The More of Less...

I'm continuing to crochet along on two Spice of Life Blankets.  The blanket below is the more vibrant one I'm making. At the moment it's feeling like quite a chaotic combination of colors, but I'm holding out hope that when the border goes on, the whole thing pulls together.  We'll see.

I do love how fast this crochets up and how interesting it is to change colors and stitch patterns.

And I'm coming back to a book I mentioned a couple of weeks ago.  The More of Less by Joshua Becker.  I was skeptical that I'd find anything really different in a book on minimalism, but I do think I have found something different in this little book.  So much so that I'm planning on buying my own copy so I can re-read it and more carefully contemplate the profound points he is making.

I knew Becker was onto something I need to pay attention to when I read this:.  Ask yourself, Am I buying too much stuff because deep down I think it will insulate me from the harms of a chancy world?  And if so, what is that costing me?  I don't know if that means a lot without the context of his discussion on what motivates us to accumulate too much stuff, but when I read that I knew he had me. This is exactly what's going on when I buy something I don't really need (or sometimes don't even want) to buy.  It's the 'scarcity' mentality that causes the logical part of my brain to just turn off (or get staticky).  So much more from Joshua Becker here at http://www.becomingminimalist.com/

Aside from the personal benefit of having a book I don't have to return the library, I feel better about buying a book on minimalism (an action that is completely antithetical to the whole point of paring down) because Becker is using the proceeds of this book to fund The Hope Effect - nonprofit organization created to meet the needs of orphans.  I'm in no way associated with Becker or The Hope Effect.  I will be doing more personal homework, but today I'm just passing along some information I've dug up as I've become intrigued by Becker's message and how he is living out his passions and life purpose as a result of clearing out that which is just distraction.

Check out what other crocheters and knitters are making and reading at Ginny Sheller's weekly Yarn Along.

Tunisian Shadow Stitch...

Trying my hand at Tunisian Crochet, I started making this Shadow Stitch  Cowl.   The fabric created with this stitch pattern and my hook size was much too stiff for a scarf, but thankfully, before ripping it out, I got the idea to turn this into a pillow cover.  I have a skinny, rectangular pillow that this width should fit.  So that's what I'm making!  Not sure how much I'm actually loving Tunisian, but I'm glad to be trying something new.  It's interesting.

Just this week I got my hands on the book The More of Less with Joshua Becker.  I honestly didn't think there'd be anything new in a book on minimalism, but having listened to an interview on NPR with Joshua Becker about this book - just before its release, I knew I wanted to give it a read.  I've been pleasantly surprised. Becker weaves stories of others, with relevancies between minimalism and his Christian faith, and has an easy, "I'm a work in progress, too" sort of attitude that makes this a very enjoyable and enlightening read.  I'm really glad to be reading it.

Joining with Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along.

Making space for creativity...

It's been a good week in a lot of respects.   I'm (sort of) reading The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin.   I say sort of reading it because, well...I keep carrying it around with me and laying it down and sometimes days go by before I think about it again (out of sight, out of mind).   But I went looking for it and found it just so I could show it to you.

I recently finished reading though Secret #2, which is Honoring Your Inspirations.  A good deal of material in that section deals with making and maintaining space in which to be creative.   Whether that space is a large studio, a spare bedroom, or a corner of a desk, we need to make room for creativity. And we need to create habits for keeping those spaces orderly and ready to work in.  In doing that, we honor our inspirations and creativity.  Sounds good, doesn't it?

Now, I'm going to back up a moment (literally) and show you where I actually found this book a few minutes ago...

Go ahead and laugh.  I certainly did.  The irony of wanting to tell you about progress I'm making on making space for creativity and finding this book in the middle of a pile of "stuff" compelled me to take a picture and write this post.  By the way, the only thing I changed before snapping the picture was to remove a notepad that was laying on top of the book.  A notepad I was using to make a list of items I'm gathering to donate to the local thrift shop.

Believe it or not, this space was cleaned and purged just a few days ago, and the items sitting here that are obviously not in their right places are actually testaments to my creative pursuits:

What looks like folded fabric to the left of the book is a stack of adult and child-sized Bible-times costumes I made before we moved into our present house - nearly 18 years ago (the last time any of it was actually used was for a Bible-times VBS program - approximately 19 years ago).  

The folded piece of beige material is a little tunic I made for my then 6 year-old middle son more than 21 years ago!  He turns 27 next month.  With my youngest turning 21 in the fall, I finally decided it's probably safe to get rid of it - to get rid of all the costumes - I mean, seriously...  I don't envision the need (or desire) to ever again wear a shapeless tunic that I crafted out of a bed sheet two decades ago.   And I don't think my husband is going to miss his either...   They need to move closer to their final resting places (I'm thinking a closet at church where such costumes may, on occasion, come in handy for one reason or another).  Yeah, I think that's what I had in mind when they somehow landed here on my newly cleaned off desk space, and haven't been moved since.  

The rest of the items?   

Well, the box under the book holds (among other things) buttons.  I had it out because I was in search of buttons a couple of days ago to finish my pillow project.  The pen next to the iron must have fallen off the notepad when I remove it from on top of the book that started this post. 

The iron?  It needed to be put somewhere quickly yesterday as I was heading out the door right after I used it.  You see, I wanted to get the blanket I had just finished pinned out and steamed so it could have the whole day to dry.  And the little book the iron is sitting on is a library discard which holds a bunch of miniature pictures of famous pieces of art that I had gotten out to see what I might do with the pictures (make refrigerator magnets?  gift tags? cards?)  I don't know.  I never did figure it out so it's still there, serving as an iron trivet.

I could go on, but you get the picture.  By the way...lest you're tempted to feel bad because your "creative space" looks worse than this, don't.  This is just what I'm willing to show you.  Consider it merely exhibit A for how to NOT "honor one's inspirations."  I will forgo showing exhibits B, C, D, and...   That's right.  This little desk area is not the only corner surface room where I stash and dash until the items accumulate to the point where trying to call it my creative space is farcical.  We all know it's nearly impossible to have inspiration in a mess like this.

While the above picture (and this post) might not give the impression that this book (12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women) is helping me any, what you can't see is the trash bag of stuff that got thrown away.  Or the box that is being filled up to take to the thrift store.  And frankly, once the items in the above picture are put back in their places I do have a nice little work area there for some creative pursuits.  I obviously need to work on the habit of putting away, but weeding out what was becoming just too much stuff was begun with inspiration gleaned in the first two chapters of the above book.  So Yes! I recommend the book.  It's not going to work magic, but if you enjoy reading about how other women create, get control of their spaces, draw inspiration, etc... you may find this an interesting read.

And actually, I do think clearing out some stuff brought clarity and some motivation to finish the two projects pictured below.

First up is my button-front pillow - created using the Corner to Corner crochet stitch pattern.  I'm liking the blues and greens.

The yarn is Red Heart Boutique Treasures in the color, Mosaic.  It's a roving, self-striping yarn made with 70% acrylic, 30% wool.  I have mixed feelings about the yarn - it's not the easiest to work with - wanting to pull right apart sometimes, and wanting to cling to itself other times.  The combination of fibers feels wonderfully soft as a pillow, but I'm pretty sure it would be scratchy as a scarf or anything else worn close to the skin.  It's a pretty yarn, but there are probably few things I'd actually make with it in the end.  I like my pillow, but I let's just say, I won't be stocking up on this yarn.

And now....drumroll, please...  

I finished the Arrowhead Blanket  (pattern here) I started last year!  Started on April 18th, to be exact - and today is March 13th.  I can't tell you how happy I am that I finished it before a whole year passed.  There is no good reason why this took so long.  It's not a hard stitch pattern - at all.  I'm thinking I just grew tired of the beiges and kept looking for infusions of color in other projects.  Seeing the picture below makes me wish I had a den. It strikes me as blanket meant for a den.

After a blocking and then machine washing and drying, it came out super soft.  And I love it.  While the pictures show this in totally neutral tones, it actually has a bit of a yellow tint to it (at least it does in my house's lighting).  It's beyond me why my couch's yellow undertone comes through in a picture, but similar tones completely disappear from the blanket in the very same shot.

I find the arrow shapes fascinating, both for their visual appeal, and because of the texture they provide.  And while the front of this blanket is its whole point (pun totally intended), the back's not bad either.  I don't think I've ever before made a blanket that has two different sides and I find it fun to have two different looks in one afghan:

As an update in 2018, I thought it would be fun to mention that this blanket was given to my father-in-law, and later (when my father in law died in March of 2018) it was given to an aunt and uncle who live in Colorado.  You just never when you let something go, where it will end up.  😊

And with those two WIPs finished up, I am freely moving back into and onto finishing my next project.  While the last two blankets I've made may become gifts, next on the hook is a blanket just for me.  A pretty sea-blue, soft-as-a-cloud, spring-weight blanket to drape over the living room couch.  It's a dream to crochet.  Maybe next week I'll provide a progress picture...

To see what other YOPpers are up to, visit our weekly thread on Ravelry.  It's a friendly and creative bunch! 

Yarn Along...

Back to making my pillow this week.  It's made with a corner to corner crochet stitch pattern and something I'm figuring out as I go (which means there's a fair amount of ripping out and doing rows over).   I do think I've gotten the front square the right proportions now, though, and I just need to finish two triangular halves for the backside.

And speaking of getting back to things...  I had forgotten that I never did finish A Fall of Marigolds.  I don't know why it got laid aside, because this is a very good story.  I'd call it a combination of historical fiction, women's fiction and sweet romance (meaning nothing at all happens - lol).  The author goes back and forth between two time periods in New York City:  The incident of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 and the attack on the Twin Towers in 2001 (and the 10-year anniversary of that attack in September of 2011).   It's been a while since I read the first half, but I don't think there's anything in this book I couldn't wholeheartedly recommend to even a (mature) teen.  I added mature only because the dialogues and soul searching might be a bit tedious for someone who isn't old enough to relate to it.   I have found it attention grabbing, somewhat educational, and highly readable.  I'll be looking forward to reading more books by Susan Meissner.

Linking this post with Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along.

It's the little things...

I've finished one blanket this week and have this Arrowhead Blanket still to go.  Late last night I found a mistake about 6 rows back and while I had missed it previously and told myself probably no one else would ever notice it, in the end I decided to rip back to correct it.  It was mildly discouraging as I had woven in yarn ends on several sections and had to sacrifice a few yards of yarn to cutting out those places, and I suspect I'm going to be playing yarn chicken as I finish this.  But I will be happier, in the end, knowing those mistakes are not there.  And my resolve to check after each row or two (two rows together create the "arrows") - and again before weaving in ends - is redoubled.

After working with a chunky wooden size N hook and double-stranded worsted for several days, going to a size H hook and a single strand of worsted feels almost like I'm working with a tiny steel hook and making lace. Which is kind of funny because this Arrowhead Blanket is really pretty thick for one made with just one strand of worsted weight yarn.  It's a bit of yarn-eater, but the easy pattern and lusciousness of the blanket more than makes up for that one downfall.

The book I'm reading this week is A Life Less Ordinary by  Zoe Ellison and Alex Lengendre.  These two English women from different walks of life met as young adults, became friends, and eventually partners of the business called Igigi, a store in East Sussex, UK (eta: this business has been dissolved),  It is (was) a lovely place where they sold reclaimed and sometimes refurbished items.  

Their book is at times a sort of "lookbook" of decorating ideas using very simple and mostly unassuming reclaimed items, but is also a collection of stories and thoughts about friendship, family and home.   The uncluttered pictures make me want to clean my house, and the stories make me want to be more intentional in my relationships.  It's a beautiful book on so many levels.  And looky there, how it goes perfectly with my blanket I'm crocheting. :)  It truly is the little things...

Joining with Ginny Sheller at Small Things

Yarn Along...

I mentioned a week or so ago that a friend had asked me to teach her to crochet.  She got along pretty well after our first lesson together and seeing a pillow on my couch she liked, she decided she wanted to try to make a similar one.  It's just something I made up using the Corner to Corner stitch pattern, so not having followed an actual pattern the first time I decided the best way to show her how to make one was for me to make another one right alongside her.   I was crocheting slowly so I didn't get too far ahead of her, but now she tells me she may be more than half way through with her first full panel!  I'd better get a move on.

As for reading...  Last night I picked up Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie.   It's a little book, but there seems to be a lot here.  Told in the voice of a young man who was sent far from home to a mountain village to be "re-educated" in the early 1970's during the Chinese Revolution under Mao Zadong, this story is authored by a man who experienced a similar re-education along with hundreds of thousands of other Chinese youths,   It's astounding what corrupt governments are capable of doing to their own, often innocent, citizens.  Knowing little about the details of this time period in China, I'm finding learning about it both fascinating and terrible at the same time.  These things were happening just before and during the time I was in high school, and knowing now that these things were happening on the other side of the globe, I find it amazing?  ironic?  unbelievable that one of my Social Studies teachers was something of a fan of Communism.  No wonder my father became so angry when I came home spouting ridiculous commie platitudes I was being exposed to. I'm half-way through and, so far, I highly recommend this engaging and fascinating little book.

Linked with Ginny Sheller's weekly Yarn Along.

 

Yarn Along...

Still working on the Kilim Throw...   It seems I've slowed down, as last Wednesday I was nearly half finished and now a week later I'm just a little over the half-way mark.   I did decide to add some rows to make this longer so my half-way mark moved, but still...  I hope to get some more momentum going on this and get it finished soon.  Then again, it's been such a mild winter I'm not sure it will get cold enough to really enjoy this lusciously thick blanket before spring.   No complaints from me on that count!

Last weekend I picked up Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and I can't believe how good this story is.  It is a Christian fiction novel that is meant to parallel (in many ways) the book of Hosea in the Bible.  It's a story about a man who marries a prostitute and remains faithful (in spite of incredible odds) to helping her heal from the damaging things that have been done to her - from childhood on.  It's heartbreaking, insightful, and inspiring.  This story is a beautiful analogy of all that we're told in scripture about God's capacity for forgiveness and His desire to redeem the broken and lost.   I highly recommend this book.

To see what others are making and reading, click on the graphic below to go to Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along.

Yarn Along...

Just a few days into this Kilim Throw and nearly half finished - aahh...the joys of crocheting with a big hook and double-stranded yarn.   Every color change seems a bit baffling to me as I begin, but as it comes together it's always a pleasant surprise to see how the colors play off (and with) one another.  It's such a fun blanket to watch grow.  And it's going to be so squishy soft and cozy warm when it's finished.

And I'm currently reading Over The Hills by David Lamb.  I'm far enough in I decided to write this review:

At the age of 54, David Lamb takes the reader on a journey across America as he traverses highways and back roads from his home in Alexandria, Virginia to Los Angeles, California.

Overweight and out of shape, he questions the wisdom of this trek - but not until he's on the road and committed. Early on, pride keeps him from turning back, but at some point his body begins to respond to the slow on-the-road training that biking 50-some miles a day provides and he renews his purpose and resolve. Along for the ride, the reader is treated to Lamb's funny, sometimes satirical - sometimes just crusty perspectives on life.  Lamb skillfully intersperses short history lessons or facts about the many places he visits, or sometimes just about the things that pop into his head along the way to make for an interesting read.

Where Peter Jenkins, of Walk Across America fame, took us into the homes of strangers and delighted us with stories and insights into how these encounters changed Jenkins' life, David Lamb's journalistic style treats us to more of a commentator's observations on life and culture in the 1990's. While Lamb isn't a storyteller in the same vein as Jenkins, he is a journalist with a wit and a way with words that readers of this type of book will likely enjoy.

And just for fun, let me show you what gets a smile out of me every time I remove the dust jacket to read:

The cutest little embossed picture of an old fashioned bicycle.    Sometimes it really is the little details that count.  :^)

To see what some others are reading and making this week, visit Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along.

Yarny Hearts and Mail-Art

Ever since last week I've been excited and eager to share my newest book acquisition:  A Weird Unfathomable Ordinary Everyday Life by William Bridges and Dianne Jenkins.   I attended an Author Talk at the library last Thursday evening - very spur of the moment, and I'm so glad I spurred myself to go!

William (Bill) Bridges is a retired Writing professor, journalist, book editor, poet...and I'm sure I don't know what all else he's done in his lifetime.  And while I'm not sure what all Dianne Jenkins has done in her lifetime, in the pages of this book she is an artist.  In 2006 Bill and Dianne began a snail mail correspondence with each other.  Their correspondence over the years consisted (still consists, I imagine) of everyday kind of things.  Paragraphs telling what their days are like, interjected with simple everyday kind of observations - out the window, or at the beach earlier in the day...  Bill and Dianne sprinkled their letters with witticisms and wisdom.  The words alone are a delight to read, but Dianne, being an artist, and having enjoyed mail-art for years, turned her letters into works of art.  Which, I believe, was the impetus for Bill getting the great idea of turning their correspondence into a book! 

The book has many examples of the mail art Dianne sent, and many, many excerpts from both of their letters over the years.  It's a book to savor - both the words and pictures.  So I'll be savoring it for a while and delighting in their clever, sometimes weird, totally fathomable, everyday lives, and Dianne's very clever, sometimes weird, almost always funky artwork.

AND I've begun to turn my heart toward Valentine's Day.  I know it's a few weeks off, but, of course if you're crafting for a holiday you've got to begin early, right?  I came across this granny heart pattern on Ravelry and while I don't know what I'm ultimately going to do with any that I make, I'm "all in", "head over heels" in love with making some hearts this week.  Pictured here is my first one made in Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton yarn.  ILTC yarn is a light (almost sport-weight) worsted 100% cotton - that I normally reserve for dishcloth making, but today it seems perfect for this project..  Love!

To see what other yarnies and readers are up to, visit Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along by clicking the graphic below.

Pink Tides

Ginny's weekly Yarn Along causes me to pause and take stock of what I'm reading and crocheting.  I've been a completely monogamous crocheter for over a week now and for my efforts I hope to soon be finished with my Pink Baby Tides of Change.  I don't know, yet, who will be the recipient, but I do hope it brings a cheery smile to someone's face.

And I recently began reading Below Stairs by Margaret Powell.  The original publication date of this book is 1968 and it claims (on the cover) to be the inspiration for both Upstairs, Downstairs, and Downton Abbey.  This memoir tells the story of a young woman raised during and after The Great War in poverty stricken Europe.  She takes us inside the home and street life of the poor and then into the life of a kitchen maid serving the upper class in Hove, England.  It's very readable, and while this type of life is foreign to my late-twentieth-century-bred sensibilities, her style of story telling makes her story very relatable. 

Another Rounded Ripple Baby Blanket

I know, I know...I'm not finished with the baby blanket I started last week, but I decided I wanted to try another color scheme and am thinking this one will be for a gift for an upcoming baby shower.  It's one thing to be a little unsure of something I'm randomly making (as was the case of the blanket I showed on Sunday), but it's quite another thing to be questioning a gift for a specific someone.   So the following blanket is being made with more intention, but my color choice and placement is still a bit of an experiment.  I'll be finishing it with some rounds of white followed by green and teal.  I'm really hoping the finished effect is nice and has a bit of "style". 

Pictured is my non-rainbow version of the Rainbow Ripple Baby Blanket

And autumn being my cozy mystery reading season, I'm almost finished with another one.  All Sales Final by Josie Belle is a fun and light read.  Maggie, a consignment shop owner and her fiancé, Sam Collins, find themselves with a haunted house they've just bought.  It's really not spooky, but kind of entertaining as they uncover some interesting secrets the house has been holding for many, many years.

Check out other yarnie goodness at Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along this week!

Yarn Along...

I don't think I've made very much progress on my Sandy Cowl since last week, but I am back at it.  This simple cowl WILL be finished by the weekend.  I hope.  I just really want to be able to call it done - it's pretty, and simple, and there is just no good reason why it's taking me so long.  Well, except that other projects have tempted me more, possibly.  Yeah, that could be the reason.  ;^)

And in spite of it being 75 degrees outside on this near record-setting November day in Indiana I am reading The Christmas Sweater.   Twelve year-old Eddie makes something of a mess of Christmas when he opens a less than desirable gift (a hand-knitted Christmas sweater) and is less than appreciative of it and his actions lead him to serious regrets.  As Beck lets us into the mind of self-tortured 12 year-old boy, I find I am transported back to my own childhood and I can relate to the disappointment Eddie feels and the actions he displays.   Something tells me that Eddie is going to find out the true meaning and cost of the gift of love - and the Christmas sweater is a key to that discovery. 

To see what others are reading while they yarn-along this week, check out Ginny Sheller's Yarn-Along.

Yarn Along...

I was suddenly inspired this week to use some baby yarn I had in my stash, and when I came upon the Octagon Baby Afghan I knew this would be a great project for this yarn.

The yarn is Bernat Baby Coordinates in the colorway, Funny Prints.  It seems a funny name for such a sweet and fairly traditional mixture of baby colors, but there you have it - Funny Prints.  It's a lightweight boucle yarn that I now have some mixed feelings about.  It's not as difficult to crochet with as thick boucles can be, but it does have some drawbacks - namely, bits of the white shimmery thread that's spun onto the sport-weight variegated yarn sometimes stick out a bit - making me wonder if it will be likely to snag.   It really is pretty, though.  For the short time that such a baby blanket might be in service, it will surely stay nice looking.

As for what I'm reading... The Violets of March by Sarah Jio is an interesting story.  From page one, it had me hooked.  As thirty-something year-old Emily and Joel are finalizing their divorce and Joel is headed into a new marriage, Emily leaves her apartment in New York and travels to visit her Aunt Bee in Washington state.  Bee lives on Bainbridge Island, which proves to be both a respite for Emily as well as a place of new beginnings.  Shortly after arriving Emily finds a 50+ year-old diary and is swept up in the story it tells, while, at the same time, a drama is weaving itself in front of her in strange ways.   While I can't say I see what's coming, I'm pretty sure the story in the diary will soon converge with the lives of those Emily is interacting with.  This is my first Sarah Jio book.  I have a feeling it won't be my last.

Visit Ginny at Small Things to see what other yarn lovers are knitting and crocheting and reading this week.

Feeling So Exposed....

After noticing on Ginny Sheller's Small Things blog that Ginny recommends Bryan Peterson's book Understanding Exposure, and having loved Ginny's pictures since I first discovered her blog, I decided to look into this book.  Fortunately, my library has a copy so I can check it out and see how helpful it might be before deciding to buy it.  

It just came in over the weekend, so this evening I opened it up to see what I can learn about picture taking.  Understanding my camera and taking better pictures are two of my goals on my Year of Projects list, so this is a perfect post this week.

Peterson starts off explaining in a very cursory fashion the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (sensitivity to light).  He calls these the "photographic triangle".   It will take a whole lot more practice, and continued reading to truly understand how these three things work together, but within the first few pages of Understanding Exposure, Peterson helped me take better pictures by paying attention to these three things. And I'm pretty pumped about it.

The time I began taking the pictures below was around 8:00 p.m.  It was not dark outside, but the pictures were taken in the shade (as he directed) and the ambient light was diminishing by the minute.  I was limited in my subject matter, but hopefully I'll be able to show and explain what I did to get the different shots. None of the pictures have been edited except, perhaps for some minor cropping.  The camera that I'm using is a 6 year-old Nikon D5000.

The first thing Peterson has you do is turn your camera on Manual and set your aperture to f/5.6 and change the shutter speed so that the light meter indicates a "correct exposure".  Here I had to consult the camera's owner's manual and even then it took some playing around to figure out exactly which buttons and dials made these changes and, even then, I was still guessing on how to read the exposure meter.  I will say...the owner's manual is not for the uninitiated.  A facility with the language of cameras is necessary to fully understand what the manual tries to explain, but I was able to make a bit of headway.

With my new and limited knowledge of which button to push and which dial to turn I headed out to my zinnia patch - just outside my dining room doors.

Aside from this not being perfectly focused, this picture doesn't look too bad:

The aperture is f/5.6 and I have no idea what the shutter speed is.   One thing at a time...

After turning the shutter speed dial until the exposure meter rested on 0, I got this picture:

Whoa!  Much better!   

I may be easy to entertain, but this got exciting pretty quickly.  I don't pretend to fully understand what I'm doing, but by purposefully selecting the aperture setting, and selecting a shutter speed that the exposure meter indicated would get a better picture...I got a better picture!   I'm a bit embarrassed to be admitting that this is the first time I've done this with any intentionality, but... well...there you have it.

And then I played around with another flower a bit.  Again, I'm just changing the shutter speed with each one.  This first one is taken with the exposure meter set on 0 (again, I think this is supposed to be the "correct exposure"):

 

Not bad, but thinking this was a little too light and bright, I changed the shutter speed and took another.  And then did that again several times.  Seeing the brightness level going darker and then lighter again, I can tell I wasn't being methodical about this experiment.  I can't tell for sure when I went up or down in shutter speed on which pictures, but the important thing to me (at the moment) is that I learned that I can affect this change. Pretty instantly.  Peterson says this is empowering. And he's right!  Let's see what I got:

 

  

 

 

 

While the changes in the above four pictures didn't result in dramatic differences, I will say I prefer any of them to the first one.  It's great to know that I can change the brightness of a picture so easily by changing the shutter speed. Again, almost instantly.

 

The other thing Peterson touches on very early is how to change the aperture setting so that there is a wider range of focus in the picture being taken.  This has always mystified me.  I confess (again)... I still do not understand the how or why behind this, but getting a picture where everything is equally focused appears to be as simple as changing the aperture.  By shrinking the aperture, more of the picture comes into focus.  Understanding that will be for another day.  Seeing and believing it, though happened tonight.

 

Here's what I'm talking about...     This is how pictures of mine normally turn out:

 

 

The items that are closest are in focus.  Everything else is blurry by comparison.

 

But by changing the aperture (making it smaller),  more comes into focus:

 

 

Perhaps not perfectly focused, but all the flowers (in the foreground as well as in the back) are pretty equally focused.

 

This is so exciting!  With such simple and small changes I can already see how I will be able to improve my picture taking.   I don't know that I'll post to this degree about future learning experiences with my camera (or maybe I will - who knows?), but I do look forward to (hopefully) posting continually improving pictures here.



 

And before I close this post, I will leave a progress picture of my test crochet project.  It was about 9:00 p.m. and with no lamps on in the room, I opened a shade to get what little ambient light there might be left in the sky.  By using my new found knowledge of aperture settings and shutter speeds I got a pretty decent picture (with accurate colors, no less):

 

 

I called the husband up to see what I took.  He looked at the scarf sitting in very little light on the table beside the window.  And then he looked at the picture on the camera.  And he asked with awe in his voice, "How did you do that?" 

 

And that just might have been the most satisfying thing of all.   



Yarn Along...

I really enjoy Ginny's weekly Yarn Along - where yarn-lovers are invited to share a single picture of what they're creating and reading.  I enjoy the Yarn Along posts almost as much as I enjoy crocheting and reading! 

I'm flying right along on a test crochet project.  It's going to be an asymmetrical wrap-around shawl in the shape of a sail.   I'm doing mine in lace-weight Woolike (in the colors, Denim and Charcoal).  This yarn is so soft and easy to work with, and well...for such an inexpensive yarn it's just amazing.  And you can buy it at Michaels - the only place you can buy it, I believe.

Having finished Orphan Train (which I highly recommend - for its historical account as well as its captivating story), I decided I needed something that will lift my spirits and make me laugh.  The Secret's in the Sauce is the 1st installment of the 2nd series of the Potluck Club books.  Five (or is it 6 or 7? -  I can't remember how many...someone's always being added to the story) Christian ladies gather weekly for a potluck and entertain the reader with their antics, their struggles and their triumphs.  Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson hit upon a great recipe (pun totally intended) for a series of on-going stories with the Potluck Club.  With this second series, the club has decided to try its hand at a catering business. Given their track record, I suspect it's going to be a success.

Please feel free to leave a comment below.  I love knowing who stopped by.  Extra credit awarded to anyone who spots the mistake (the thing that shouldn't be) in the picture above.   And tell me true - did you see it before I mentioned it?  I didn't notice until it was too late.

Yarn Along...

Reading and crocheting...two of my favorite things.  I'm enjoying the simple pattern of this Crescent Shawl. 

Unfortunately, though, I have an uncomfortable feeling I need to frog it and start over. As is, it's going to be too small and I'm not seeing that my attempts at increasing its size are helping significantly.    So...like a good crocheter I decided to make a swatch.  Nevermind that I should have done that before beginning to crochet.  Details, details...  I'm doing it now and that's the important thing.  Live and learn.  Always learning...

This swatch of 16 stitches across and 12 rows high is supposed to be 3 inches square.  Well, it's neither 3 inches wide, nor square, so no wonder my shawl is turning out small.  I'm planning on starting over with a larger hook and making the beginning row longer.  I've never made a crescent shawl before so this is a bit of an experiment, but I've crocheted enough of this one that I have a pretty good feeling that these modifications will work. I have nothing to lose, anyway, and I will post here when I've made progress on my do-over attempt. 


I'm just about finished with Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.  This historical fiction tells the story of one of America's strange social experiments.  From 1853 - into the 1920's children on the east coast who had been orphaned or otherwise abandoned were loaded onto trains to travel hundreds of miles to the Midwest - perhaps further - where they were placed with families whose only qualifications to take these children were that they showed up and filled out the paperwork.  While some children's lives were most assuredly saved through this endeavor, many children were undoubtedly abused and suffered greatly - on top of whatever traumas that had left them homeless to begin with.

picture source:  http://www.thecommunitypaper.com/archive/2010/11_11/index.php

In this book you will see the experience through the eyes of young Niamh, a girl who, within 2 years of landing in America from Ireland, lost her family and everything she held dear, and without ceremony was boarded onto a train headed for Minnesota.  There is good and bad in the pages of this story, and one is reminded how strong the human spirit can be.  It is a captivating read and one I recommend.

Check out Ginny's Small Things Yarn Along to see what other yarnies are making and reading.

A pillow and a good book...

This week I'm continuing to work on my chevron pillow.   I'm about half way done and am looking forward to seaming it up.

In truth...  I'm sort of loving the colors, sort of not sure.   

What do you do when you're not sure?  I've decided to finish it, and hope I love it when it's finished. If not, ah well...  it's a small accent pillow that will likely be an overlooked footnote in my decorating - certainly, not the focus of anyone passing through the family room.  I will say I am loving the teal color. And am thinking a teal throw across the back of the red family room couch this winter would look awesome.  I don't want to use this yarn, though - just not sure how it would hold up for a blanket - so I may be looking for something else in that vein.  Then again, I really need to not be buying more yarn...

Okay...next up is a book review, but before I get to that, let me explain a few things...

A while back I decided to re-home a bunch of what I'd call young romance novels.  Nothing embarrassing in the lot, just stuff I was pretty sure I wasn't all that interested in reading at this stage in life.  For some reason I hung onto this one and last weekend I picked it up before giving it the old heave-ho, thinking it would be a quick decision.

I don't know how many times I have to learn to not judge a book by its cover, or its genre, or its companions...   The cover alone is unappealing to me.  It evokes thoughts of a lonely Amish girl from some nondescript time gone by. Now, I have nothing against Amish fiction, but I'm not particularly drawn to it either, and thinking it was a love story taking place within an Amish community is largely why I never got around to reading it.  Nevermind that if I had simply looked at a map I could have seen that Liberty, Indiana is nowhere near (or on the path to) the beautiful northern countryside where there are some lovely Amish communities.

While the uninspiring cover alone was enough to stop me from reading this (until this past weekend), you'd think the story line would have gotten a pass.  I had just finished The Last Runaway by Tracy Chivalier (a book about the Quaker community and their involvement with the Underground Railroad).  When I read the first line of this new book, "Quakers in Union County, Indiana, were active participants in the Underground Railroad..." I uttered a low moan.  While I had found it all pretty interesting when I read Chivalier's story, I really wasn't in the mood to read yet another book on the topic - not so soon. And not one with an uninspiring cover.

Well...was I ever in for a surprise.  And a lesson on judging a book too quickly.  Melanie Dobson is a fine story teller (from what I've read so far).  She paints pictures with words that make me feel like I'm sharing the same tight quarters the runaway slaves lived in - sometimes for days or even weeks before their next transportation, or a dark enough night sky to make traveling by foot safe.  Dobson also gives dignity to those same terrified runaway slaves, causing the reader to immediately connect and identity with a character.  Nevermind that I've never gone to bed in dirty clothes I've worn for weeks, or fallen asleep fearing that in the morning I might find myself shackled to a horse walking my way back to the horror I had spent desperate weeks running from.  I can almost imagine my sweat-stunk person laying against cool, clean floorboards; or can almost taste buttery biscuits served in the attic room; and I feel myself breathing a cautious breath of relief when danger passes.

In short, I'm impressed.  In fact, I would say I like this book over Chevalier's. They're each captivating in their own right, but Dobson's book makes me feel like I'm reading a book that has more value as a true historical fiction than as a romance story.  I whole-heartedly recommend it.  And I'll probably be looking for more Melanie Dobson books to read in my future.

Now if someone could just do something about that cover...

Linked to Ginny's Small Things

and

Nicole's Crafting On

The Book of Man by William J. Bennett

Bennett has compiled another rich collection of stories in this volume.  This time his focus is on what makes a man a man.  This 517 page book contains hundreds of stories, vignettes, quotes, prayers. . .that adult readers will find interesting as they reflect on the qualities that make great men.

There are writings about men in ancient times as well as modern and each entry gives the reader food for thought as he contemplates what it means to be a man.  Men of various political persuasions, religions, and professions are told about - all with equal admiration from the writer.

Rather than choose a chronological order, Bennett chose to organize the readings according to the following divisions:  Man in War;  Man at Work; Man in Play, Sports and Leisure; Man in the Polis; Man With Woman and Children; and Man in Prayer and Reflection.

This somewhat lose organization allows the reader to pick up the book and begin reading in whatever category he may be interested in at that moment.

I can imagine a person using this book as source of material for inspirational talks in a variety of situations.  This is a book for adults and it will, no doubt, be a book picked up and gleaned from for years by the adults who own it.  I consider it a keeper.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Why God Won't Go Away by Alister McGrath

Subtitled:  Is the New Atheism Running on Empty?

I found Alister McGrath to be refreshing and engaging as he took on the “New Atheist” in this book, Why God Won’t Go Away.

Of course there is nothing “new under the sun”, but McGrath explains who the current high-stakes players are in this newest installment of the atheist movement and what their tactics entail (namely ridicule and dismissal, but with militant zeal) which, of course, only serves to shut down conversation, not keep it going.

In contrast, McGrath entertains many questions asked by “new atheists” and gives reasonable responses. In reading this book (and I also recommend watching a debate or two between Alister McGrath and Richard Dawkins and/or Christopher Hitchins – such debates can be found online), one cannot help but see the difference between McGrath’s sensible (even humble) handling of a challenging subject and the defensive and insulting manner in which the “new atheist” tends to handle it.

A truly reasonable person should be able to rise above defensive and insulting posturing, not succumb to it as a main tactic in winning an argument. Insult and dismissal are not the tactics of those who honestly desire to have reasonable and rational discussion. Regardless of what side of the divide you may be on, I suggest giving Alister McGrath a read. The contrast in style between McGrath and the “new atheist” is stark indeed.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

UNSINKABLE by Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent

Unsinkable is a story co-authored by Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent about Abby's attempt to be the youngest female to sail solo around the world.  The attempt failed, but success was measured in other ways.

Unsinkable gives the reader an inside glimpse into the Sunderland family starting with the earliest days when the family (which included the four oldest Sunderland children) sailed for three years in and out of exotic places - living and learning about worlds few of us even have the opportunity to read about. This background, as well as Lawrence Sunderland's background as a seasoned sailor and shipwright, is essential to understanding how and why setting a goal of doing a solo sail around the world would even occur to his16 year-old daughter.

I will admit, this land-lover had a hard time comprehending how any modern 16 year-old could be capable (physically, mentally and emotionally) of making such goal a reality, but before I was half-way through the book I began to understand that this was no average 16 year-old - no average modern-day girl, for that matter. And the Sunderlands are no average family. On the other hand, I have a feeling they are very comfortable people and, in a sense, just every day folk that I'd enjoy getting to know.

Unsinkable is an engaging book filled with adventure and information about the sailing world as well as answers to why Lawrence and Marianne Sunderland not only allowed, but made provision for their daughter to attempt her goal of sailing solo around the world. While knowing nothing of sailing and the kind of life the Sunderlands lead, I came away from my reading of this book with an appreciation of their lifestyle, certainly; and at least a modicum of understanding how and why Abby entertained such a dream.

I wholeheartedly recommend Unsinkable to anyone who is curious about this story.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.