breakfast book

i recently decided to bite the bullet and make a book of my breakfast photos. i take photos of my breakfast a lot and the idea of making a book of the photos popped up in my head several times. after a bit of encouragement from the sweet people at the of_mornings community on livejournal, i started working on the book and just finished it last week. i made the book through blurb and it's 80 pages of photos, a few written snippets about breakfast in general, and a couple muffin recipes. i'm quite happy with how it came out. at first, shock set in that i'd made something like this and had it in my hands. then criticism of it set in, but eventually the i shut the little critic up in my head and realized i'm very proud of myself for having made the book. i've learned quite a bit about myself and my photography from it.

Breakfast

autumn/winter blanket

almost finished with our blanket. whenever i work on it, zach tries to sleep on it or wrap himself in it. he's anxious for me to finish it so he can use it while playing xbox in the living room. he gets a bit chilly in there. i'm quite pleased with the colors and it's been nice working with thick yarns instead of tiny threads. but i've noticed i'm missing my tiny threads now and ideas are starting to pop up in my head and i keep writing them down in my little notebook. i'll have quite the list of things to start as soon as this blanket is finished.

mirjan

all photos from mirjan's flickr

she also has a blog

over the years i've moved away from self portraiture. in some ways i think girls take more photos of themselves starting out in photography, and sometimes move on to other subjects being predominant later. however, for those who keep it up - i give my whole-hearted admiration. self portraiture can be so tricky because it's about presenting one's self in a specific way for others to see and believe that is part of who one is, or how one is, etc... i've been completely drawn to mirjan's self portraits because of the simple honesty she exhibits. some photos are clearly posed and she mentions in her flickr working on ideas for school projects, yet there is still something beckoning about them that makes them feel closer than a typical posed self portrait. something slightly intimate and sweet. she's not afraid to be quirky. her diptychs are also quite impressive and i really enjoy her photos of her brothers and her home. they are comforting to look at and show a happy family in a beautiful setting.

lace scarf, finished

i finally finished my lace scarf. i know it's been a while since i've written here, but i've not had too terribly much to say. i'm quite happy to be finished with this scarf though. it's been quite the labor of love since at one point i didn't think i would finish it. but now that it's done i love it.

i also finished the bamboo/silk blend scarf as well this evening. two major projects done. the other scarf has a nice weight to it - much heavier than a typical scarf - but i like the weight because it feels substantial and as though the weight of it measures the warmth of it as well. it's very soft.

Crochet Projects

though i'd hoped to do another etsy update today, i could not muster the strength to finish a new design for a necklace i started last night.

but here is a peek of what's been (pansy chain necklace) and what is to come: netted sea shells in a netting themed necklace (the new design); and for later in the year - lace scarves. i'm using very fine threads for the scarves and liking how they are turning out so far. there are a few more in the works aside from the bottom two photos listed above. i tend to have at least 5 projects going on at once, needing to switch from one to the other for fear of losing my sanity by working constantly on one thing.

Birdballet

over the past year that i've known jen i've been constantly amazed by her progression in photography. from the simple home photos of everything from curtains to her hands, to her trip to china, to the gorgeous photos of the sea - it seems she's honing herself to what is the most essential things in her life. that's very refreshing to see these days when lots of people will take photos of almost anything just for the sake of being able to show it off. her use of negative space in photos is fantastic. clearly she's inspired by the lots of wonderful photos she puts up on her tumblr account, which i find myself browsing and "hearting" frequently. she also tends to prefer the real colors of life, not the washed out pastels and foggy screen of whites, but rather shadows with pops of color, creating depth to every scene. i think she's like me in that while all the light girlie photos are nice, the darker ones appeal to us more for being raw. seeing her trend towards square photos has been inspiring as well and i now seem to wonder if i can do the same.

flickr

tumblr

livejournal

all photos by jen taken from her flickr.

Promotional stuff

time for a little self-promotion. aside from sharing inspiring work i've decided to use this space for promoting my own work at my etsy shop.

i've moved on from crochet bracelets and now am on to necklaces and i love the two i've made so far. the first being a dragonfly wing motif.

the pendant is a dragonfly wing completely hand crocheted from white lace thread. the chain is also crochet. there is a little dragonfly charm attached to the wing.

the second one is my favorite right now. a floral chain of crochet pansies that can be worn as one long chain or doubled as two rows of flowers. i used an ecru colored lace thread for this one and i like the simple look of it.

i plan on making more of these to put up in the shop soon. plus another necklace with freshwater pearls and a shell motif is in the works to be displayed soon.