Daily Ramblings - So neglectful!

I really do feel like I've been horribly neglectful of my blog readers recently.  2012 has proven to be positive in many ways, but it certainly hasn't given me an over-abundance of time.  It's times like these that I'm glad I decided not to set myself a ton of new year resolutions - I blinked and it's March, and I've done a lot but strangely feel like I've not accomplished enough!

A quick rundown of the highlights from last week.  I finally started posting some new jewelry items in my shop.  For example, I found these donut beads a while back and immediately knew I wanted to present them with cord.  I really like how they turned out, and each bead is so unique!  I also changed the backgrounds for my jewelry photography.  The plain white wasn't highlighting the pieces in the way I wanted to show them, so found a really cool pack of metallic scrapbooking papers to use instead.  I also got another order of beads and findings from Artbeads.com, which I hope to start working with soon.  I see stitch markers being available some time in the future.


I missed Foto Friday again, but I've still been keeping up with my photography project. Here's a couple of my personal favorites from last week.

From the brilliant (if not slightly deranged) mind of my co-worker, Randy. 
He makes amazing rock sculptures, which I just had to photograph and share!

A photo from a poetry book I had at my parents' house. 
I think the illustrations are beautiful and hope to pass this down to my own kids some day.

Then, this weekend, I did an engagement photo shoot for some friends of mine - Marcy & Kent. Marcy rides horses, so we decided to go with a horse themed shoot, and spent the afternoon at Sullivan Canyon - one of L.A.'s little secret spots with beautiful trails to walk and check out the houses of the rich and (potentially) famous.  Then it was off to Santa Monica to catch the last few minutes of sunlight before the sun set on the horizon. We were lucky to have such a beautiful SoCal day. If anything, there may have been a little TOO much sun on occasion, if that's even possible! You can check out the entire set of photos here.


I have so many things that I want to get started on, and I'll find the time at some point (I hope). How has your 2012 been so far? Don't forget to take time to breathe!

Daily Craft - Candy Corn Socks

Excited to have finished knitting these socks yesterday, before becoming engrossed in the Oscars.  I had originally bought this yarn (Lion Brand Sock Ease) to make my cardigan but it didn't take me long to realize that the patterning just wasn't going to work out and the cardigan would be better suited to a solid color.  That left me with the ball of yarn to do what was originally intended - make socks!

I opted for a basic sock pattern so as not to muddy the candy corn looking stripes.  I think Lion Brand somewhat missed with naming the colorway "toffee" seeing as the darker grey mixed with the orange, yellow and white really reminds me of Halloween.

The only adjustment I made to the knitting pattern was to shorten the length of the sock so that they sit at the ankle.  I'm not a fan of longer socks, and I live in Southern California where socks aren't really needed most of the year anyway.  I'm also pretty bummed that I broke one of my DPNs finishing up the second sock.  I can still work with a set of 4 in that size though.

It's been such a long time since I knit socks that it was nice to get my sock mojo back...even if we're heading into spring and open toe weather again.

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 7)

Last full week of February already?  I'm almost thankful for the extra day this month, given how quickly the year seems to be moving along.  I have been diligently carrying my gigantic purse around, with gigantic camera in tow.  I hope I'm not giving myself back-ache, although I guess that could be a useful way to get a massage out of husband.  This week I was happy to have gotten out and about a little more with my photos as a result though - even if I started a trend last weekend which involved snapping pictures while sitting in the car (although at least the car was stopped).  I also got a chance to check out the wide-angle lens that I've been coveting (thanks to my friend Holly).  Now I'm really trying to justify a $479 lens purchase.  Photography - a habit that is more expensive than buying yarn.

Daily Craft - Needle rolls

I like rolls in general - sushi rolls, bread rolls, jelly rolls.  When it comes to storage for knitting needles and crochet hooks, sewing up a storage roll seems like the obvious choice.  I already have one for my crochet hooks and, after losing my double-pointed knitting needle set, needed to make one for my replacements.  I used some left over fabric from this quilt, and set about making a roll to hold all 15 sets of DPNs.  That's 75 needles!  I didn't really follow a pattern - more eyeballed it using various concepts for needle rolls that I've seen online in various places.

I actually really like how this turned out.  I enjoy the fabrics together and my biggest complaint would be that I misjudged the width of the pocket needed for the largest (size 15) needles.  It ended up being 8" tall by 11.5" wide, so it's also not too bulky when folded.  In that I did slightly misjudge the pocket width, I'm now debating making another one with the proper size pockets for my DPNs and using this roll for my set of circulars.  Do I have too many knitting needles?  Quite possibly...but I need them for sample knitting (or at least that's my excuse!)

I suspect that sewing rolls of this sort could end up being an addiction.  Next thing you know I'll be creating them for make-up, toiletries, jewelry, and who knows what else.  To all you yarnies out there, how do you store your needles/hooks?  

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 6)

I missed posting last week's photos, but back on track finally.  I feel like I've been such a slacker with posting the last couple weeks while dealing with being sick, but hope to be better now that I'm (mostly) on the mend. I also took the opportunity this week to buy a rather large purse that will house my camera and means I can bring it with me everywhere I go. Hopefully that will lead to better photo opportunities. It's kinda funny though as it's hugely uncharacteristic of me to carry a large purse - in fact I'd prefer to never carry one at all. Yet, here I am, making the sacrifice for my art or something. Happy Friday all! :)

Daily Ramblings - Weekend recap

Can't believe I missed Foto Friday!  I was running between my house (waiting for our new fridge) and my in-laws' house where we were depositing the contents of our freezer overnight.

Here's my favorite shot from last week.  Husband's grandmother has been giving me her vintage buttons and this crest just has to be my favorite!


  

Speaking of the new fridge though, check out our new toy!  We didn't have a fancy side-by-side before, and this fits into the space with a quarter inch to spare on either side.  I'm thrilled that we now have an ice/water dispense, that the freezer isn't leaking into the fridge space, that we now have room to put all our frozen foods without having to stack them on top of each other so we can't find anything...

I'm also very glad that I had to take everything out of the old fridge and inspect some of the things that were in there - like the very expired bottle of BBQ sauce, or some other things that could now pass as pickled (despite that not being the original intent).  Note to self...be better about finding things that may be lurking in the fridge!

Of course, in the never ending pit of home ownership, we will at some point want to switch out the (currently white) stove and dishwasher to match.  One thing at a time though.

The other highlight from the weekend was checking out a Pho restaurant that husband and I found up the street from his grandparents' new apartment.  It's called Pho-King Delicious - seriously, how could we NOT eat there?!  The Pho itself wasn't as good as the place near our house, but the egg rolls were pretty pho-king good.  I would go back there for the great name and the egg rolls alone.  

In the meantime, still trying to get over this damn cold/cough thing.  It's keeping me pretty exhausted really.  Hoping you're all able to stay healthy!

Daily Deal - Tiny Little Boxes

I'm unhappy to say that I've been struck by the first cold/cough things of the season, therefore stuck in the house all day.  Fortunately, it was a bit rainy and sad looking, which is better than being relegated to the couch while it's beautiful and sunny inside.  It's also quite frustrating to want to be doing something useful, but not making it past the kitchen to pour tea while trying to find some watchable day time TV (other than the obligatory Law & Order SVU marathons).  Anyway, enough of my sicky lament!


I've been meaning to post this for a while and just never quite got around to it - a storage concept, courtesy of the Dollar Tree.  A while back, I found these tiny little storage containers in the food storage section, and realized that they're perfect for small craft items - beads, buttons, needles etc.  They come in a pack of 10 for $1 and that's just a deal impossible to beat.  I use them mostly for beads and jewelry findings, and they make everything easy to see and stack.  Yet another reason why the dollar store really does have the most unexpectedly useful things!