Something I learned...

Gastown alley

...through the eyes of a camera to find beauty in my surroundings, no matter where.  I learned this from my dad.

Good together...

Good together...

Walked around at lunch today, trying to find things that would fit today's photo prompt - good together.  There were so many things. Rain and umbrellas. Moms and strollers. Muffins and coffee.

But the best good together combo was raw fish and rice, all wrapped up in bits of seaweed.  I've said before and I'll say it again - sushi is the best lunch food.

In my hand...

In my hand...

In my hand I hold endless possibilities.

I'm my own worse critic. I need to stop worrying that something is not good enough.

With knitting, I look at the yarn and I see possibilities of what I can create with he yarn. The possibilities are multiplied when I look at the fibre that I can spin into the yarn. Every step of the creative process gives me more possibilities. It really is endless.

Picture of my hand taken with the iPad camera, edited and painted effects on Sketchclub.

April photo a day

Faux...

I think calling this "Faux" was a bit of a stretch. It's a colour photo edited on the iPad to resemble an old faded photo.  This is the March 31st prompt for A Photo A Day.

I had a lot of fun doing March but I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit for April but decided to go for it.

Purple...

The first photo for April is Purple. A million purple flowers in the city and I do this for purple. What was I thinking?!

April 2014 desktop calendar

April 2014

To me, April is Spring. April is the month everything wakes up again. Flowers and buds are showing up on all my garden plants. The magnolia tree is covered with fuzzy green and pink buds and you know that in a few weeks, the tree will be covered with soft pink blossoms. Tiny green buds are appearing on the apple tree in the back yard.

The snowdrops photo was taken in my backyard, using the Nokia Lumia 1020. Calendar bit was done in Sketchclub app on the iPad.

The last week of February and the beginning of March was a couple of rough weeks. I just did not feel up to making a desktop calendar. I think this is probably my favourite picture taken so far on the 1020.  I love snowdrops. 

Chinatown, Vancouver

Chinatown

Chinatown has always been one of my favourite places in Vancouver. I remember walking around looking at storefronts that you never see open and wondering what kind of business they do, how do they survive and pay rent? Lately, there has been a quiet revitalization of the area. New stores and interesting business have been popping up here and there.  The old rundown storefronts were always interesting but I'm glad to see this area improve. Definitely an area in transition. 

Picture was taken on Nokia Lumia 1020, edited on the iPad using a variety of apps. 

I am here...

I am here...I am here to make a difference 

I am here...I am here to make a difference.

Photo taken on the Nokia lumia 1020, edited with Fantasia Painter app in cellphone. It's a fun app but I like the editing apps on the iPad for better range.

Letter A

Letter...

...Letter A, the letter we strive for in school, A for Achievements, A for Awesome, A for Annoying.

I've been doing the March Photo a Day challenge from Fatmumslim's blog.  Some days it's a real challenge coming up with something that suits, other days it seems like the perfect opportunity is just sitting right in front of  your face. 

Having a word or phrase in mind forces me to think outside the box and to go beyond the obvious.  In this case, thinking inside the box worked best.  By the time I saw this, I had taken a good many pictures but none of them seem to work for me.  Sometimes the best solution is the obvious solution. 

Taken on the Lumia 1020, and lightly edited with the camera app. 

...in a corner.

...in a corner.

...in a corner brings to mind the old saying "painting yourself into a corner." Getting yourself into situation with no or very limited options. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and walk out onto the wet floor and hope for the best.

For this picture, this was meant to be a twist on the saying. The photo was taken of a favourite corner of our house. The photo was then edited on the iPad using several filter apps.  I wanted the painted effect and the splatters to say yes, I painted that corner...I'm in control...good or bad.

Fly

Fly

I'm not sure if this collage will make any sense. It's a head, lying on the walkway, looking wistfully up through the trees at the sky. This was for a Photo a Day challenge.

No real heads were harmed in the making of this picture. The head was cropped from another photo with the photo of trees overlaid on top then put through several filters.  The photo of the walkway was put through an app called Glaze, then through iColorama to highlight the colours and set as the background. All the pieces and the drop shadow effects were put together in Sketchclub.

A little lost...

A little lost...

I was feeling a little lost yesterday...dealing with a relatively new boss, new ideas, changes.  Different style of management - not in a bad way but just different.  It's been over six months now and I thought I would "get with the program" but I'm not finding it easy to understand.  I don't know why I should care so much...work is not my life.  Or at least, it shouldn't be...

Life is treating me well and I have a lot to be thankful for.  It's just that I get a little lost sometimes.

 Apps used - Paper by 53 then Glaze.

Lynn

For Lynn

A good friend and colleague passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago. I'm just going to ramble here a bit so feel free not to read any of this. Her memorial service was today. I've known her for almost fourteen years. She was one of those people who quietly and wonderfully touched many lives.

Today at the funeral, I couldn't help but noticed over half the people were from work. It wasn't that she didn't have friends but I think it was a true testament to her that so many of us are friends as well as coworkers. I think I've finally understand why we're there, despite the stress and all our grumblings. The relationship I have with these people is more than just someone I work with but they are people I care about as friends.

I'll miss you, Lynn. You always had a way of putting things in perspective.  As bad as I feel, I can't imagine what her family is feeling. They were all very close.

A few photos...

Permanent food trucks in Portland

This was taken last year in Portland in the dead of winter, right after New Year.  For the most part, it was too cold to stand outside for food truck sampling.  Photo was taken with the Nokia n8, imported to the Lumia 1020 to try the editing apps.  Not bad for editing on the fly but not the variety one is used to on the iPad. 

Windy day on the dog walk

We had quite a wind storm here on Saturday night and the high winds cleared away the rain clouds for Sunday morning.  We were lucky that the blue skies lasted just long enough for the walk. 

Thankful for:
1.  Being able to see.
2.  Fingers to knit with.
3.  Being able to feel the softness of the wool.

Olympic Knitting - Part 2

Day 4
Sent off an email to the yarn company and they responded. They were very apologetic and offered to send 5 balls of the same dye lot by Express Post. That was very nice of them. In light of this news, I decided to take a rest day.

Day 5
The new yarn arrived while I was at work. I did not expect it to across Canada so fast!  I had the back fully knitted up and really was not looking forward to knitting the back yet again with the new yarn. Decided to start on the front instead.

Day 6
Ripped back the front when I noticed I did not use the smaller needles for the ribbing. Start again.

Day 7
Knit a few rows.

Day 8
Knit a few more rows.

At this rate, I should be done for the 2018 Winter Games. I think I'll just take my time, knit and watch the Olympics on TV and enjoy the show.

2014 Ravellenics have begun!

The 2014 Ravellenics (formerly known as Ravelympics but due to a cease and desist letter from the 2012 USOC, the name as been changed).

Anyhow, the games have begun and knitters all over the world cast on their projects at the start of the Opening Ceremonies.  Due to the huge time difference, we recorded the ceremonies and I was able to cast on while watching the recorded show. 

Day 1 - false start #1.  I'm not really following a pattern.  I have yarn and the plan is to make a cardigan - my version of the the Olympic sweater.  I had made a swatch the week before as my "training" and worked out how many stitches I'm going to need.  After knitting 6", it was obvious that the cardigan would be too big.  Frogged back and started over again. 

Day 2 - false start #2.  I'm just about to bind off the back and noticed the colour was slightly off.  I checked the bag and realized the second ball of yarn was a different dye lot.  Bad.  Checked the rest of the yarn and saw that the company I ordered the yarn from sent me three balls of one dye lot and two balls of another dye lot.  ARRGH!  Annoying because the company is a reputable yarn company and should know better, considering we had a phone conversation when I placed the order discussing how much yarn I'm going to need to knit this sweater. Checking dye lots for a knitter is as fundamental as breathing.  Frogged back again to start over using one of the three and hope it's going to be enough for both the front and back, saving the other two different dye lots for the sleeves.

Day 3 - so far so good.  Halfway done with the back and feeling good.  Hand is a bit sore - I'm not used to knitting this much with very bulky and heavy yarn.  Tomorrow may be a rest day.  

Happy New Year again! Gung Hai Fat Choi!

February 2014

February is a very busy month. We have Chinese New Year (technically, that's really Jan 31st), Valentine's Day, and Family Day. For me, February will always remind me of the 2010 Winter Olympics...more so this year with the 2014 Olympics about to start in a few weeks.

I love the Olympics and have my Ravelympics knitting project all ready to go. I'm not saying what it is until it's done.

Happy New Year - January 2014

January 2014

It really felt like 2013 just whooshed by so fast. I'm really looking forward to 2014. I have a good feeling about this upcoming year. I'm optimistic that it's going to be a good year.

Things haven't changed much at work but I've changed. I think it's really finally sunk into my brain that it is what it is and I have a life to live. I think 2013 was my wake-up call.

I'm not calling these my New Year's resolutions but more like a To-Do list for 2014.

1. Creative everyday - it doesn't have to be a finished piece of work, just anything - a couple rows of knitting, bake some cookies, doodle during a meeting.

2. Make sourdough - make a sourdough starter and keep it going for at least a few months.

3. Bake more - hmm...that means I have to eat more baked goods.

4.  Go out for a walk at lunch everyday for at least 10 minutes - rain or shine.

5. Focus more on the good than the bad.

6. Knit at least two projects using Continental knitting.

I'll probably add to this list as I think of more things.

Pithy details on the calendar - original photo was taken one very foggy morning. Apps used - Glaze, Sketchclub, Snapseed, Artrage.

Boxing Day knitting

Twisted Edge Shawlette in progress.

This is the perfect holiday mindless knitting - Twisted Edge Shawlette. The pattern repeats are easy to remember without having to carry around a copy of the pattern. Great for knitting while chatting with friends or when you have a few minutes here or there. Yarn is Pear Tree Yarn - Super Soft. It really is super soft! This was meant to be a hat for hubby but he didn't care for it. That's fine...it has now been repurposed to a Shawlette for me. I'm ok with that.

I think Boxing Day is my favourite day of the holiday season. We're still in the glow of Christmas but haven't moved into the frenzy of the New Year festivities yet. A quiet day to sit and knit and drink coffee and eat chocolates and play with new Christmas toys.

Ready or not! Here comes Christmas!

I think we're ready...at least, as ready as one can be.  Turkey is brining away, presents wrapped and under the tree. Veggies prepped and ready.  House is clean and tidy enough, dog has been washed and brushed. Handmade ornament for my sister just finished and wrapped. I have an hour to sit and knit before getting ready for the usual Christmas Eve festivities.

Lopsided tree

No one is going to care that I only baked one kind of cookies or that my tree is lopsided or this or that. Anything that is not done at this point, is not important. No one is going to leave my house just because I didn't dust in all the high places.

Merry Christmas to all!

Paper houses

Paper houses

I've been playing with my Silhouette paper cutter and made a bunch of paper houses.  Basically, you buy a template and make as many as you need. I'm going to make more for a Christmas village.

So it turns out, my thumb has healed but I have no feelings on the top of my thumb and limited motion. Not good for fine detail work. I have to go to Physio to see if I can improve the range of movement. Holding scissors is a little difficult - can't do small accurate cuts. I can knit again but spinning is still awkward. Stupid freak accident.