Cold Breath...

Do you feel it? Fall is almost here, and winter is just around the corner, whispering with his cold breath… Brrr!
If you are like me, you long for cooler temperatures, when you can curl inside your favorite sweater. This is all what this design is about. Cozyness all around!
Fantastic soft and squishy yarn makes the whole sweater just… perfect.

I'd like to introduce my first collaboration with The Uncommon Thread yarns: Cold Breath..

I am so happy about this!!!
I have been a friend and a fan of Ce's dye work for a long long time, probably since her beginnings.  I've had the opportunity to knit with her yarns more than once, always admiring her incredible talent to make simple shades more rich and complex... And I especially admire her taste creating GRAYS (it is my favorite color to knit with, and probably it's the same for many knitters too!).
So last year we began dreaming of working together to create a sweater kit.  Yes, it took us 9 months to get it done, but it's ready!

Since we worked togehter in this project, the patten is only available as part of a KIT at first.  This means that from today, Wednesday September 11 until December 2, you can buy the pattern from The Uncommon Thread's shop, but only as part of a combo with the yarn I used to make it.

The finished sizes for the sweater are:
Bust circumference: 48 (50, 52, 56, 60, 66, 72) inches; 120 (125, 130, 140, 150, 165, 180) cm.
Mid-arm circumference: 8¾ (9¼, 9½, 11¼, 12¾, 14½, 16) inches; 22 (23, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40) cm.
This is a very oversized sweater, and it is intended to be worn with a great amount of positive ease (recommended about 16-18” positive ease). Do not be afraid of this! There are a lot of details that will flatter your body, like a smaller armhole opening, slimmer sleeves, and the feminine cowl neck.
I am wearing a size M, and I am a 35” bust.

The yarn requirements are: 6 (6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9) skeins.

The yarn I used is called Lush Worsted, and it is super yummy. :)

The kits are sold internationally, so you can order from any place in the world.  The prices quoted include international (worldwide) shipping.

If for any reason you cannot buy the kit (I know you cannot get international parcels in many countries, or maybe you already have some yarn in stash that you think is perfect for this?), then you will be able to buy the pattern alone, but it will only be available as a Ravelry download on December 2.  And I promise: this yarn is to die for!!!

As always, I am incredibly humbled by your generosity and support, and I am happy that you like my designs and ideas... I know many times they are not the most common things to make, so I am amazed that you guys like them!!!

♥♥♥
Joji

A hug from a friend

Back in April I was lucky to be able to meet 3 very special friends who live in the US: Maggy, Carol and Shannon, you might remember I talked about them in this post.

These lovely friends gave me a very special gift, a skein of yarn spun by Shannon herself.  I know very little about this yarn.  I still don't even know what type of fiber it was made of!  All I knew was that it was special, and it was made for me.

So at first I though I should design something for it... But what?  What would do it justice?  Would people know where to find this kind of delicious yummy handspun?  I didn't save it in a box in my stash... I kept it in my WIP basket all this time, trying to figure out what to make with it.
And then it stroke me: The present was for me, and I could really use some time off from work... Which meant I didn't need to design something with it, but just enjoy it and play!

So I just cast on a few stitches, worked a Garter St tab, and then started a plain stockinette st shawl.  You know, the kind where you K2, yo, k to marker, yo, k1, yo, k to end, yo, k2. :)
It was soooooo much fun to just sit with my knitting on the couch and knit without taking notes or following some drafted directions!  It was totally worth it, and it helped me finish some other patterns that were lacking corrections or edition.

So here I present you what I made with it, I called it "A hug from a friend" (link to my Ravelry project), cause when I wear it, it feels like my friends are here with me, even though we live so far away.

As you see, I couldn't help it, I had to add a fringe.  I know, these are not for everyone, but I just LOVE a good fringe!  I think it makes a shawl more fun and casual... And I actually do wear the fringed ones.
The fringe is a knitted-on border, and since I was really relaxed while doing it, you might see some of the stems nearer to each other than others...  I call it a shawl with personality.

Hope you are enjoying your knitting too!

~Joji

Make a Wish ♥

 

Make a wish!
I wish for a cardigan that will hug me, and warm me… I wish for something luxurious, but yet easy to wear, a piece that I can dress up or down. I wish for a color that will make me happy and beautiful, and softness that will make me smile…
Why not make it true?

Once again, I had the privilege of working with the great Sundara, and together we came up with Make a Wish.  She created this color for me, and I created this pattern for her yarn.  A dreamy collaboration!

The yarn we used is Sundara Fingering Silky Merino, and she is currently offering the color I used (Make a Wish), and 3 other luscious colors in case Purple is not for you.
This is a circularly shaped cardigan, with lace details in the edgings and back. This flattering little sweater is worked seamlessly in one piece, with top-down set in sleeves.

Sizes
To fit chest: 30/32 (34/36, 38/40, 42/44, 46/48, 50/52, 54/56, 58/60) inches. This sweater is supposed to be a little “loose fitting”. If you are choosing between 2 sizes, I would advise you choose the bigger one.

Materials
Yarn: Sundara Fingering Silky Merino (50% Silk/50% Merino – 150g/500y), 3 (3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5) skeins, shown in colorway Make a Wish.
Needles: US 4 (3.5mm) and US 2½ (3mm).

I hope you guys like it!  I had a great time working on this, and I had some wonderful help from a group of friends who helped me make sure the instructions are correct.  You can check out our gallery of finished projects on Ravelry if you want to see this in different bodies and colors :)

Hope your dreams come true too!

~Joji

Leftovers Hats

You know how things are when kids are little... Life is not easy!  It is blessed, that for sure, but it can get quite complicated, especially with 2 babies (my second son was born when my first was 18 months old)...  So we didn't think of holidays much back in those days, I have to be honest...

But a couple of years ago, my husband and I decided our boys were big enough to travel comfortably, so we started travelling as a family.  Oh, what wonderful times we've had together!

We have always gone to cities where it is really cold, so as I looked through our photographs, I noticed that we always look the same!  Cause we wear our jackets all the time, in our pictures we are always wearing the same clothes... So I thought that if I made new hats for everyone, 2 or 3 for each, then we can rotate them, and we won't look like all our pictures were taken the same day.

If you have travelled as a group, you might know that it is important not to loose your group, so I decided to use bright leftovers to make matching hats for the whole family.

I am making these using straight needles and knitting them flat.  Once I am done knitting the hat, I sew them and weave in ends, though I must confess I am totally postponing the weaving part :)
Also I'd love to add a neon yellow pompom to each of them, so that I can locate the kids easily in the crowds, but the boys are not too happy with the idea (although they are really tempted by anything neon).  The neon yellow I am using is Tosh DK in Edison's Bulb colorway.

How do I make them?
I CO a certain amount of stitches, I am not being to precise with these.  For the kids' ones, I CO 86 st for the ribbing, and then I worked 4 rows in 1 color and 4 rows in another.  Then I switched to stockinette, increasing about a 20% percent of the stitches (increased to 102).  The stripes are not random, actually they go in a sequence: 4 rows, 2 rows, 6 rows, 4 rows...  when the hat measured 6 inches, I worked decreases for the crown.  I divided the stitches in groups of 10 (I left out 1 stitch for each seam), and I decreased a stitch from each group  every 2 rows.  Then I drew the yarn through the remaining stitches (10) and seamed the body.

As you can see, their hats are done, but now that I've made a couple, I am dreaming of new projects, so my husband's one is currently in this state, and it looks like it's going to stay this way for some time...  I am going through a terrible "startitis" crisis!

Here in Buenos Aires winter is already leaving, and we are having warmer, longer days...  However I always, always dream of new sweaters... I have some Arroyo yarn from Malabrigo that's been calling me for a long time... Long time no Mal on my needles!  I'll have to remedy that soon.

Hope you have a great week!!

~Joji

From Dubai with Love

Before I tell you the story of these hats, let me tell you some things:  

I have a brother.  In fact I have 2 borthers and a sister, but my brother Marco is quite the extrovert of the family.  Marco likes to go skiing, a lot.  And he also likes handknits, a lot.  He had asked me to make him a hat for a long time (I eventually made him one, see this post), but I mostly knit garments that are going to become patterns, so I always told him "yes, some day I'll make you one...".

Marco is very supportive with what I do, and for that reason he checks out my knitting Facebook profile often. And that is how he came up with the idea of asking my Facebook followers to make him a hat.  And yes, the AMAZING community of knitters out there answered him!!  Yes, I know everyone says the same, but I cannot believe what a wonderful and generous kind of people we knitters are...  And neither did Marco.

So last Tuesday, the mailman rang the door, and I received the most awesome parcel coming from... Dubai.  My friend Jocelyn, from Dubai Knits, sent my brother no less than 4 knitted hats, and she also sent me some yarny goodies.  Thank you so much Jocelyn!!!

I knew she was waiting to hear what we thought of the hats, so I asked my eldest son, Nano, to model them for us.  Let me show you the lovely hats I received for Marco!  All of them were made using the yarn that Jocely dyes herself.

Gray: I couldn't find the specs for this one in her notebook, but it is my absolute favorite.

 Red: Found it!  Pattern is Exeter, and she used Dubai Knits BFL Sport in colorway Spit the Pips.

Blue: Couldn't find it... Nano's front teeth are so ready to fall off... Can you notice?  He's so big!!!

Green: Found it! Pattern is Rib-a-Roni, and she used Dubai Knits Cloud Nine (my absolute favorite base of all the ones she used), in colorway Pacific.  This is the softest most comfortable hat ever, and my kids are already fighting for it :)

Jocelyn also sent 2 skeins for me to try out her yarn, so I am ready to make some more hats for the hubby. 

Dubai Knits: BFL Sport (Left) and MCN DK (Right)

So this blog is about to get really busy with hat action.  Hope you don't get bored. :)
Have a great week!

~Joji

Boxy and Buttony

You might have read it somewhere else already, but I do have a new pattern out!  It's called Boxy and Buttony, and well, I guess the name describes it well.

This is a modern and contemporary pattern with clean lines and a boxy fit.

Despite being Boxy’s little brother, this pattern is worked in a completely different way and features lots of details that make it quite unique and interesting!
It is worked from the top down, seamlessly. It has an oversized fit, but with slightly less fabric. The main sections of the sleeves are worked at the same time with the body, and a faux button-band outlines the shoulders.
A textured panel in the front helps to add visual interest to an otherwise simple and minimalist sweater.

 

Hope you guys like it!  I do love it a lot, and I have been wearing it so much!  It is perfect for fall and transitional weathers (we are facing Spring down here), and it goes with all my wardrobe.  In fact, I have recently discovered that about 90% of my clothes are either white, black, gray or denim blue, and I am perfectly OK with that :). 

For my sample I used one of my go-to yarns: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light.  Great yardage, great price and LOTS OF INSPIRING COLORS! I want to knit them all!  The color I used is called Ink, and it is the most glorious Indigo-blue.

It's been ages since I published my latest patterns, part of the Hopeful Knits collection (I don't think I even blogged about those, what was I thinking?), so I was really looking forward to my first release after my break.  We are now chatting about the pattern in my Ravelry group, so you can pop by and say hi...

I have another pattern soon to be released... Can't wait to show you!  I know, not many patterns for this fall, but I did put a great effort in each of them.  Thank you for your constant support!

~Joji

B A

Oh, sunny, stylish Buenos Aires...

I was looking for a place to sit and knit... but it was taken.  She had the perfect spot.

I suddenly feel the need of taking a photo of each corner in BA.  Probably not all of them are this crowded, though.

About Cashmere

A couple of months ago, I received the newsletter from The Plucky Knitter announcing they were releasing a new yarn based called Plucky Bello.  You will not find it on their site, probably, because they don't hold much stock of it... But you can certainly see what it is about, here in the Ravelry yarn page.
They offered it in a couple of updates (updates are the "events" when a famous dyer uploads all their stock of yarn for sale -whether if it is already dyed or for preorder-, and people go crazy buying all they can as soon as they can), and I was lucky enough to get me some 3 skeins in a really gorgeous, gorgeous colorway.

Plucky Bello in colorway Good Ol' Pip

 What stroke me about this yarn was the high content of cashmere in it, since it has no less than 45%!

Well, let me say that you can definitely tell this is half-cashmere.  It is really really so soft and yummy!  The base is a fingering weight, slightly on the shorter side regarding yardage, since the put up is only 380 yards (compared to most fingering yarns I am used to, which are over 400), but is does bloom really nicely when knit up, so you could also use it for patterns which call for sport weight.

The color was quite a surprise, since my monitor is a little bit crazy (cheap laptop's fault), and I thought this was a perfect gray.  But if you can see the true color (if your monitor is OK), it is actually a lilac-gray, so subtle, so beautiful! 

After finishing other projects I had in my queue, I started working on a small pullover pattern, which is nearly done.  I had to be very minimalistic with it, since 3 skeins of this are not taking me too far... So I finished the body with a wee bit over 2 skeins, and I have now 93 grams to work the sleeves.  I'd rather show you some really nice pics when it's done, so here's my swatch, and you can check out some i-phone pics of the WIP in my Ravelry page: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/jojilocat/bello

I hope I can have a pattern for this soon!  I am really enjoying it a lot!

After working with this yarn, I came to realize how much I've loved working on all my projects which involved a yarn with some cashmere in it.  I know, that's no surprise, but silk is also luxurious, and I don't enjoy it that much...  Or even alpaca, I love it, but cashmere is different...  Maybe it is the small fuzzy halo?  You know, most people hate halo, cause it means that the garment is going to pill, but I actually think it's lovely.  I just try to remember that the softer and finer the fiber, the more likely it is to pill.

I have been trying to remember how often I knit with this fiber, and I thought I'd show you my cashmere-content projects:

Imagine When,worked in Sundara's Fingering Merino-Cashmere

 

Even Flow, worked in The Plucky Knitter's Primo Sport

To Infinity and Beyond, worked in String Theory's Caper Sock

Dragonflies, worked in Lioness Artes MCN DK

Aaaaand that's all!  OK, I think I need more cashmere stuff in my future...  Off to stalk my own stash.

Have a great week!

~Joji

Get the look

So last weekend I spent a huge amount of time on Pinterest.  I don't pin much, but I watch and watch always looking for new inspiration.  Sometimes I like the fit of a garment, or the stitch pattern...  Sometimes I am in awe with the styling (cause I am so bad at this!)...  And I am generally drawn towards the neutral tones, very minimalist clothes.

But this weekend, I was surprised to see myself coming back again and again to this picture from ZARA.

I want everything in this picture.  Her boots, her jeans (wouldn't hurt to have her long legs), her top, and HER SUPER RED CARDIGAN!

I am not a fan of this shape, but I admit it would be really nice to have something in this color to throw on top of my otherwise super neutrally colored wardrobe.

So first I go to my stash, and start looking for something similar.  I have nothing in this color, but I find the awesome yarn I bought at Knitty City during my trip to NY (remember this post?): Studio Worsted by Neighborhood Fiber Co, in colorway Charles Village.

Yes, definitely not the same red... It is more like a fuchsia red... but a very RED!  This will do.

Then I wondered what the cardigan was really like... So I went to ZARA's website and this is what I found:

Yes, really nice and simple, ,but I am not sure this is worth writing a pattern for!  So I decided to design something that has the same "feel" (oversized cardigan), but with a few twists and a bit more shaping... and some buttons. :D

And here I am with my new design project, working the stockinette stitch section, where I get to relax a bit, stop taking notes, and just enjoy the knitting while watching some TV show.

I am loving this yarn's color a lot.  Super deep and rich, like the rest of the colors I saw on the shelf from this dyer.  Amazing stuff indeed!  The Studio Worsted comes in really big skeins: the label says 400 yards (of worsted weight!), and my skeins weigh 225g, so these are really huge!  However, I only have 2 of them, so I have to keep my yarn usage to the minimum.  I decided to knit this at a really loose gauge, and I am using US 8 (5mm) needles for this.  Let's see how it looks once finished.  At first stitches look a little bit uneven, but I am sure blocking will take care of that later.

In the meantime, I already got myself the jeans and the booties.  Looking for a T-shirt to match the whole thing.

~Joji

The logo

I have always had a lot of respect for what I do, but I guess I started designing and selling my patterns in an unexpected way...

Maybe that is why whenever someone asked me if I had a logo, it took me by surprise.  The same thing happened when someone asked for a bio, or a portrait.  It probably meant that if I actually worked on creating these things, I would become a real designer...  And what if then nobody liked what I did?
Have you ever felt this insecure?

After almost 3 years since I published my first seriously written pattern (hey, remember Pole?), I am more confident about what I create.  I have found my style.  And by style I mean many things: I have found which lines I love, which designs are the most satisfying to make, I've become obsessed with my favorite materials and colors, I have a voice in some social media, and most importantly, I have a working style.

As I tried to work towards this direction, and as I realized that people actually read some of the things I write, it became quite obvious that I needed a logo that I could identify myself with, and this one, clearly wasn't it...

It does look sweet, but come on...

Oh, this old thing that I called a "logo", was something that I just put up in a rush for my wholesaler's website.  Then I needed a badge and banner for Ravelry.  And why not, let's use it for my blog too...  So it has stuck with me all this time.


But now, as you can see in my much cleaner blog banner now, I have a new logo, and I proudly present it to you:

It was not an easy task to find it, but I got help from the awesome Jill, from Knitterella.  I think I might have driven her crazy with my back and forths, but we finally nailed it.  Hope you guys like the new look, as I think it represents me much better.  Get ready, cause you might start seeing the little "j" everywhere...

I am already playing with it, and it's so strange to actually see a logo in my prints!

Have a great week!

~Joji

The knits I love

Hello there!
It's been a while since my last blog post, and I believe I haven't shown much about my knitting lately...  I have been mostly focusing on writing and getting some patterns ready, so my knitting time has been somewhat reduced.


But I have been making some small stuff and nice plans!
One of the projects I finished is a hat I made for my brother Marco.  If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen me post about him every now and then.  I have 3 siblings, but Marco is the only one who still lives in Buenos Aires, so he's the one I hang out with all the time.

Marco has a great personality and he does wear the handknits he gets from me and from Mom with great pride, so he's one of the only people I knit especially for...

When he requested that I made him a hat, my first instinct was to design one, since this is what I do for a living after all...  But then I remembered I have wanted to knit a design from Veera's for a long time!  Veera is a good friend of mine, and she makes the most awesome stuff ever.

So with not much planning, I cast on for a Pewter and Pink hat, using some Noro yarn I had in stash (I used 1 full skein of Noro Kureyon in colorway 170) and some leftovers of Shetland wool for the top.  The yarn was scratchy as hell when knitting it up, but as you must have probably read, it does soften up a great deal after washing, just as any carded wool does.

Still, if you are spoiled with good merino fibers, you will find this a little bit rough against the skin.   But Marco is so awesome that he doesn't seem to mind wearing even the most coarse fibers, so all is good...  And after all, you can't beat the beauty of Noro's colors.  As you probably have seen if you read this blog, I have a crush on it, and use it whenever I can if it's not for designing work.

The pattern is written for a finer yarn, so I used the child's instructions and bigger needles to achieve this slouchy version.  Also, I added 2 stitches to the CO number and worked it flat on straight needles, to ease the tension on my tired hands (circulars are a pain to me!).

I really enjoyed this project, and I look forward to knitting more... My kids seemed to like this one a lot, so I see more colorful hats in my near future.

As for plans, I have finished the drafts for some patterns I cannot wait to share with you!
One of them is my Boxy and Buttony, worked in Tosh Merino Light in colorway Ink.  I'll just show you my WIP pics, I want to save the good pics for the release date (at least I think they are good, the new camera is still a bit of a mystery to me).

I am so happy with it!  If you liked my Boxy pattern, then you'll love this one.  It has the same awesome main element: the boxy fit, but a completely different construction and some details here and there that will make this new pattern even more fun to make.
I hope I'll be able to release this one by mid-August.

And also, for that date, I have prepared a beautiful pattern in collaboration with one of my favorite dyers...  You know I have had the good fortune to work with the most wonderful artisans in the world, so I am especially proud of this one.  You will not believe the color this dyer has created for the pattern!  But let's keep that a secret for now...

More knits and patterns are being cooked... But I want to save some for some for later!

~Joji

About kids

So today is a very special day for me... we have a Birthday boy in the family!

5 years ago my youngest son, Sebi, was born, and in that moment we knew our family was complete.  There was nothing more I could ever ask life for...

He is turning 5 now, and I have seen him become such a wonderful boy.  His sense of humor, his good temper, his good mood... Our family is what it is thanks to him, and his brother has the best friend he could ever ask for, right at home.

So I wanted to record this day in my blog, now that I am trying to post more often.  These two boys are my treasure, my permanent WIPs, as we knitters say... :D

Mariano (7) and Sebi (5)

I have also been working on my photos, but now I face the hard task of learning how to use photoshop (yes, I don't know how to use it, don't laugh)... So I might sign up for a semestre of that at photo-school.  After all, the school is a nice place to hang out, and I have really cool (teen) class-mates.  I might force them to put up with my lack of knowledge for some more time ;)

As for knitting, well, I am going through a tough week, and things are not turning exactly as I imagine, so I've had to rip a lot lot lot, and that kind of depresses me...  

My strategy for getting the mojo back was to knit something small, quick and enjoyable...  And since I recently learned that a new baby is coming to our lives (not mine, but almost as if), I decided to knit her a small baby vest.

I used an old pattern of mine, called Baby G, but I modified it to work better with this yarn, Noro Taiyo, in colorway #11.

I CO only 50 st and worked 6 rows in garter st. Then increased 6 st and worked in stockinette st until the armhole.  Then I worked the rest as per pattern.  Since my yarn was slightly thicker than the one the pattern called for, I used the instructions for the smallest size to achieve a 1-3 m.

The buttons are vintage, and they belonged to one of the baby's mother's dresses from her childhood.

Now let's hope this baby is a girl! ♥

I am really, really ready to knit for baby girls.

~Joji

WIPs

I know there are some people who like to check out Ravelry's notebooks to see what other knitters are up to...  I love to do it myself!
Well, I must say that if someone has been paying attention to mine, they are probably bored, cause there was not much happening there!
I love to talk about what I am working on...  I like to share bits of the design process and the pictures of the projects growing on the needles.  But ever since last year, I have been blessed with many opportunities to work with others, whether they are other designers or yarn companies.  And playing with others means secret projects...

So, ever since I published Hopeful Knits, I haven't opened up many project pages, but I have been working! 
They say you have to make things happen for you, and they seem to be right:  I was determined this year to only work on projects that I am really excited about, and look for more exciting things to do in the future.  And it looks like 2014 is going to be a great year...  Lots of things, lovely things, coming ahead.

In the meantime, I am working in-between projects on a WIP I started almost 2 years ago: my Folded, written by my favorite designer ever, Veera Välimäki.
It is really satisfying not to do any maths before starting to knit, and not having to take notes all the way through the poject.
I am enjoying it especially because I get to use a yarn I love: Noro Kureyon Sock.  I love all Noro yarns, but don't have much of it in stash because it is hard to use for work (i.e. designing).   Yes, it is scartchy.  Yes, it is too bright!  But it just makes me plain happy :D
The pattern so far is quite simple, just bottom up stockinette tubes, and I should be ready to join for working the yoke bottom up shortly.  I can't wait to get to the folds to see how it transform.

I am also planning a new project involving one of my favorite yarns: Tosh Merino Light in colorway "Ink", a yarn I had had in stash for over 2 years too.

And how is it going to be?  Well, yes, boxy.  Because I do love a lovely fitted sweater, but I only wear the drapey and oversized ones myself... So since I love this color so deeply, I'll make something to live in.

~Joji

Photo school

One of the things I brought home from our holidays was a shiny new camera.
I did love the one I had, it was a hybrid Sony camera (hybrid means that is has the body of a compact camera, but it allows the use of interchangeable, better quality lenses).
This camera was awesome, I took the photographs of all my patterns for the last 2 years with it, and the automatic mode was just perfect.

But, I kept reading "You should learn to use your camera", and "your pictures could be so much better with a Reflex"... And especially I kept hearing "Why would you buy a big camera and use it in auto-mode?".

Well, I did get my new camera, I brought it home un-touched and... What do I do with this beast now?  No idea.
So it seemed reasonable to take some photography lessons, and I signed for photo-school.  I'll be studying a semestre in which I am supposed to learn not only how to use this beast, but also to take "photos with a meaning".  Well, I tell you: I had never been so scared of learning something since I finished university!

Suddenly I feel that all the pictures I have been taking all this time are just rubbish.  But why do they have to be perfect?  I don't know, and certainly my teachers don't tell me so, but now that I know how pictures are "supposed" to be taken, I feel bad about how spontaneous mine were all this time.

Anyway, I guess in the end, I will feel a lot more happy about this new tool, and my pictures should be improving.  In the meantime, I have learnt to take those pretty "stash" pictures that I've been drooling over for years:

Stash pic for Ravelry: Malabrigo Arroyo in colorway "Sand Bank"

Stash pic for Ravelry: Northbound Knitting BFL/Silk in "Nocturne"

I have been trying to reorganize my stash and photograph everything there, so that I know what to work with.  I find my stash feature really helpful!  If only I could keep it updated...

So it seems like through yarn, the camera and I are starting to get to know each other.  I haven't felt the confidence yet to take the pictures for a pattern, but it will happen, eventually.

This week our teacher gave us a new assignment.  We are studying different kinds of portraits, and we need to take "environmental portraits" and "close-up portraits".
I felt like taking a portrait of myself at work (which I had never done before), so I set up my tripod and gave use to that remote control at last.  So here I give you my workspace and in my first "Environmental Portrait".

My wall (I'd call it my studio, or office, but it's just a wall actually)

Mind you, I did organize it a little bit before this pic.  Do not be fooled by the perfectly arranged yarn inside the basket.  It is normally all spread out in the floor!
I'll save the close-up portrait for someone who is not so camera shy at the moment ;)

So I hope that in a short time I can fill this blog with more appealing pictures, and I hope you keep coming back, even with so little update over here...

~Joji