I bought Ashley’s lightbox Friday night. She didn’t want it anymore because it really didn’t give her any better photographic light than what she can get in her bedroom anyway. My house, on the other hand, tends to be dark and cavelike. Which is good for Mr. Daysleeper / Nightworker but a bitch for taking photos of pretty crafty things. Now that my usual photo spot on the back porch has been besmirched I decided the best course of action was to finally break down and make or buy a lightbox.

Quite handy Ms. Ashley’s didn’t work out for her, no? So I’ve been taking photos like a crazy woman all weekend and putting stuff up for sale in my etsy shop. Some of this stuff goes back to leftovers from the Zia show just to give you a good idea of how lazy with the photography I’ve really been. I’ve also got Cody working on a cool way to show the rss feed from my Etsy listings on my sidebar. He’s becoming an xml genius at work these days donchaknow.

I’m only going to post one photo of each thing but there are many many more on Flickr.

Yarn

Exploradora - 182 yds superbulky handpainted yarn

Franny - 182 yds superbulky handpainted yarn

Blue w/ Suede too Gypsy Scarf Kit

Babykins Gypsy Scarf Kit

I’ve been making spindles for spinning kits too

Handknits

Felted Sparkly Stripes Handbag

Purple Felted Handspun Bag

Red Pencil Roving Neckwarmer w/ Custom Pin

Jewelry Stuff

Glass beads w/ Silver Bracelet

Handpainted Ceramic Pendant on Silk Cord

Adjustable Vaguely Ethnic Necklace

Spiral Stitchmarkers - fit up to US 15 needles

Ceramics

I’ve been painting ceramic eggs with a sort of, um ‘fertile’ theme. Sort of a Georgia O’Keefe Ostara kind of thing.

I wanted a sort of Lady of Guadalupe feel to this one

These are more abstract ones my four year-old friend, Zoe, helped me paint.

Purple

Pink

I painted a few other eggs on Friday and I’ve been making some more jewelry and stitchmarkers over the weekend. I have several skeins of sock yarn from the last few months and I have some handspun too. Now just to go get photos of those.

I want to thank everyone for their input about which yarn to choose for that sweater!! I think the main consensus was the darker brown. I agree that the darker color would be better and more slimming on the sides, reminds me of an old stage makeup trick actually. Chris brought up a great point about the weight and ply! What I spun is a single ply midrange worsted so I think the Lamb’s Pride is probably the way to go. Thanks everyone!!

On with the funk.

As I’ve said (several times) before, I don’t usually join swaps. I enjoy volunteering to be an angel for swaps (and in the end I really did enjoy running the back end of Dyeorama) but I don’t usually do the main swap part. Scout caught me in a weak moment last week and talked me into joining the Funky Scarf Swap she and Beverly are running.

Ok that’s not entirely true I was just in a joiney mood last week because I also joined the Knitflix swap. Movies and knitting? I’m so there.

To be honest the funky scarf swap is perfect for me. I’m all about the funky scarves. And shawls, and music, and clothes, and kitty cats. Yes! I even have a cat named “Funk” although I spell it a little phunqy.

But the term “funky” seems to be pretty subjective and for some funky could mean knitting in *gasp* the color red while others would go so far as to knit with yarn that has little plastic African animal toys tied to it.

I have a vague plan for what I’m going to do for my swap partner. Hopefully she’s willing to go pretty funky as I’m already collecting bottle caps to do some shibori resistance felting with some yarn I’ll spin up for her. Ooooh won’t that be fun? I’ve been wanting to play with Shibori since that article in Interweave last fall!

So I’m supposed to answer these questions for my secret swap person that’s sending me stuff. Hello secret swap person! Everyone else can choose to ignore the answers but scroll down a bit to see photos of my latest FOs as they’re part of my answers
Lets get the allergy part out of the way. Are you allergic to any fibers?

Angora makes me sneeze a bit.

Do you prefer any fibers over others?

I like very soft fibers. I’m not big into the fiber snobbery but I’ve found that some novelty fun fur stuff can be very scratchy. I think that Icelandic wool can be very scratchy too. I’m good with felted stuff as long as it won’t leave red marks. Whatever it is, please just make sure it’s something that could be rubbed on your face without leaving welts.

Speaking of soft, this is a scarf I knit last night using Finn pencil roving that I kettle dyed and felted a bit. It’s vera vera soft

It’s also very short so I’m holding it closed here with a Brittany DPN

back to the questions…

Thinking back to Scouts post about what funky means to you, post an image of something that you think is funky!

Well, um, I guess I have to brag here because that was my Drag Queen Grover yarn that she posted about Here are a few photos of the finished product.

I love crazy insane insane crazy funky, funky stuff.

On the other hand, I’d be happy with simple yarn and a unique construction as well. For example, I love that new Swiss Cheese scarf from Morehouse Merino! I think that’s pretty funky too!

To me the key part of funky is fun. Just something that’s enjoyable to make and wear. Something that’s different than what you see all the time. Really, it’s just that simple.

Would you prefer funky yarn or a funky pattern?

Either really. I think it should be one or the other though, not both at the same time. Big funky yarn tends to speak for itself and looks great with a simple pattern while a funky pattern would get lost in a funky yarn and usually needs a simple yarn to show the funk in the pattern.

What are your favorite colors?

I love good color combinations. As long as there are no fluorescents. I like bright colors but not like day-glo. You’d probably get a good idea of what kind of colors I like from looking at my stash photos!

My color tastes are usually very seasonal so since this will be in October I’ll probably be in a real Harvesty Autumny color mood.

What is your favorite piece of art?

Van Gogh’s 1889 Irises

What colors would you never have up close to your pretty face?

Day glo fluorescents. Really. Hate them. No matter what season it is.

Would you prefer an actual scarf or a cowl?

A scarf

When you wear a scarf do you prefer a wider/shorter scarf or a thin/long scarf?

Either but I am a plus size so please consider the “Big Girl Knits” rules that I would need a larger proportion for it to look right and not like a tiny handkerchief.

Speaking of plus size proportions, Cody helped me take some photos of my big Artyarns souvenir shawl today to show how big it is

What is the climate like where you live?

It can change from super hot to super cold here in the high desert. I believe in wearing layers that can be easily removed.

Would you prefer a functional scarf (to keep you warm) or one just to funk-up your wardrobe?

Probably one that’s more funky than functional but it can still be warm it does snow here!

What else would you like your partner to know about you?

Please just have fun with whatever you choose to make. I think that if you enjoy making it, that will show in the work, no matter what yours or my definition of funky is. Just try something new for you and have fun!!