Tag: Photography

Amigurumi: First attempt; The making of cats

Aynaria 10 Comments

When it comes to art creation, my main form of creativity is fiber; cloth, yarn, natural and synthetic fibers…

Crochet Brian Crane Amigurumi (pronounced ah-mee-goo-roo-mee) has been occupying most of my weekend crochet time. This is fueled by my daughter’s love of stuffed animals, She’s requested that my first amigurumi project be a cat, and so I’ve managed to squeeze hours throughout this weekend to focus on it. I’ve decided to devote some of my crochet time into making amigurumi creatures for my daughter, and some others…

Amigurumi

The word Amigurumi is Japanese, it means “stuffed toy.” The toys are crocheted or knitted. Pretty clever, right?

Crochet Amigurumi Cat 1

Making daughters amigurumi cat

As you can see from the above picture, my daughters amigurumi cat isn’t complete. Actually, I’ll be making two. The second will be smaller than this one. I didn’t follow a pattern, I just picked up a size G crochet hook, and started doing my own thing. No surprise, since when it comes to crafts (or cooking) I rarely follow directions.

I found the head and body was easy to make, although in hindsight I should have made the body more cylindrical in appearance. When I attempted to correct that ‘flaw’ my daughter told me, No! It appears she loves the round body.  I’ll make sure I do make corrections with some of my upcoming projects. My daughter is happy with how her kitty is progressing and is clamoring for me to finish.

The legs and arms were a bit of a challenge, until I started using a stitch marker (strip of yarn in another color) to make off my starting point. I believe I’ll remake the tail, since I think it should be slimmer than the legs. I still need to complete the arms.

Perfect timing: 12 for 12 in 2012; Charity

My interest in Amigurumi comes at an excellent time. I’ve mentioned The Mother Bear Project in a few posts, the crocheted and knitted bears that are created and sent to children in underdeveloped countries. My local yarn store, Lovely Yarns, supplies a pattern, but I’ve decided to make my own. I’ve already sketched out the design for that amigurumi bear, the only thing left is to make it. I’m getting my feet wet with the amigurumi cat, once that’s completed I’ll start working on the bear. I’ll be sure to post pictures of both completed projects.

This post should have been posted yesterday, since I’m participating in the 12 for 12 in 2012 Charity Crochet project. Head on over to Kathryn’s crochet blog, to see who else is participating in this project.  This weekend, I haven’t been online as much. I’ve been spending time with my daughter, and working on the above amigurumi project.

I realize that everyone isn’t like myself, and might want instructions before they attempt to dive into Amigurumi, and so I’ve included a few links below, enjoy!

Amigurumi Resources

  1. Amigurumi tutorial
  2. Amigurumi: How to make fuzzy amigurumi

Photo Source: Crochet Spot

Photography: I hate bath time!

Aynaria 23 Comments

Bathtime 1

Uh! Oh! Mommy’s running water and she’s not hopping in, that only means one thing….

Bathtime Mr Bentley 3

Bath time! I moved too slow and mommy caught me. Darn it! I hate getting wet!

Bathtime Mr Bentley 2

Help!!!

Bathtime Mr Bentley 1

<whines> I’m all wet! You better dry me off!

Isn’t he adorable? Earlier this morning I gave Mr. Bentley, our Shih Tzu, a bath. He isn’t too fond of them, but these days he doesn’t put up a fight. He suffers in silence while I shampoo and then dry his fur with a hair dryer.

The photos were taken with my Nikon D80, no edits.

A Merry Christmas and unexpected visitors

Aynaria 9 Comments

Hen 12 25 11 1

This morning, while I was hand washing dishes, I was greeted by the trumpeting of our neighbors rooster, Cock a doodle doo! — the rooster cried.

I’d like to think he was telling our little community, Merry Christmas! He repeated his cry, Cock a doodle doo! and I couldn’t help but think he sounded louder than normal, and so I looked out our kitchen window.

Well guess what?  Five of my neighbor’s chickens were in our front yard, they were scratching and pecking away at the grass. Every few moments Mr. Rooster would stretch out his neck and cry… Cock a doodle doo!

I called my daughter to the kitchen, and we watched them for a bit. They were so beautiful. The rooster was the ‘diva’ of the bunch, and he strutted around proudly, while the hens went to work on the grass, foraging for juicy worms, insects, seeds, and whatever else they like to feast on in our yard. (It’s not the first time I’ve seen them over here).

Naturally by the time I came to my senses and thought about taking photos they had moved on. About ten minutes later, my daughter told me to come around the back of our house. It seemed we had a few stragglers…

Rabbit 12 25 11 1

The neighbor also has a rabbit. This rabbit seems to be content to live outside, and we see him often in the neighbors yard. He wanders into our yard to nibble at some tender grass shoots too. My daughter said Mr. Rabbit chased the chickens back to their own yard…  well with the exception of the hen that I’ve included in this post.

Mr. Rabbit watched, from about five feet away from the chicken, while this persistent hen foraged for more food…. Perhaps he was the ‘guard bunny’?

Hen 12 25 11 2

This hen was a friendly bird, and was quite curious of me — She even posed for some close-up shots. Look at her, isn’t she sweet? Mr. Rabbit, on the other hand, was cautious and only let me get around ten feet away before he turned tail and hopped a few yards back. So much for him protecting the chicken!

How’s that for a Christmas post? I thought I’d be posting a standard Christmas message, and today my daughter, and I received some much welcomed visitors in our yard.

Here’s hoping you are all having a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

Photography: No frost but…

Aynaria 4 Comments

Yesterday morning, I noticed our outside world was blanketed with frost. It was breathtaking, and I paused for a few moments to soak in its beauty.

In my mind I thought about the photos I’d take after I dropped my daughter off at school. Upon my return home, I became sidetracked with a variety of household chores, and so by the time I did venture outside the frost was gone.

Autumn Clematis 1

Autumn Clematis

I did console myself by taking a picture of the Autumn Clematis you see above. This is how it looks during it’s dormant season. I actually prefer this over it’s flowering stage. It’s gorgeous! Additionally I snapped a shot of the rose you see below.

 

Rose 1 12 14 11

Rose

Mr. Bentley, our Shih Tzu, eagerly joined me on my outside adventure. While I was snapping photos, Mr. B was marking his territory on various objects throughout our yard.

Mr Bently 1 11 13 11

Mr. Bentley, sniffing out trouble

I didn’t manage to get the photos of frost, but there will be other days to capture those pictures. I still was happy with some of the pictures I managed to take.

I don’t need photos to remind me how beautiful the world where I live is, however having them makes it easier to share portions of my world with others.

 

Wordless Wednesday – Friday Addition: Insect Inspection

Aynaria 9 Comments
Daughter-Bug-Inspection.06.24.10.png

My daughters insect inspection
Tomorrow is going to be extremely busy, and so I decided to toss up my Wordless Wednesday- Friday addition, one day early.

Earlier today, while we were in our back yard, my daughter found some insects that fascinated her. She bent down to take a closer look. She chattered excitedly about the flurry of activity going on at the anthill, and I snapped the above photo.

When I was around my daughters age, I started reading a lot about ants. They really fascinated me, and at times I would watch them for hours.

Ants are amazing creatures, did you know that…

Daughter_1.06.24.10.png

Hey Mommy, come here!
I really like that she is fascinated with insects (just like her mommy.) A few years ago, I purchased the book Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity. Thanks to that book (which is well over 700 pages) we’re able to identify a lot of insects. Which is perfect for our insect hunts.

Pop by Wordless Wednesday, Friday addition to view other participants.

 

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Wordless Wednesday – Thursday Edition: Blackberry Blossoms

Aynaria 9 Comments
Blackberries.06.24.10.png

Blackberry Blossoms
Ok, so this post isn’t wordless. I never could hold to the Wordless part of Wordless Wednesday, forgive me?

The above picture was taken about an hour ago. My daughter and I were outside checking out the garden. She excitedly pointed at our blackberry bush and said, “Oh mommy, look at the blackberries!” I was happy to see the green blackberries. I cannot wait for them to ripen. I use them in a variety of healthy recipes; Smoothies, ice creams, salads, muffins, and main dishes too.

There are many ways I celebrate life, and one way is taking pictures. I enjoy capturing photos of whatever interests me. Surprisingly, at times, some of the photos interest others too.

I became fascinated with photography as a child, even have a few old cameras. As a child, it seemed I always had a camera in my hand, and was always snapping pictures. In my early twenties I took a break from picture taking, and it was unnatural. I felt naked without one of my cameras and returned to it with a vengeance. Naturally that means I have a digital darkroom at our home, and a few times a week (after my daughter is sleeping) you’ll find me there.

I’m still kicking myself for not snagging an old camera I found when I was visiting Gamla Stan – The Old Town, while I was in Sweden.

A few years ago, I created a website based solely on my photography. Learned a lot, took chances, picked the brain of many photographers I have respect for, and surprisingly enough sold a few pictures too. However, I mainly give them away to family/friends.

I’ve been an active participant with Wordless Wednesday, with many of my other websites and so it only makes sense to add Celebrate Life! into the mix too, right? Outdoor Wednesday is new for myself, and I look forward to meeting the other participants.

Although I take a lot of different types of photos, the majority of the photos you’ll see on this site will be nature or food based.

 

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Moondancer, Wordless Wednesday, Photography