Somebody is NOT a morning person.

I mean SHEESH. Get that thing out of my face!



(Actually, Fee is now so famous she travels with bodyguards, and makes terrible faces for the paparazzi.)

And somebody else is rolling a bit lighter these days:



Not that you could tell from this blobby picture, but I do think his face is thinner.

Grady has been going for walks with me at night. I kid you not! He patrols the building, and when he gets scared, he runs for the door. (You don't know how happy that makes me.) I bought a little loop harness thing and used it last night and it's ok - unless he panics. Then he coughs because it pulls on his throat.

I think Zyrtec is finally working for me, or else the Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids I've been taking. Everybody says the C helps a ton, including medical websites. I don't feel congested anymore though I can still see the allergies a bit on my face. You know what I mean, right? Puffiness. Blech. But so much better to be able to breathe! And not have those ridiculously itchy eyes.

I am knitting a pair of arch-shaped socks with Sundara sock yarn in Green Tea. I don't remember if I mentioned it but I am knitting this pair in ribbing, thanks to the many people on Ravelry who've done it. It's a simple concept to work the decreases in pattern but you'd think I knitted them in the dark - very messy on one side while I tried to figure it out. The basic concept is, knit like the pattern (in my sidebar) says till you get to the top of the foot. Then when you do the decreases for the arch shaping, make your decrease work with whatever stitch is next.

So if - working from the center top of the foot - you are knitting 2x2 ribbing and you come to the end, which would be k2, p1 if you centered your ribbing pattern over the foot, you do a k2tog, because the stitch AFTER the decrease is a knit stitch, and you want to keep it in pattern. (ssk on the other side, where the stitches read p1, k2 as you come to them.) Then you do a knit round and decrease again - also a knit to keep it in pattern. Knit a round. The NEXT round is going to be a purl decrease to keep it in pattern, so p2tog on that side, and ssp on the other side. (Do that like a ssk except put both sts back on the left needle after you slip them, and purl two together.)

I am not a morning person either, so leave me a comment if that doesn't make sense and I will try to show you better.

I entered my bookshelf in on Facebook and man, am I schizophrenic. At the moment I'm reading Theodore Rex (biography of Teddy Roosevelt's presidency), a book called Making Comics, and The Element of Lavishness, which is a book of letters between a writer and her editor, and is completely fabulous. They are all COMPLETELY different.

Oh, and I finally read The Shack. Would anybody like a review? You know how I am, right?

An Addiction, in Four Parts

(Your cats will love you.)



Several months ago the kitties received a gift of a catnip cigar. (Nashvillians: this one came from The Cat Shoppe.) You would think that "catnip" and "cigar" don't belong in a sentence together - but just think "contents" and "shape." (Note the faux-Cuban "el Gato" label.)

It was so well-loved that this is in fact the SECOND catnip cigar. They tore the wrapper off the first one and it's kind of a funny color now from Fee licking it every chance she got.

"Hm, is that NEW catnip cigar?"



"Catnip cigar MINE!"



"Catnip cigar MUY BIEN TASTY!"

Another lesson in colour

Sometimes colours that you think are going to be positively obnoxious together (but don't care) actually look pretty subdued in combination:



Personally, I'd never say that bright gold and paprika would actually WORK together, though they definitely look fantastic. The gold was just too bright. The paprika too all-consuming. But just look what happens when you break them up!



(I think there is a mistake in the lowest part of the cuff before the picot, and yes, I seamed up the picot as I went, because I have an awfully hard time finding the correct row later. I may do some duplicate stitching over the mistake.)

I can definitely tell the parts where I've used the knitting thimble. I have never been able to tell before, but my stitches are much, much more even with it. I think this is because I'm a total idiot with holding yarn in my right hand, and it shows in my knitting.

It was cold last night. I worked on my mitten in the company of several esteemed Republicans, Fee cuddled up with my favorite childhood toy, the esteemed Big Cinnamon, and Grady hid under the covers. (Big C came to me on Christmas morning in 1973 - I was 2 1/2. Fee loves him like crazy and is always cuddling on him.)



If she looks a little odd it's because her eyes are totally painted. The flash made her pupils disappear. I put them back, and I think the catch lights may be just slightly crooked.

Happy Friday! Is anybody else as glad as I am that Amy Winehouse went to rehab?

There is no news tonight

I've been working my tail off this week, and there's nothing to report except the spontaneous acquisition of 6 balls of Cotton-Ease (Lion is getting their act together) and some cat pictures. I'm off to see Hot Fuzz and enjoy the weekend. (You know how I love Shaun of the Dead, hope this is just as classic.)

One of Fee. If you lean in close you can almost smell the tuna she had for dinner:



One of Grady. I don't know why he looks so...morally conflicted. (I had to take out a whole lot of saturation to get him the right color.)

Retro Japanese fabrics and yet another cat picture

Grady keeps hiding from the camera. Here's another one of Fee. I keep telling him about the comments and how everybody loves Fee and you know what he does? Shows me his rear end. No kidding.



Here is a mini box pouch I bought from a really cute Etsy store that Betty recommended. It's basically a 10,000 square foot apartment for my camera. I love it! And also, the inside.





Yukiko is really great to deal with and the bag is really well made. Give her your business! If you want. :o)

8 refills before 2008

(That's from my Singulair bottle. I'm fresh out of titles.)

Hey! Hi y'all doin'? I did some spring cleaning, hope you like it!

Here are some pictures. Y'all know who's who...

1. Two princesses, one greasy, one who wants to get down RIGHT NOW. I just went for a walk and I really need some powder, ok? It's a problem. :)



2. Two fat devil cats.



3. Silky, silky fur. Use Meow Essence for silky silky fur.





4. The Schmade's best super power - the evil "feed me" eye.

Whatnot

I started a pillow cover last night. This is the moss stitch pillow cover from Winter 2007 Knit Simple. I have a big stash of Araucania Nature Wool Chunky I've been hoarding for quite some time. I think this orange came from Threaded Bliss. I also have some brown that is going to be the back side. (I think.) The pattern has a flap and buttons but I am thinking of just sewing in a zipper instead.





I don't know about y'all but I am dying to know about Stephanie's home renovations.

Also here's Fee, very blurry today:

Catching up on photos

1. Tape measure:


2. Lucy:


3. That Hype Bag:


4. Green-Eyed Monster:


5. Monkey socks in daylight:

I. Cropping

Today I am going to talk briefly about one of the elements of composition. (Hopefully briefly.) I have a lot to say about these subjects and I almost never talk about my work, so I may run on way too long.

Composition is the art of making a pleasing arrangement in your photographs. There are certain rules to follow, more or less six or eight of them that will really help you in a practical way. I'll get to the others eventually as I have time to shoot sample shots. Tonight we are talking about Cropping.

Cropping is sort of a way of framing your shot so that only the most important parts are present. Photography is a subtractive art, like sculpture. You get art by taking things away. In the case of sculpture, it's obvious - chip away everything that doesn't look like The Thinker and you've technically done a Rodin (forget his creativity for just a moment). In the case of photography, it's a little more difficult. Cropping is the art of taking away everything from an existing shot that doesn't contribute to the shot itself.

See, I was in love with that sunny window in the shot of Fee below because it was dramatic. I thought it was a horizontal shot because a cat laying down is a horizontal subject. But then I realized that window is the part of the stone that doesn't look like The Thinker.

Here it is, before:


I am purposely showing it to you small, because stepping back from your work often shows the flaws. Though the window IS bright and dramatic, it's taking some of the attention off the kitty's face. The hot corner of the blanket in the foreground also detracts.

Look what happens when you crop it as a vertical, getting rid of the hot-spots so the kitty is the main event:


The overwhelming first impression at this crop is that the photo is more intimate. Fee is no longer relating to the window - she's relating to you. This has the effect of showcasing her personality. The side of her face appears brighter, and the triangle shape of her ears and chin is more obvious (geometrics are good! roll with them!). Additionally, the shot appears much cleaner than the original.

Notice also that I've left room around her - a hint of curtain to indicate the window and room for her whiskers so she isn't cramped.

Some photos are naturally vertical - like full length shots of humans. Some are naturally horizontal - almost anything where setting is really important is better as a horizontal. Look at the original Fee shot - the setting is much more important. In the cropped version, she is more important. Landscapes, cityscapes.

For your purposes, shoot some of both. When all else fails it's pretty solid to mimic the shape of your subject. If your cat is sitting up, that's a vertical shot. If your dog is laying down, that's a horizontal shot. (This is assuming you want to show all of the pet.)

As much as it pains me to say so, the cropped version of Fee's photo is much better.

One of Fee

My new bed is calling, so I'll just give you a picture of Miss Fee. She was sitting on her kitty condo today and looking out in the yard. I grabbed the camera and started shooting, one after the other. She sat there for me for an abnormally long time.

To add to Chris' excellent advice on photo taking for pets -

- Turn OFF all volume, sound and shutter settings. Your pet may become interested in the sound and run at you or become irritated at it and leave. There is no actual shutter. It's a computerized noise, and you don't need it.

- Better to photograph your animals in clear daylight. By clear I mean "no shadows." Overcast is really good, morning light even better. You'd be amazed at how much drama window light can add. Flash tends to make animals mad, and if you get close enough to really see them it will make hot spots on their coat. You can use flash, but use it sparingly and do use the red-eye reduction. Cats have cells called the tapetum lucidum behind their retinas that amplify visible light so they can see optimally at twilight. (This is why your cat has Crazy Hour sometime after sunset everyday. Instinct prevails - they are twilight hunters.) This reflected light will come right back at your camera and your cat will have gold or glowy robot eyes. Daylight doesn't do this because it's flat and even. A bright flash of light will light up the kitty's retinas and you'll have some retouching ahead of you.

- Be patient (echoing Chris here). I took at least 30 shots today to get one good one. I got several mediocre shots as well. Photo editing is really important. You have to be kind of ruthless. Look for personality, a good expression, and sharp focus.

Anyway.

I apologize to Fee for this

There is just nothing sadder than a kitty fresh out of the tub. I had to share it. Y'all, look at her TAIL! (It's fluffy again now though.)

look here

(I do not actually sound like a cartoon character in real life.)

Update: I had to do this, because it was driving me crazy starting up every time I hit this page, and I'm sure it bothered y'all, too. Click the link...