kitty: happy evening

Pull Kimono #012-T8-484 by Phildar Design Team Hope you are having a beautiful Sunday evening! Just setting outside taking a break knitting. Dusk is perfect today, the sun finally came out after several days of gray clouds and with a cool breeze. If I didn't know better I would think it is fall. I have been working on this Phildar Kimono sweater when ever I have a few minutes of spare times, sadly though there have been very few sparse moments to knit. I really love the hand of the yarn, but I fear there is no way I have enough yarn even though I ordered the amount for a larger size since I was ordering it direct from FA. So I guess I will be ordering more black when I finish the front.

kitty: a special interview with Vanessa Yap Einbund of coloursknits

flow - fibers journey by Vanessa Yap Einbund Published | January 1, 2008 Dimensions | Square 80 pgs Available on Blurb

I know I alluded to it earlier in the week, but I am very honored to present an interview with the multi-talented Vanessa Yap Einbund from coloursknits and Vanessa Yap Einbund / Photography & Design. I know most of us fell in love with Vanessa's postings about her knitting projects over the years, but her site has evolved too much more than just a knitting site to a blog of beautiful photographic inspiration and design. And now she is offering to the public her first self-published title : flow - fibers journey.

Hi V, First of all I just want to thank you for stopping by and answering a few questions. It is a rare opportunity to actually get to talk to the photographer about her art. I feel very honored that you agreed to visit the blog for the interview. Q: Are you a self-taught; photographer or did you have a mentor that showed you the ropes?

Yes! I am completely self taught, I read all types of articles/books and get all the experience by practicing my shots. I also have had such a wonderful opportunity to make wonderful friends through Flickr and other photography sites. They have been giving me great inspiration and encouragement.

Q:What inspired you the most?

Photographically, what inspires me most is the objects around me... the simple things in life that we don't generally see the beauty in.

Q:Do you rely on lighting (natural, or artificial), or do you rely on dark-room/computer manipulation?

I took most of my photos using natural light. But it's also depends on the situation, sometimes you just can't avoid using studio lighting if the subject or location you're photographing has very poor light source.

Q:Why are a lot of your photos "off center" and have so much empty space in them?

hahah..good question! When I look at a subject, I generally stop and think much about how and what I want to achieve, then I capture it and work on it in the way that feels right to me. The fact that so many photos of mine have an off-center composition isn't something I plan deliberately; it just comes out of what I do by pure feeling... I love the idea of having empty space in my photo...to me it is also a sense freedom and peacefulness I would like to convey through the imagery.

Q:What is the ONE lasting impression you want to leave in your photos?

Everything is beautiful...unattended plants on the sidewalk, little pebbles on the pavement that no one even care to look at, the darkness, everything strange, twigs and leaves...homeless men, crying babies..there are limitless...it's how you see through your lens that's matters.

Q:Before you put your work "out there". Do you have it critiqued by someone else, [o]r do you just go with what your heart tells you is right?

I just go with my heart, pretty much. I have to admit I am the hardest critique for myself. I wouldn't put anything out there unless it was doing what I intended to do... for myself emotionally.

Q: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Running my own cafe that sells yarn, coffee and wine, traveling photographer specialize in food, as a photographer/stylist for martha stewart's/ saveur magazine.

Q: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Love! I'm just kiddin..I think it's people around me..especially my loving husband whom constantly giving me support. My friends like Olga and Priscilla. Remembering how lucky I am, I should make the most of it and do what I love. And find time to give back at some point.

Q: Do you have any intention to earn a living as a full time photographer?

Aside of my graphic design work...I've never done anything just for money. Photography started out as a primary means of self-expression and it is still is . Except, now I earn part of my living as a freelance photographer. I hope to continue that way and have a balance in life between photography and design. Thanks so much, everyone! It was fun I hope I didn't do too bad a job answering them, I never know how to talk about these things without sounding completely ridiculous. And of course My preference would be to talk about my photography, I’m not sure that I would be much of an interesting topic! Thank you for having me here and all kinds of wonderful and thoughtful words.

Thanks so much again for stopping by and taking your valuable time for the interview. I can not wait to see your up and coming projects. Be sure to check our her photos also on Flickr

~photos up above were captured from coloursknits two web site and the cover of her book flow.

kitty: Beautiful Inspirations :: Flow by Vanessa Yap

Last year a very special book arrived in the mail from a dear friend. V sent me a copy of her very limited run book of photography called Flow. Flow highlights the beauty of both Habu yarns and her amazing photography within the beautiful pages of the cover. It has been setting on my side table of my desk ever sense it arrives. It is one of those books I flip through when I am stuck on a conference call or just need to relax. I doubt that she realizes how much joy her book has brought me over the past year. Just a couple of weeks ago V, posted on her blog that she was going to make Flow available for purchase at blurb. You can preview the book here. It really is a must have for the Habu Lovers out there. And on top of that, the proceeds from the book are going to her next secrete project that I truly cannot wait to see. There have been a couple of reference out there to the book. You may have read about it in the Habu article in Holiday Vogue Knitting 2009. "SPOTLIGHT ON: HABU TEXTILES A fascinating glimpse at a company that specializes in unusual yarns for knitters and weavers." I was so happy for her when the article came out. flow - fibers journey Published | January 1, 2008 Dimensions | Square 80 pgs ColoursKnits

PS... I am also trying to get V to be a guest blogger and talk about her books sometime this week... So Stay tuned!

kitty: one summer goal complete with a new front yard landscape

Sorry, this post has nothing to do with knitting, but I thought I would share my outdoor project. I am pretty proud of how the front yard looks, though I had very little to do with the actual work.

The summer nightmare of finding someone to put in a new low maintenance landscape design is finally over and I couldn't be happier. At the beginning of May I started looking for someone to rip out the old landscaping and to start over. I would have thought that in this economy people would have jumped at the opportunity to do the work.

I talked with 15 landscape people, with some of them taking until the beginning of July to get back with an actual quote. Most of them didn't listen to my budget constraints or just didn't care that I didn't want to spend a small fortune on the work. When you are told a range and come back with something 10K over it is not likely that the homeowner is going to go with the design.

But it has all worked out. M and I have ended up with a garden that is really east and west in concept. Or more like southern and eastern with a mix of traditional Asian plants (Hostas, asiatic Lilies, Japanese Pine Tree, Asian star junipers, and Zen dry pond) and Southern ( Sweet Shrubs/Carolina All Spice, Virginia Sweet Magnolia, knock out roses, azaleas, and hydrangeas.) I really can not wait for the sweet shrubs to bloom. Growing up we has sweet shrubs the lined the wooded area of the fields.

I didn't get my Dainty Bess Rose, but there is a spot for her in the garden. We did end up with these lovely fragrant knock outs.

Here is the design that I ended up coming up with to have the landscaper quote. It didn't end up exactly like the mock up, but the things that were moved I feel were for the best. Now to just find someone that can actually get rid of my weed problem in the back yard. I promise a crafty post tomorrow...

kitty: Children at Play Sock

Name: Children at Play Sock Fibers: Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Sock (Dragon Berry & Sailor Take Warning) Neighborhood Fiber Co. Cashmere (December Sock Club) Needles: US1

MG always reminds me that I never post about projects that are really failures. So here goes a failure that you would probably never have heard about if it wasn't for her request. Well, I really love this sock but bottom line it has a major flaw. I found out the hard way that when ever I try to do colourwork I have a tendency to do Tvåändsstickning / Twined Knitting / Two End Knitting. The end result is that there is no way in the world that this sock is going to go on a real foot. I barely got it on the blocker after soaking in water for an hour. So sadly this will go to the single pile of socks that will never get finished. There is also no real way to rip yarn that has been Twined Knitted. So I have shared the charts that I came up with for the design below. I am sure you will see paper dolls and silhouettes again in my designs. When I was studying fashion design faces were one of my favorite motifs. The works of Elsa Schiaparelli, Paul Poiret, and Erete always served at motivations. I always loved the depiction of a human face or parts of the body either as caricature or faithful depiction. The jacket to the left is one of the most famous suits of Elsa Sciaparelli. Schiaparelli in a rare co creation with Jean Cocteau from 1937. The jacket is a natural linen and depicts a drawing done by Cocteau. The figure is of a reclining woman with gold beaded hair. And of course Skeleton Motifs - Elsa Sciaparelli dress from 1935, far outdating the scandalous Mc Queen Skeleton designs of resent years.

Close up of the Children at Play Sock...

Two girls for every boy are around the top of the sock.

The boy and girl paper dolls is a a modified version of a chart in the 1950 edition of Odham’s Encyclopedia of Knitting.

My lovely twinned stitches on the back. I really do think they are beautiful and the nice thing is you will not snag your toe on the loops.

A dancing girl.

I know I have seen this girl somewhere in some book from some time period, but I just charted it from some random inspiration for the sock.

And of course children at play need a fun elephant on the heal flap, just for fun.