Annis Shawl

Our long weekend is coming to an end and the kids go back to school in the morning. I had a rare morning where I got to sleep in until 10am  and might have slept longer if the phone hadn't woken us up.

I added clear beads which might be hard to see.

I finished my Annis shawl and it is gorgeous. I think I want to knit this up again in a laceweight. Even though the color is spectacular, it isn't really me so I will be gifting this to a lucky person on my Christmas list but the question is who? The coral color is not everyone's cup of tea but I'm thinking someone with dark hair and/or complexion? The item is a shawlette (as in not full sized) and would be nice as a scarf too.


I'll have to give it some thought. Meanwhile, the shawl is blocking nicely into a crescent shape with pretty points. It will look stunning and I will take more photos later when it dries.

10:50pm It's later now. The great thing about shawls/lace is that they dry really fast. :) T was a willing model to show off the prettiness.

South Bay

The holiday weekend has been lovely so far with nice cool temps, sunshine with scattered clouds. rain is predicted later but so far it looks good. We could use the rain anyway.

I haven't tried the 50mm lens as much as I should but so far I like it. I missed the sunset at the beach but still got some nice shots with the remaining light.






We took a nice little stroll through Wilderness Park. It was pretty full since pet adoptions were there also. Bunnies and dogs for adoption.

'
This bunny did not move from this position.




In knitting news, I've started an Annis shawl with some coral/pink yarn and beads.

Cranberry Mystery socks

I decided on Cranberry since they're similar in color but the most important thing is they're done!! Lovely color and pattern although very challenging, these were worth the effort. :)







I had to photograph many angles to get the intricate cabling just right but they're comfy cozy and I'm wearing them right now.

50mm test run

Today I rented another lens because there was a special of buy a 3 day rental and get 7 days. Perfect for the Thanksgiving holidays.

My first impressions and these are my opinions since I'm not a professional at all: this lens sucks up light (in a great way). Our house faces north so sunlight is fleeting in here. I took some pictures of some late bloom tomatoes in my kitchen at 3:30pm with no lights on.

Normally, the picture would be dark and/or blurry so I'd have to make adjustments. But this lens is so fast it makes most of my photos look great.





It does getting used to no zoom but if my pictures look like this all the time, I will be very happy. Plus the lens is light and doesn't stick out so this would be a fun lens to keep on for walking around.

So far so good, I would have stayed out longer but it is freezing cold! I have my fire going and my mystery socks are in its last stage (foot) so I will try shoot more tomorrow. :)

Production line

Pretty productive weekend for me; in addition to the cute armadillo I finished a pair of Scroll socks that have been hanging around for a couple of months.


I bought the yarn in Hilo when we were in Hawaii and I love the colors. It reminds me of candy and shave ice. Even  though I like the colors and yarn, I'm gonna give this pair to my SIL Sylviea for Christmas. It gives off that hippie/tye die vibe which I think will appeal to her. :)


I like the pattern too but I have way too many lace type socks so my family and friends can benefit from my knitting.



I had to take more photos of Armadillo since we have lots of sunshine this morning. He is so cute...I don't know who will receive him for Christmas. I might have to family draw numbers to pick their favorite. I have hats, necklaces, a dumpling bag but there's still time to make more....

Armadillo

Another unexpected find on Ravelry which I just had to knit. :)




Disembodied armadillo head.

Took me about a day and I think it will be a cute Christmas gift. I can use yarn I have in my stash so I'm sure to get some interesting looking armadillos.

Yay, another way for me to use up some yarn that is taking up room. Isn't he cute??

It's a Mystery

This is a first for me...a mystery sock(s). On Ravelry, there are many groups that one can join ie. sock knitters anonymous. Every month there is a specific technique and this month is cables. You can choose any pattern as long as it qualifies with the challenge but there are other options. Sometimes a mystery pattern is created and a clue is released each week. I have never participated in this group until now.

The socks in the above picture show my progress. I've finished with Clue 2 and now on the heel which is Clue 3. It's fun and the best thing is that if I run into a problem there are hundreds of knitters knitting the same thing that can offer all sorts of advice. :) Pretty cool.

I have until 12-31 to finish these socks to be eligible for prizes but I'm in it for the challenge. Yes, I should be Christmas knitting but I can't help it. Maybe I should just stop the gift knitting since I get stressed out and my wrists ache from too much knitting. Aaah, you'll get the knit when I'm done, forget deadlines....

hey there

Buy the The Camera Lens Mug at the Photojojo Store!

I was checking photography tips on saw a post on these cool coffee mugs. Trippy!

Got my 60D from Amazon after my 10 day rental period.  I got a $200 discount which makes up for the cost of the rental. Now I can really get to discovery and open up my inner photographer. :) Of course, I am in the process of finding a walkabout lens for it since I got the DSLR body only because the kit lens are not so great for the moola.

Happy Monday

Another great weekend. I finished another hat while visiting with my cousins, aunt and uncle. Turns out we're having them over for Thanksgiving so it looks like we'll have a group of 11 right now.

I'm getting back to normal duties like laundry and straightening up although I did treat my car to a badly needed wash, wax and thorough interior cleaning. Maybe if my week goes well, I can take it for a nice spin on Friday.

Kings are doing really well so far. Tonight they play San Jose which is always a good matchup. 

I finished another hat to add to the gift pile.



I started another hat....gotta have enough for Christmas giving....

I had fun playing with the Canon 60D so much I ordered one over the weekend. I even got it for $200 less regular price and I think it was worth the rental. My new camera should arrive Nov. 17th which is much faster than I expected.

Too much going on, gotta help Josh finish up his presentation and rehearse over and over to be ready for Friday.

Lovely Friday

More picture taking today at the beach (Torrance beach) where the kids played in the waves and enjoyed the mild weather.

Editing

It's been a long time since I really had to do some more editing beyond levels etc. Lighting is so important and I am constantly working on that.

Yesterday, the kids had Veterans' Day off plus Friday to make a nice 4 day weekend. I kept the kids really busy too; the first half of the day Kat came over and we drove to Toyota Sports Center where the Kings practice and spent about a hour there watching the players. Joshua really wanted to head to the other rink for the public skate and I had to postpone that for another time since he didn't have all his warm weather gear and helmet.



We then went over to Main St in El Segundo where there is a yarn store called the Slipt Stitch. I bought 2 skeins for Noro and browsed. Further down the street we stopped for lunch and Rock n Brew for some burgers and pizza.

After lunch, we drove to El Segundo beach where the kids tried their helicopter launchers and ran around. It was a gorgeous day and very empty except for a handful of people and occasional bicyclists/skaters.

That brings me back to my topic of editing. I take a lot of pictures and with kids there is rarely a picture of them where they both are looking at me and smiling. So that's where the photoshop comes in. I should practice more but I managed okay after a couple of bad attempts.



This is the photo I want to use but Tyler's eyes are closed.



This second photo, Tyler looks good so I will snag his face.


Invasion of the face snatchers....



Pasted on the original photo, edit levels and shadows and voila!!
A great photo.

More from the D60

A spider I spotted on my walk home.







Monday at the beach.



Last installment on my sock yarn club.

Tip A King

11-7-10

Kathy and I had a great time at Tip A King where we get to meet LA Kings players, play silly games and get a photo/autograph.

With Drew Doughty. Such a cutie!

Also goofing off in the photo booth with Matt Greene was really fun!


We didn't really know what to expect and I thought we might squeeze in about 3 players in the 3 hour period but it was well-organized so we got about 10 players, coaches and announcers. Each player was about $5 with the photo booth at $10 and Kathy did the play by player with Hall of Famer Bob Miller with the DVD of her experience!

Definitely gonna do this next year!! :)

Happy Anniversary

Fourteen years ago, Hector and I were married on a gorgeous day. The years we've been together have been wonderful and I look forward to many many more!!

Tonight we are celebrating as a family and having Chinese food. Can't wait!

New vs. Old

Some pictures taken after school yesterday. Joshua loves climbing the tree and hanging out.



So far the D60 is impressing me...my older Rebel XT is about 5 years old and there are always areas I need to improve or learn so I'm not sure I want to take the next step (money) for the latest camera.


The increase in MP from 8 to 18 makes a huge difference in clarity but that will easily suck up more memory. I'm just trying to remain objective but you know I love me some electronic gadgets. :)

I did download the manual so I can really try out some of the features. I'm going to figure out how many photos I can fit on a 4GB SD card. It does seem that once I have the setting the way I want, pictures are coming out pretty well. The 3-inch LCD articulating screen is pretty awesome too. Hmmm..