Fiber Fool

Okay, I’m too scared to open up Google reader after letting it sit untouched since Thursday evening when I was trying to make a dent in the count. I think I was back to well over 900. Feel free to guess where I may be at now…

I did keep a bit better tabs on Twitter and Facebook so I still ran into plenty of interesting links. It seemed I had a hard time finding the right word a lot last week and I took that as a hint to look at something different for a bit. I kid you not, poor Amanda got an e-mail from me with a lengthy description of something I was wanting to describe in one or two words and the answer was actually “Processing.” I couldn’t put my finger on the word “processing?” *sigh*

Crafty

• Have you seen the sneak peek up at Ennea Collective? (Hint: roving, alpaca and lace!)
• My friend, Deb, shares her traveling drop spindle kit which led me to this cool niddy noddy that adjusts to different lengths (just like my PVC one I made, but prettier).
• Here is a great illustration on how needle size impacts the look of laceand why suggested needle sizes on laceweight yarns are often a range rather than a specific size.
• I just stumbled upon a reference to this blog where a woman spends $1/day at a thrift store and recycles what she buys into new clothes for an entire year. Very interesting to peruse!
• The New York Times has run a nice series on sketching.
• I used to do a fair bit of carving my own rubber stamps, but it isn’t terribly kid friendly. Here is a wonderful tutorial on making stamps from plasticine! I must find some kids to do this with, it look like too much fun! :-)
• Not so crafty for you, but great art skill went into this great print-your-own Owl Calendar for 2011!

Photography:

• The New York Times had a great list of 10 things to do in post-processing to make your photos look more professional and I have to say they did a great job!
• With the days getting shorter it is going to be harder to get photos taken, this article (NSFW, boudoir images are used for some examples) has tips on indoor portraits without flash that could also be applied to knits and food too.
• For those of you more serious about photography, I recently learned a bit about creating your own camera calibration profile in Lightroom that could prove mighty useful!
• About a year and half ago I attended a Pinhole Camera Day demo and fell in love. Thus began my lust for another digital camera body so I could fit one with a pinhole cap without worry about the dust exposure. Well, now there is a sealed pinhole camera cap for Nikons & Canon bodies! Now I lust for that and have different reasons for wanting a second camera body :-)

Food:

• In a couple weeks I’ll be hosting Monday night knitting once again. I think I may just have to try making this eggplant dip and sesame crackers!
• We’ve finally had a couple days of fall’s cool temperatures and it has me looking at soup recipes like this lentil one. And these 5 Autumn Soups.
• Of course there are more pumpkin things, like maple pumpkin latte in a slow cooker, and healthier pumpkin cupcakes.
• I’d also like to try these pear cupcakes!
• These Herbal Candies for Fall have me sort of intrigued. Seems like something China Bayles would make!

Humor:

• Love this ad for “Photoshop Beauty Cream” featuring Madonna.
• Here is an animation about being a family portrait photographer. In some ways it is super funny, but in other ways it is almost too real to be funny.

Caught My Eye on Etsy:

• It has been established multiple times that I love my squares. Thus, I’m loving these drop earrings from Splurge and this cube necklace from Sleepy Moon (bonus, it’s on sale!).
• I’ve fallen in love with this feather and brass headdress and think I *need* it for this year’s Halloween costume.
• This choker might be a nice touch to my costume as well, to give it a tad bit eerier feel.
• This “weekender” tote bag just resonates with me. I think it is the geometric print and the colors.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Ours was busy, as usual. I’m thinking I’m about ready for a completely empty weekend on the schedule :-)