 

Posted in Oregon, Oregon Coast, Photo Challenge, photography, The Coast

Weekly Photo Challenge: Seasons

This is my first entry to The Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge.  This week’s theme is Seasons.

It’s always cloudy and rainy this time of year in Oregon, but there’s often a little sunlight peaking through, the promise of a dry spell sometime.  It’s enough to keep my spirits up and keep me dreaming of those warm summer days that will be here eventually.

cannon beach
Cannon Beach by Carol Herman

The Daily Post – Weekly Photo Challenge

This week, let’s embrace the season: share an image that embodies the world or the weather where you live.

The word “seasons” can also describe a period or phase of your life. If this context resonates with you, share an image that expresses the seasonality of life itself or the present season of your life.

~by Jen Hooks

Daily Post Photo Challenge

Posted in colorwork, Oregon, Oregon Coast, photography, The Coast, The Creative Process

Winter Ramblings

DSCN9374I’ve just finished up a few days at the Oregon Coast.  I come here every February, as a quiet, restful retreat by myself.  I will often take long rambles, beachcombing,  looking for the beautiful, the interesting or the odd to capture my attention.  City-combing, too, looking for interesting architecture, sculpture, artistic endeavors; flora, fauna, food; less often, because they move and you have to get their permission, people.

A huge chunk of the time here is spent knitting, of course.  Or, now, designing.  This trip, there was a lot of knitting, ripping out, and re-knitting.  I’m pretty sure this sweater now has its course planned out pretty well and all I have to do is just keep knitting…

Colorwork sweater, a previous version which included light blue and melon colorways:

DSCN9340

Even though all of the inspirational palettes I was drawing from included the melon (and orange), I finally concluded that they were not going to work in this sweater because I hadn’t introduced them sooner.  They are in time out and are not even in the tub with the rest of the yarn.  Now I have a plan and will be working the greens, blues and browns back in throughout the rest of the fabric:

Colorwork Tee

There’s much more to be said about knitting on this trip, including the lovely Open Knit time at In The Wind Yarns and some new yarn (!), but that’s subject matter for another post.

Now, back from that little aside.

Within the last year, I started writing this blog, and I set up a Facebook page and Twitter account so that I could let you know when a new post was written.  In the blogging, I rediscovered my love for writing. For many years, it’s been put aside. I thought that since I write correspondence and I’m the Grammar/Comma Queen at work – I thought that because of these things, I was using my love for the language, I was writing.  But then I started writing the blog, and I recollected that, at age 8 or 10 or whatever, I wrote an essay on the results of tobacco use for our little neighborhood club.  I wrote an essay for fun, for goodness’ sake!  What kid does that??  I’ve loved writing all my life, and it’s been very rewarding to pick up the pen, so to speak, again.

It’s true that I don’t have the time to devote to writing that I would wish, and so I decided to post Wordless Wednesday once a week, to keep the blog active when I don’t have the time or energy to write something engaging.  I love photography, and now I want a new camera!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.  I appreciate your spending some of your time with me.  Wishing you a wonderful day.  Now, I’ve gotta pack and head back home!

~Carol

 

 

Posted in knitting swaps

Wuv, Tru Wuv Mini Swap & Knitting Rock Stars

And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva…

Princess Bride Priest

~from The Princess Bride

We just finished the Wuv, Tru Wuv Mini Swap in my Ravelry group.  The rules were simple and fun:

  1. Be a member of the group.
  2. Send a small knit, crocheted, or sewn gift, a card and a small treat ($5.00 max) to your secret swap partner.
  3. Participate in the swap discussion at least once a week.
  4. When you receive your package, you must post your thanks as soon as possible and post a photo as quickly as you can.
  5.  You must stitch your project with love. 🙂  (My favorite rule!)

Well, I must say, this swap exceeded my expectations.  The participants were absolute rock stars! Lovely packages were sent and received, and the hand crafted items were just amazing – creative and beautifully made.  Just take a look!

I love the adorable sock monkey Carla made!  It’s just too cute and sweet, made in Gnome Acres yarn with a Gnome Acres button. Pattern is Jerry the Musical Monkey by Rebecca Danger.

Janie from Carla (2)

Torunn, whose knitting talents never cease to amaze me, sent this little guy, a voodoo doll named Valentine, all the way from Norway to her swap partner (SP).  Pattern is Voodoo You Love Me by Susan Claudino, and he’s knit in Knit Picks Stroll.  The cutest little voodoo doll ever!!!

Heather from Torunn (2)

Melanie made this lovely bag, a Valentine Pouch by Lion Brand Yarn, worked in Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino, for her swap partner. Such beautiful knitting!

Melanies bag (2)

This heart made by Janie now makes its home in its new valentine-y environment. So sweet and quintessentially February 14!

Jen from Janie2

I was the fortunate recipient of this swap gift from my friend Stefanie.  The card and notebook are wonderfully hand stitched.  Love the initials stamped with bleach on the notebook!  I love this warm and red turban she made for me…stylin’! Pattern is Turban(d) by Amelie Bernier, knit in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted Solid in Bold Red.  Also included was delicious chocolate!

Me from Steff

Half the fun of the swaps, of course, is preparing the gift for your SP.  I knit two dishcloths for Torunn, using the pattern From My Heart Washcloth by Tabitha’s Heart.   Some conversation hearts, a ceramic button from One of a Kind Buttons, a pretty card and a little Knit=Joy ribbon (thanks, Meg!), and we’re all set!  Made with love!

Torunn from me

I loved each and every swap package that was sent.  Each knitter put her own creative stamp on the theme.  Each crafted item was stitched with love.  It was truly a perfect Valentine’s Day swap.  I am very grateful to everyone for joining in wholeheartedly, and to my friend Jen for doing an amazing job of organizing these swaps.  The Wuv, Tru Wuv Mini Swap Collage:

Wuv Tru Wuv Collage
From top down, left to right: Dragon by Heather, Ear Bud Pouches by Alex, Egg to Owl by Diana, Pillowcases by Debby, Coffee Mug Rug by Becky, Cupig and Mug Hug by Susan, Sock Monkey by Carla, Tape Measure by Amber, Dishcloths by Debbie, Voodoo Doll by Torunn, Dishcloths by me, Turban by Stefanie, Cupig by Jen, Heart Garland by Missy, Heart by Janie, Valentine Pouch by Melanie.

Alex (alex and knits) and Stefanie (Wooly Cakes and Wooden Spoons) both wrote wonderful blog posts about their experiences with the Wuv Tru Wuv swap. They are both excellent writers as well as knitters; their posts may be found here: Alex’s V-Day Swap Update and Stefanie’s Wuv, Tru Wuv: A Valentine’s Day Mini Swap.  Thanks to both of them for sharing their knitting and writing talents!

And I leave you with this adorable mini dragon made by Heather.  Just perfect in pink!  And if you read Alex’s blog post linked above, you’ll read the sweetest story about Alex’s daughter’s reaction and this dragon’s new name, Pony Dragon. Adorbs!

Pattern, Little Dragon by Susan B. Anderson.

Alex from Heather2

Posted in art, design, knitting, knitting patterns, The Creative Process, The Design Process, Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Sketches

Sketches.  Used to capture and make more concrete the wispy impressions of design ideas.  Or used to convey them to others in a third-party submission.  Some of these morphed into something else, perhaps recognizable to you.  Others, well, they were just thoughts.  A look into a sketchbook.Colorwork Cowl Sketch (2)

 

A sweater sketch

 

Route 66 Mitts (3)

Route 66 Mitts Blue (3)

 

Hat prototype

Timberline Scarf - p

Posted in craft, knitting, yarn

The Pacific Northwest Fiber Web

This lovely 12 minute documentary on a collaborative effort to share and promote the fiber industry in the Pacific Northwest is excellent.  It’s beautifully filmed and informative.  I think it will strike a chord with those who are passionate about our craft – and with those who love fiber.

This 12 minute documentary film describes the state of the niche wool industry in the Pacific Northwest. And how the Pacific Northwest Fiber Web is making a difference in bringing together the sheep farmer, wool mill owner and processor, the yarn shop owner, and the wool artisan in this venerable and age-old agricultural industry…

This film was commissioned by the Northwest Cooperative Development Center and was grant funded by the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Community Development fund.

~from the film’s YouTube page