Product Photography 101 (!%$#!?!)

In keeping with having products in my store to sell, I have just added another (and very colorful) item for sale - the Boucle Delight Cowl. I had originally made this as a scarf, but it ended up a little short, so i decided to convert it to a cowl. I know that I should have more summery items in the shop. I promise I will, but I'm still in the throws of reorganizing my bed/craft room, so when something pops up to add, I'm just going with it. In my world the months seem to fly by, so it'll be fall before I know it!

The biggest problem I've had with this cowl is the photography. I didn't use bright or neon yarn colors to make this, but in the photos the cowl really looks much brighter than it actually is. I tried taking a pic inside the house (thinking the sun was the culprit), but that didn't work either. The next photo is much closer to the real colors.

In articles about taking product pics, they tell you to use natural light (or "reveal" type light bulbs) as much as possible because this will show off the true color of the item. Obviously, direct sun doesn't always work. Since I don't have a room to set up for product photography or the money for a pro photographer, I just have to rely on photo editing programs to try to achieve the proper effect. Easier said than done!

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Arthur is Getting a Girlfriend!

I went online to find Arthur a girlfriend.

At first, the best I could find was Re-Ment posable skeletons. They are numbered so you can tell which one you're getting - #1 man I believe is the smallest at 3 1/4" tall, #2 is supposed to be a child, #3 is a man at 3 3/4", and #4 is a woman. A dog (1 1/2" tall & 2 1/4" long including tail) and a cat are also available.  (Note: the sizes listed on Amazon are wrong.) The thing that is so cool about them is that they are posable! Their jaws work too, and the humans come with an extra set of gripping hands. They said the #1 man can grip Lego swords, etc., but I haven't tried that out yet. The company has even made playsets for these skeletons! I did buy the #1, #3, a dog, and a Lego dragon sword. As long as the sword works out, my oldest is going to get the #1 man and a sword. The problem is that the humans are way too small for Arthur (he's about 12 inches).

 

 But - wait for it - this is the exciting news! When I went back online, I actually found the same skeleton as Arthur! I can't believe that after 20 years that he's still in production. My oldest accused me of being deceptive - he claims that I gave him Arthur a long time ago; I say I didn't. Now I can give him his own glow-in-the-dark friend! And what's really funny is after all this time the reviewers' complaint is the same I had - he falls apart too easily. Still haven't figured out how to fix that yet.

 Arthur is so happy. I gave him a red cushioned chair to sit on, which is much better than the cardboard box. He loves his new puppy and is accepting name suggestions. He is really enjoying his two new friends, even if they're quite a bit shorter than he is. I haven't told him about his new girlfriend yet, because I want that to be a surprise. The only thing left is to make an "upholstered" chair, or maybe loveseat, for the new couple. Clothes, too. Must get busy on that, pronto!

Slight Change of Plans

As much as I love designing crochet items, I just have to give myself one long cold hard look in the mirror and be honest with myself. I love crocheting much more than I like having to write the patterns out. There, I said it. So I have decided to start using OP's patterns and crochet! This doesn't mean I won't ever design anything anymore; it just means that I'll have a "products" section in my store.

Autumn Red Cowl

 First up on this new(er) venture is my version of the Rose Lace Cowl by Alyssa Titus of Undeniable Glitter (free pattern can be found here). This was perfect for me because of all the Caron Simply Soft yarn I have in my stash, and it did take a little over one skein for the cowl (one skein for the body of the cowl and the "little more" for the edging). What a perfect and economical present! The pattern is written well - I didn't have any issues following it at all - and the cowl works up in no time. My only disagreement with her description is that I think this cowl could be very warm and just fine for winter, as well as spring and fall. IMO!

 I did run into one problem, though. My little picot points on the edging all swerved to one side, and I wanted them to point straight. Silly me thought that this would straighten itself out in the blocking, but it didn't. Now don't get me wrong - I'm not blaming the designer. It's very possible that the way I crocheted the points made them swerve - I don't know. Anyway, I took some thread and sewed the top loop of the picots down on the opposite side of the swerve, and this straightened them out. It was a pain, though. So if I ever make this cowl again, I'm going to find  way to crochet those points straight or consider the swerved points part of the design!

Till next time, happy crocheting!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, including mothers-to-be, mothers to fur-babies, and mothers in spirit! I believe most women have a nurturing aspect to their personalities, and I like to take Mother's Day to celebrate this. I know this is a rather broad definition of this holiday, but I think the world would be a very different place without the caring  of women. So I hope all of you have a wonderful day!
I won't be able to spend Mother's Day with my Mom, but of course we'll talk and I sent her a card with a little contribution to her pig collection. I took the Little Crochet Bunny Pattern from Amigurumi Today.com and did a few tweaks to the pattern to create the girly-girl piglet for my mom.

The little dress is technically removable. I tried using tiny snaps but it didn't look right, so I just sewed the pearls to the dress. Looking at the dress now I realize I should've blocked it, especially the hemline. Oh, well. I'm sure my mom will excuse me. Other than that faux-pah, I was really happy with how she turned out.

Till next time, have a great day and happy crocheting!

It's About Time!

I've been a little sluggish with my crocheting lately (and my posts!). I needed to take some pics too, and of course "sunny" California decided to be grey and drizzly for the past few days. However - TA DA - I have a few new things to show you. One item isn't totally new, but I've finally completed it and have the pattern available now in my store, which you can find here. This is the afghan I mentioned in an earlier post, and I've named it Aqua Dreams. The Caron Simply Soft yarn is so pretty and the sheen is really nice. I was very angry at myself for making my traditional mistake of crocheting the beginning rows loose and tightening my tension as I go along - yes, I did it again - but I was able to work it all out with the single crochet/crab stitch border, so everything is fine now. And I am very proud of myself for using up an additional 10+ skeins of my stash!

Aqua Dreams Afghan

 I was so happy with the way the Caron yarn looked that I decided to make another item with it - a long cowl with a lacy edging that you can double loop for added warmth. That's still on the blocking mat, so you'll get to see it in my next post.  I've also finished my version of the Metro Kerchief by Yuliya Tkacheva. I didn't design these two items, so they'll be going in my store as 'products for sale', a new category I'll be adding shortly. I've also designed a scarf/shawlette, I'm working on a summer cowl, and I've finished my mom's Mother's Day present, but I'll have more on those later. By George, i think I'm out of my slump!

My version of the Metro Kerchief

     Till next time, happy crocheting!