Guest Post: How to Shoot the Moon

These days we hear the term "Super Moon" all over the place. What does this mean? To me it is a great opportunity to get a good photograph of the moon. Scientifically in astronomy it is called a perigean full moon,that is, a full moon closely coinciding with perigee – the moon’s closest point to Earth in its orbit. The Moon follows an elliptical path around Earth with one side ("perigee") about 50,000 km closer than the other ("apogee").  Full Moons that occur on the perigee side of the Moon's orbit seem extra big and bright. On August 10th it becomes full during the same hour as perigee— making it an extra-super Moon.

Everyone wants to capture this photographic experience for themselves. Unfortunately, photographers are often disappointed because the pictures capture only a bright white dot on a black sky and no detail in the moon.
 

I will break down step by step how I get good results. If you have a DSLR camera this information may be basic but I want to make sure I share all of the important information for all levels of learning.

Making friendship bracelets with swarovski elements

Since it's summer again, I've started making some friendship bracelet videos again. The latest one has some extra bling added in the form of a Swarovski crystal cup chain.

Solarita

I was thinking of the sun, margaritas, and very warm, autumnal shawls when I designed this crescent wrap. I'm even cold in the summer sometimes. Especially after dark, or in late August when the weather starts to shift. Thinking of the summer sun setting as I sit outside with friends, chatting and watching the sky change color - this is when I start to shiver and look for something warm like the sun.

So I drew up a shawl like the setting sun in my sketchbook. It has a bold border with triangles and finger-like fringe. I found another use for my crazy stripe stitches that did not need color changes to show up. 

Surprisingly, the finished shawl looks almost exactly like the drawing, That rarely works out so well.

The yarn is Brooklyn Tweed Loft, a very springy yarn with bright flecks of orange and green undertones.

The best part is that it matches my favorite (only?) formal dress. No more cheap ugly cardigans or cold arms.

If you are interested in this pattern, you can check it out on Ravelry or buy it here.

Petal cowl pattern

A while ago, I made a post about some swatches that I was developing into patterns. Well, today I am publishing the first of my crazy stripe patterns.

Petal is a cowl designed to highlight the color shifts of a self striping yarn. The stich shapes are inspired by flower petals, fish scales, and vintage crochet afghans. A great summer knit, or a cold weather project when made in heavy yarn. A unique stitch is used to create an extra long chevron motif which set this cowl apart.
 

Finished Size: 10” (26cm) wide and 40” (100cm) around.

Yarn: 1 skein of Noro Taiyo Sock (shown in color 59), Silk Garden Sock or 462 yards of self striping fingering weight yarn. Gauge can be adjusted to work with any weight yarn.

Needles: Size 5 (3.75mm) 32”circular needles, or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge: 36 sts and 18 rounds in patt = 5 x 5” (12.5 x 12.5 cm) square.

Other Materials: 1 marker, sewing needle, pins, damp cloth, and iron for blocking.

Instructions are for fingering weight yarn, but are adjustable for any stitch count or gauge. I cannot wait to make this in Kureyon for winter.

spinning extra fine yarn

My mother got a new camera with the ability to take extra sharp video. We did a little quality test showing a close up of my hands drafting fiber while spinning. Some quality was lost compressing the video for internet, but you can still see the individual merino fibers as they are drafted into a threadlike single.

There are already a lot of spinning videos around, but hopefully this one is sharp enough to really show how the fibers twist together. HD quality can be selected and you will see the hi res video best full screen. Please leave feedback, we would both like to know if the video is high enough quality to be interesting now that it is online.