My knittiversary!

It's been almost exactly one year since my wonderful co-worker, Kim, taught me how to knit. It's somewhat unbelievable to me that this time last year, I was working on my first garter stitch scarf, which was crooked and somewhat triangular...although I was very proud of it! Today I cast on a cabled v-neck top, which will be my knittiversary sweater.

So, here's a quick thank you to my teacher and knitting mentor, Kim. She's the person that I go to when I'm trying to knit on my lunch break and don't have a stitch marker or cable needle, when I want to share my new yarn purchase (or when I want to see what yummy yarn she just bought), when I'm looking for a new pattern and want to look through her pattern books. She's entirely responsible for creating this little knitting monster and I wouldn't have had it any other way! =)

A little new and different

While at my husband's DJ gig on Sunday, I had my camera with me (doing my duty as wifey/official photographer) and came across a decorative lighting fixture on the wall of the bar we were in. It was pretty on it's own but I decided that it was also the perfect subject for some experimental, abstract photography.


What did I do to create this? I turned off the flash and adjusted the shutter speed to about 1 second, then zoomed in from a wide angle with my lens while on an open shutter to create a wonderfully abstract picture. I had so much fun playing with different camera movements on the open shutter that I have a whole bunch of abstract photographs that I am now compelled to continue adding to!

Getting back to being crafty

Now all the wedding business is mostly done with (still have thank you cards to organize), I can get back to being crafty once again!

Last week on ravelry, I saw a post for someone destashing some vintage Paton's Pebblespun yarn. As I'm always on the look out for yarn for my charity knitting endeavors, I got in touch with her and she sent it to me, with a bonus skein of yummy Manos Del Uraguay yarn. I immediately felt the need to knit it up but wasn't sure what I could do with only 138 yards of yarn.

With ravelry being the wonderful knitting resource that it is I found the Instant Gratification Scarf pattern which, as it turns out, is perfect for a low yardage project and it only took me two hours to do! I think this will probably be a pattern that I use many many times in the future as it's so quick and pretty - perfect for last minute gifts or just a quick project for that partial skein of left over yarn that's been sitting around.


Here's a quick description of how to do a twisted drop stitch:

1) Insert needle into stitch on the left needle as if to knit.
2) Wrap yarn around both needles.
3) Wrap yarn once more around the right needle only.
4) Pull yarn through both loops (the first wrap, and the original stitch).
5) Ta da! One twisted drop stitch.

Happy New Year from me!

2008 finally arrived and I haven't had a chance to pop onto my blog between my parents being in town and taking care of wedding related things. However, I'm back!

I am happy to say that I am now officially a "Mrs" and settling into married life has been a joy! It's amazing how much still needs to be done though - most specifically filtering through about 1500 wedding photos. The family member that took the photographs did a wonderful job but the post-production is my responsibility. It's amazing how tough it is to look through that many images, pick the ones that you like, made adjustments to lighting and exposure, crop, edit out any problems that are in the background etc. It's a labor of love though and now that I've done about 220 photos, I'm feeling like I'm definitely getting somewhere with it. I give it another couple of weeks before I'm 100% happy with everything though!

For now, here's a preview. =)

How to plan a wedding in 10 days...

My soon to be dear hubby and I will be getting married a week from tomorrow. We've been together for almost 10 years and were just wee children when we started dating (freshman year of college). A couple of weeks ago, the stars aligned and we decided to get married! All the important people in our lives were going to be in town at the same time and we figured, why wait? After all, we've been together for so long it's not like anybody is surprised. In fact, "it's about time" has been the most common response received.

Of course, planning a wedding in such a short time frame is a completely different thing from having a standard year or so to figure everything out. Personally, I've been loving the fact that I don't have time to stress over the details that drive many brides nuts in the months leading up to the big day. While my wedding planning is coming to a close, I had to share the things that I've learned.


Here's 10 tips on how to plan a wedding in 10 days!!

1) Decide where you want the ceremony and reception to take place and how big you want the guest list to be. It's probably easier to keep it small and restrict it to close friends and family. This also increases your venue options as you can perhaps have it at someone's house, in a park (check permit restrictions), or a multitude of other places that mean something special to the two of you. If you are deciding to have a reception after the ceremony, check out whether the venue that you are choosing for the ceremony has a reception space or if you would need to move to a different location. Keeping the guest list small also means you won't offend anybody who isn't invited.

2) Make an appointment to go dress shopping straight away. Dresses usually take 6-8 weeks to order in, so keep in mind that you will probably have to buy something off the rack. Places like David's Bridal do alterations and cleaning on site, so that can be very valuable when you're short on time. Also, check for bridal sections at stores - such as Nordstrom, JC Penney, and even Target! Don't forget to bring your girlfriends with you for opinions, and if the store will let you take pics, do so (most bridal boutiques won't, but the bigger chain stores generally don't have a problem with this.

3) Start researching rings. If you're deciding to get married on the spur of the moment, he may not have had time to get you an engagement ring. Firstly, decide what your budget is, then call around friends and family to see if somebody has a jeweler that they trust - they will often be able to give you a bigger and better diamond for the same price or less than mall jewelers. Read up on your 4 Cs of diamonds and you'll need the information in your head when talking to a diamond jeweler!

4) Figure out who you want to have officiate the ceremony. Approach the minister or rabbi as soon as possible to make sure they are available. If you had your eye on a specific church or temple but the date isn't available, check to see if the minister or rabbi would be available to do the ceremony at a different location. If you are planning on having a friend marry you, who was ordained online, call the county clerk's office to make sure that they will consider that person a legal officiant.

5) Once you have figured out the where and when, find a caterer as soon as possible. It's generally easier to find a caterer at short notice when you're getting married "off season" but again, try local restaurants and such to see if they offer a catering service - you don't need to rely on traditional wedding caterers for your event! Also, caterers often offer the option to rent table linens etc., so don't forget to ask if they can make those available to you.

6) Investigate the requirements for a marriage license where you need to go to file for one. For example: in Los Angeles, the application for a marriage license can be submitted online. You then have to go with your partner to the county clerk's office, who will print your marriage license (valid for 90 days) and give you the information you need for marriage certificate filing. I suggest going early morning when the office first opens as you'll be there and out before long lines build up!

7) Think about your ceremony and vows. Web sites, such as http://theknot.com are excellent resources for vows from different religions, including non-denominational or mixed religion ceremonies. Once you've figured out the basic structure of your ceremony, you can then look for readings that are special to you as a couple, as well as finding hundreds of beautiful love quotes and poems online. You may want to ask a couple of guests to do these readings during the ceremony to give it a personal touch. Also, pick a couple of songs that mean a lot to both of you for the aisle processional and recessional. Whether it be religious, classical or contemporary music, it is the perfect way to set the mood.

8) Think about decorations. You will probably want to keep it simple and decide on some basic but effective accents to decorate your ceremony and reception. Flowers and candles make a simple but beautiful statement, and can also be done quite inexpensively. Check out your local farmer's market for flowers that you can put together yourself. Votives and tea lights are also inexpensive at many chain stores. Places like Michaels and other craft stores have tons of wedding items should you decide to do place settings, favors, or get vases/bowls for center pieces.

9) Instead of going for a huge tiered cake, see if a local bakery can do a decorated sheet cake for you. Also, find out what notice they need to make it. I'm lucky that my favorite local bakery can do a decorated cake in the flavors of my choice (white cake and fresh strawberries) for me with 4 days notice for $50. It's quite the steal and I'd never have eaten a frozen top tier of a wedding cake anyway!

10) Invitations are a wonderful keepsake, and even if you end up just calling everybody to give them the news and tell them when to show up, they may want an invitation to put on their fridge anyway! Office Depot carries a whole line of printable wedding invitations, which come in a pack with RSVP cards, pretty seals, and matching envelopes. As you probably don't have the time to get your invitations professionally printed, take some time to design them on your computer - pick the fonts and wording that you like, then make sure you print the test sheet before you start on the real ones!

Finally made something for myself!

I am so frequently caught up in making things for my Etsy shop, or charity, that I am very excited that I finally got around to making something for myself! I present to you my latest knit item...(thanks to my co-worker for taking these pics of me).
I found this beautiful pattern on Ravelry and I just knew that it was going to be something that I needed to make. The pattern is Ophelia, and can be found here. The design is originally for a cardigan, but it wasn't sitting right on my wide hips. I went ahead and seamed it at the front (using the invisible mattress stitch seam) and now it's a v-neck instead. I've been getting compliments on it all day at work and I'm really happy to be showing off my handiwork.

A view of the lace pattern at the back.

Never work with animals and children?

In my absence from posting here on my blog, I've been up to all kinds of things - including Thanksgiving, wedding shoots, and a multitude of holiday related charity crafting. One of my favorite things that I did in the last couple of weeks was shoot holiday card photographs for my co-worker, her boyfriend, and their dogs, Dakota and Diesel.
I've heard it said that you should never work with animals or children, and to a certain extent I understand why. Having said that, it's also a ton of fun! It's tough to get two dogs to look at you at the same time, and co-ordinate the owners too. I was pleased with the results of my first experience with the pups though and would definitely do it again.

Marc with Dakota (above) Janelle with the baby - Diesel (above)