Project 365

DONE

2010-10-18T16:07:00.002-05:00

Unless I miscounted somehow (and even if I did, at this point), my Project 365 for October 15th, 2009 to October 14th, 2010 is finished. Notice that I didn't say it's "complete". (I somehow lost the photos for a few days somewhere back there, remember?) Nor is it completely honest. There were a handful of days when I simply forgot to take a photo and ended up substituting one from the next day (or the previous day, depending on which photos were better). However, in each of those cases, I made a note of the substitution in the caption, and really, there weren't that many missed days.

I wish I could say that I learned a lot about photography during this project, but honestly, I don't think I did... In fact, I think the quality of my photos has suffered, if anything, and I feel glad that the project is done.

Reading that (assuming anyone has (g)), you may wonder why I even stuck with it, after it became a chore. I guess it comes down to sheer stubbornness and the feeling that I'd come to regret it, if I abandoned the project altogether.

I think I would have felt greater pride and pleasure in the project had I never missed a day. After missing that first day, I never felt the same about the project... Maybe I would've put more effort into it, then, instead of just doing it because I had made some sort of commitment to see it through to the end. ...That's not a good thing, I know. Things don't have to be perfect to still be worth doing, and you shouldn't let the fear that something won't be perfect keep you from doing and enjoying it-- whether it's a silly photo-hobby "project" or something much more important. Apparently that's something I'm still working on living instead of simply "knowing" (in theory)!

I might be interested in trying Project 365 again, sometime, but I definitely need a break from huge photo projects. I think I'd like to try some week-long or month-long projects, though... and get back into the habit of photographing just for fun-- not because I "have" to take a photo every day.

One other thing: This time around, I allowed myself (in my own set of personal Project 365 rules) to post the photos any time I liked (i.e. not the day I took them). That might work for some people, but I often ended up being weeks behind in posting, and that probably cut down on the fun of Project 365, making it one more thing for my "to do" list instead of a daily habit or something to really look forward to. If I do it again, I'll try harder to not just take (at least) one photo a day but also to post (at least) one photo every day.

So yes, I'm glad the project's done, and I may not have uncovered any secrets to taking the Perfect Photo along the way, but I still like looking back through the project photos. They do serve as a reminder of many things that happened over the course of the year... and I've probably learned more than I realize! Thanks for coming along for the ride!

365/365 - Behind the Camera

2010-10-18T15:46:00.001-05:00

Taken by looking into a mirror... then flipped in post-processing so that the camera's logo wouldn't be backward. If the camera placement looks a little odd, it's probably because I focus with my left eye, even though I am right handed. When I take photos while wearing makeup, my nose smudges the preview screen, which has helped me sympathize with how left-handed people must feel using products designed for right-handed people.

(And so ends this Project 365! I'll be writing a little about the project as a whole in my next entry.)

364/365 - Wide Angle Pines

2010-10-18T15:34:00.000-05:00

...Playing around with the wide angle lens and some over-the-top post-processing...

363/365 - Jungle Just Outside

2010-10-13T14:28:00.001-05:00

Late afternoon shadows cast by a jungle of roses and cypress vine. (Someone needs to do some serious gardening-- including pruning-- sometime during these next few months.)

362/365 - Shining Flea Beetle

2010-10-13T14:24:00.001-05:00

(At least, I think that's what it is...)

361/365 - Crochet Pot Holder

2010-10-13T14:18:00.001-05:00

Not the best photo, but it'll do... My latest crochet project has been to make a few pot holders. I think I'm getting tired of them, though, so it's time to go back to the octagon-motif afghan for a while.

360/365 - Tangerine Horizon

2010-10-13T14:05:00.001-05:00

I think I've grown to like orange much more than I used to-- especially during the cooler part of the year. (It's somewhat harder to like when everything's hot and sticky.)

359/365 - Basking in the Glow

2010-10-13T13:52:00.001-05:00

Trixie soaks up some of the last rays of sun for the day...

358/365 - Hurricane Lilies

2010-10-08T16:55:00.001-05:00

One of a few more photos of this little group of hurricane lilies (also called "red spider lilies").

357/365 - Wasp on Goldenrod

2010-10-08T16:49:00.001-05:00

One of the critters enjoying this year's oceans of goldenrod...

356/365 - Dog-Walking

2010-10-08T15:14:00.003-05:00

Molly and Trixie, ready to face the brave new world beyond the safety of the fenced yard. (It's kind of a blurry world in this photo. Oh well!)

355/365 - Ripples

2010-10-08T15:03:00.001-05:00

A quiet day at the pond.

354/365 - Hurricane Lily

2010-10-08T14:59:00.001-05:00

Another sign of the season... :o)

If Wikipedia is to be believed (which is sometimes doubtful), these flowers are associated with death and sorrow in Asia (where they originated), but for me they only mean beauty and autumn. I'm very fond of them.

353/365 - Purple Mist Flower

2010-10-08T14:42:00.001-05:00

I love these wildflowers! I need to see if I can transplant some of them closer to our house...

352/365 - Crochet in Progress

2010-10-08T14:39:00.001-05:00

This was the beginnings of a cotton pot-holder. (I love the red against that aqua!)

(This was a cheat, as far as Project 365 goes. Technically, I took this on October 2nd instead of the first of the month.)

351/365 - Obligatory Self-Portrait

2010-10-08T14:25:00.001-05:00

I figured I ought to take at least one more self-portrait before this Project 365 thing is all wrapped up and done (such as it is). Maybe I should've taken a minute to brush (or at least smooth) my hair before I hit the shutter release, though...

350/365 - Green and Gold

2010-10-08T14:10:00.003-05:00

It's nice to know that when all else fails, you can always throw everything out of focus and look at the pretty dots of light. ;o)

349/365 - Ugly Bugly

2010-10-08T14:08:00.001-05:00

Dear orange buglets--

Once, I thought you were almost kind of cute, in a buggish sort of way. I believe I thought you might be baby ladybugs... But now I know your dirty little secret-- that you will grow up to be those hideous, giant monsters that like to fly toward me with rustling wings. As baby leaf-footed bugs, you are the Enemy. If I remember to do so, I'll soon be looking up easy (non-bug-touching) ways to kill you. I realize that this may put a strain on our relationship, but it can't be helped.

Regretfully yours,
Me

348/365 - Stack of Octagons

2010-10-08T13:52:00.001-05:00

This is a stack of octagon motifs for the afghan I'm making.

347/365 - Straight From the Camera

2010-10-07T13:48:00.001-05:00

This was actually a double rainbow. I posted a few more photos of all these rainbows on my Flickr photostream (for those of you seeing this on my Project 365 blog), but so far, I haven't been completely satisfied with my rainbow photos. It seems pretty tricky to get a rainbow to look as impressive in a photo as it does in real life.

346/365 - Evening Rainbow

2010-10-07T13:35:00.001-05:00

This was the third day in a row that I saw a rainbow. (And there was one more still to come!)

345/365 - Afternoon Rainbow

2010-10-07T13:20:00.001-05:00

Mom called to tell us that our house was at the end of the rainbow ;o), so I grabbed the camera and snapped a few shots.

344/365 - Turtle

2010-10-07T13:13:00.001-05:00

We have only managed to see the pond turtle once, despite stomping on the pier, conversing, and even calling him (or her?) by name. (It's "Turtle", if you're wondering).

The one day we did see him, he very obligingly paddled right through the pond's reflection of a small bit of rainbow. (Swimming through rainbows! What luxury!)

343/365 - Mellowcreme Pumpkins

2010-10-07T12:58:00.001-05:00

This crop (mysteriously*) sprang up on my bedside table. I took it as a sign that I should nibble them while reading a little in the last Lucia novel. ;o)

*In this case, "mysteriously" means I put them there myself, drawing from the large bag I found in the Hallowe'en candy aisle while grocery shopping. (Obviously.)

342/365 - Virginia Creeper

2010-10-07T12:49:00.001-05:00

I tend to take at least one photo like this every year... It's a tradition. (g) This one's a bit blurry, but it'll do for my incomplete attempt at Project 365.

341/365 - Sunset Trixie

2010-10-07T12:43:00.001-05:00

Self-explanatory title, but I'm "supposed" to write a caption for my Project 365 photos, so... Isn't my Eskie pretty? ;o)

340/365 - Green Lynx

2010-10-07T12:37:00.001-05:00

Green lynx spider on some goldenrod...

339/365 - Green Anole

2010-09-27T15:55:00.001-05:00

This was an absolutely teeny lizard I found on our patio (and then followed to a Mexican petunia.)

338/365 - Praying Mantis

2010-09-27T15:15:00.001-05:00

Few insects look more like (the typical vision of) an alien life form than the praying mantis...

337/365 - Late Summer Trixie

2010-09-27T15:04:00.001-05:00

Trixie seems to enjoy her afternoon/evening outside, no matter what time of year it is.

In the middle photo, she was racing off to chase a hummingbird. Though she eventually tires of it, chasing and barking at hummingbirds is one of her favorite "duties".

336/365 - Molly Wants Some Pound Cake

2010-09-27T14:40:00.001-05:00

Molly put in a request for a slice of pound cake. (Pretty please?)

335/365 - Sky on a Slant

2010-09-17T16:55:00.001-05:00

...Another example of what happens when you're not feeling particularly inspired and nothing comes to mind for that "take a photo every day" project...

334/365 - Octagon Motifs

2010-09-17T16:48:00.001-05:00

These were my first five motifs for my current afghan (the Moorish Mosaic Afghan pattern). I'm currently one round away from finishing my tenth (of thirty) octagon motifs-- then there are a bunch of squares and triangles to fill in the empty spots.

The best part of this project-- you never know exactly how the next motif will look. Each one is unique.

(The paper slips pinned to the octagons are to allow me to put them in the order recommended by the pattern, if I like. Identifying them at the end would otherwise be fairly time-consuming, I'm sure.)

333/365 - Hummingbird Perch

2010-09-17T16:22:00.001-05:00

There's a handy (dead) crepe myrtle near one of our feeders. The hummingbirds like to sit in this small tree (which I'll be taking down/replacing when the weather cools down, because... it's dead) as they guard the feeder.

332/365 - Metallic Fly

2010-09-17T15:53:00.002-05:00

These metallic flies don't even look real to me. They're kind of pretty-- well, for flies...

331/365 - Blue Sky, Bright Sun

2010-09-15T16:30:00.001-05:00

Makes my eyes water just to remember taking this one... (And not in an emotional way. It was just really bright. (g))

330/365 - Suspended

2010-09-15T16:26:00.001-05:00

There's a whole community of Florida orchard spiders living in our large sago palm. This one must be the head honcho. At least, it got the prime real estate-- the top/middle opening of the plant.

329/365 - Blooming

2010-09-15T16:23:00.001-05:00

This coral rose blooming out in the yard brightened up the day.

328/365 - Resting Pesky Eskie

2010-09-15T16:14:00.001-05:00

She has to conserve energy for her frantic evening frisbee sessions-- not to mention the indoor toy-fetching she so frequently insists upon when the People are trying to watch TV, crochet, or work at the computer.

327/365 - Sunny Seaside Mosaic Afghan

2010-09-15T15:35:00.002-05:00

I've started a new afghan! (Well, I think it's worth an exclamation point. ;o))

The pattern is called the Moorish Mosaic Afghan, and I'm tentatively calling mine the Sunny Seaside Mosaic Afghan for no reason other than that the colors somehow remind me of... well, a sunny day on a seaside-- not necessarily our local beaches, though...

(This is my first project to require stitch markers, thus the little container of colorful snippets of leftover yarn.)

That was my first motif in the basket. Each one is the same shape/stitches, but worked in a unique variation of colors. It's proving to be an interesting project, because you never know exactly how a motif will look until it's done.

326/365 - Dominion

2010-09-15T15:33:00.001-05:00

We've been playing Dominion quite a bit lately. It's pretty fun, and the way it's designed, you can have a different game every time. Fortunately for us, it also works very well for two players.

325/365 - Pond Grass

2010-09-15T15:13:00.001-05:00

This photo makes me feel like cooler weather will be here sooner or later, if we just wait a little bit longer. (Sometimes it takes a little convincing...)

We walked down to the pond for the first time in a while (months, I think it's been). We were looking for a turtle that we've heard has taken up residence there. We still didn't manage to see the turtle, but there was no shortage of dragonflies and fuzzy grasses.

324/365 - "Ananas" Doily

2010-09-15T14:56:00.001-05:00

This was my first attempt at a larger doily (larger than about six inches in diameter). I was pretty happy with this one, though it proved more complicated than I thought it would. (I guess I sometimes don't focus enough on the pattern. It is shameful, I know. ;o))

323/365 - Sun Behind Clouds

2010-09-13T16:26:00.001-05:00

...And a hint of some crepuscular rays. (I owe my knowledge of that rather ugly-sounding term to one of our local TV meteorologists, Mr. John Nodar. (g))

322/265 - Daddy Long Legs

2010-09-13T16:24:00.001-05:00

...Or at least that's what we've always called them. I've read that they are sometimes called "harvestmen". Both names are pretty creepy and evocative of Things That Go Bump in the Night.

321/365 - Palette

2010-09-13T16:22:00.001-05:00

These are the colors of yarn I'm using on my current afghan project. (The one on the bottom right looks darker here than it actually is, though it is a dark blue.)

320/365 - Another Silly Trixie Expression

2010-08-31T14:32:00.001-05:00

She looks kind of funny when she looks up like this...

(My Project 365 photos have been very Trixie-centric, lately. Maybe I'll find a new subject for the next couple of photos.)

319/365 - Her Fame Grows ;o)

2010-08-31T14:29:00.001-05:00

This weekend, we got our complimentary greeting cards and magnets with Trixie's "I Has a Hotdog" photo. I'll try to take better photos of the packaging soon. (This was the only one I took that didn't turn out blurry in the poor light from that rainy day...)

318/365 - Fallen Flower

2010-08-31T14:27:00.001-05:00

Rainy day.

317/365 - Munch Munch Munch

2010-08-31T14:25:00.000-05:00

Our lazy Eskie prefers to dine while lying down. She pulls her food bowl over from the corner of her crate, plops down in front of it, and chows down. She must be conserving energy for her evening frisbee and fetching sessions.

316/365 - Look Outside

2010-08-27T13:05:00.000-05:00

There's a whole wide world out there! (But mostly she'd rather stay inside with the People.)

315/365 - Hang On!

2010-08-26T17:29:00.001-05:00

I just happened to see this little lizard hanging on to one of our wind chimes when I let the dogs out for a walk. (Still not cool and dry enough to tempt me out very often for any length of time. Maybe in another month...)

I've seen lizards on the wind chimes before, once or twice, but this is the first time I chanced to have the camera with me.

314/365 - Eek!

2010-08-24T16:54:00.001-05:00

This approximately 2-inch-long spider was lurking on one our back porch's columns. I almost didn't see it, as it blended in so well with the mortar.

Ugh. I really don't like large, fuzzy spiders. (Ok, I don't really like spiders of any kind, to tell the truth, but the large ones are particularly creepy.)

313/365 - Wide Angle Trixie

2010-08-24T15:09:00.004-05:00

Trixie doesn't know I'm sharing this embarrassing photo. ;o)

(By the way, that's my hand she's licking. The wide angle lens distorted it, so it looks a little weird in this photo...)

312/365 - After the Storm

2010-08-24T11:18:00.001-05:00

After a fairly rough storm came through, the early evening was pleasantly cool and the damp grass refreshing underfoot. Tattered clouds (stragglers) felt close enough that you could climb a tree and reach out to grab them.

311/365 - River Birch

2010-08-24T11:15:00.000-05:00

They've turned out to be some of my favorite trees that we've planted here-- largely because they do so well and put out decent growth relatively quickly. The peeling bark is pretty, too.

310/365 - Happy Birthday, Molly!

2010-08-24T11:06:00.000-05:00

Molly turned nine this year. It's hard to believe it's been nearly nine years since we brought home that silky little spaniel pup!

309/365 - Another Banana Spider

2010-08-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

This one's living right outside one of our windows. It doesn't seem to appreciate it much when I pull up the blinds in that room...

308/365 - Basket

2010-08-24T11:03:00.000-05:00

Not much more to say about it than that! (g) It's a small wall-hanging basket that I found in a thrift store.

307/365 - Wasp

2010-08-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons I don't like summer as well as the rest of the year-- wasps.

306/365 - Cléa

2010-08-17T16:42:00.000-05:00

This is a brand of crochet thread I haven't tried yet-- but I've read good things about it, and now I have some just waiting for its turn. :o)

305/365 - Ananas Doily, Not Yet Blocked

2010-08-17T16:34:00.001-05:00

I haven't blocked it yet, but you can get the general idea. :o)

(The thread isn't actually this color at all, by the way. The adjacent photo in my Flickr photostream is more accurate.)

304/365 - Snake in the Grass

2010-08-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

I was photographing tiny spiders in webs in our large sago palm when I spotted this small (less than one-foot) snake nearby.

I thought it must be a harmless rat snake, but when Donald got a rake and tried to move it out of the yard, it started doing all kinds of odd things. It regurgitated a good-sized frog (see how fat he is in the photo, before he gave up his supper?)-- flattened itself out-- even rolled over and played dead.

Yes, this must have been a juvenile Eastern hognose snake! We've seen (at least) one adult frequently, over the past year or so, but this is the first young one I've seen.

If we have to have snakes in the yard, there are worse ones to have-- but even the harmless ones give me a bit of a shock at first.

303/365 - Mushroom

2010-08-17T16:29:00.000-05:00

I have no idea what kind it is. My knowledge of local mushrooms is practically nonexistent. I know enough not to eat them, and that's been enough, so far. (g)

302/365 - Ananas Doily in Progress

2010-08-17T16:27:00.000-05:00

This is my first larger doily... And by "larger", I mean larger than approximately six inches in diameter.

I was fairly proud of myself until I saw that it was marked as "uncomplicated". (The reason it took me so long to see that was that the text was written in German. Fortunately, there was a diagram. Diagrams are officially my preferred form of crochet pattern, now. I actually turn up my nose at the written ones and seriously consider if I like it well enough to wade through all that messy text.) This doily got only two stars out of I-know-not-how-many. Oh well, I guess a doily doesn't have to be difficult to be worthy of pride.

P.S. "Ananas" means "pineapple" in Swedish and apparently also in German. There are pineapples in this doily pattern, though they weren't visible at this point.

301/365 - Sun & Shadow

2010-08-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

Another day, another sky of sun and shadow...

300/365 - Lizard

2010-08-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

I haven't seen as many of these little green lizards, lately. Of course, that may just be because I don't spend much time outside, and when I am out, I'm usually throwing frisbees for the dogs-- not lounging on the patio. There are still at least a few of these lizards around, though, as well as a couple of hummingbirds visiting our feeders.

299/365 - Reclaimed Yarn

2010-08-17T14:29:00.000-05:00

...Reclaimed from two thrifted sweaters.

This was my first time to buy a (second-hand) sweater with the intention of unraveling it for the yarn, and I was happy with the results. I'll definitely try this again. It's not worth the effort for just any yarn, but for nicer yarns, I think it is. (Plus it's just kind of fun to do.)

298/365 - Stormy Again

2010-08-17T14:27:00.000-05:00

Actually, it may not have been that stormy, but it looks like it was, from this photo...

We've certainly been having our share of rain, lately.

(You may have noticed that I skipped photo/day 297. Either I forgot to take a photo that day or the computer ate it. ...Or I accidentally deleted it... At this point in the project, I'm not going to ~~cry~~ whine over a few more missing photos.)

296/365 - Dry

2010-08-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

This sago palm frond is dry and mostly dead. It's never really recovered from the cold weather we had over the winter. However, it has put out new growth. I guess that I ought to trim back the damaged fronds. I was hoping they might mend themselves, but it doesn't seem likely, at this point. Trimming it's not a problem. It'll just give it a slightly different appearance-- a little more like a short palm tree. I'm not sure I like that look as much, but at least it'll make it easier to mulch around it.

295/365 - Giant Fly

2010-08-13T16:01:00.000-05:00

Donald saw this huge fly and brought it to my attention. It was about two inches long, including the wings. I don't think I've seen this large a fly before (and I'm perfectly ok with never seeing one again, even though this one was just sitting still and not doing any harm).

Any ideas what it was?

294/365 - Tick Tock

2010-08-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when you're lying in bed at night and suddenly remember that, oh yeah, you haven't taken a photo today.

I'm happy to report that layering helps make a photo of a clock slightly more interesting than it might otherwise have been.

293/365 - Perfectly Centered

2010-08-13T15:57:00.000-05:00

I think this might have been the only time I've ever gotten a perfect score on the "center of balance" test. It's actually kind of annoying that the Wii Fit places so much emphasis on balance. Yes, yes, balance is important, but it's not everything. (Spoken like a person with imperfect balance!)

Donald suggested that I use this as proof that I'm a well-balanced individual. ;o)

292/365 - Rainy Day

2010-08-13T15:53:00.000-05:00

This shower cooled us off quite a bit-- a welcome relief from a stifling heatwave.

291/365 - Pineapples

2010-08-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

I've since finished this shawl. It was kind of a pain to crochet. The pattern seems easy enough, but for whatever reason, I managed to make mistakes all too often. I usually wouldn't find them until I met them going back across on the next row, so there was a fair amount of ripping out and re-doing.

Still, the pattern does turn out to look nice, if you're a fan of the pineapple design.

290/365 - Monarch

2010-08-13T15:23:00.000-05:00

This butterfly spent a large portion of that day perched on our door.

289/365 - Banana Spider (Again)

2010-08-13T15:21:00.000-05:00

This is the spider from a few days ago-- only this time, we're looking at it from the other side of the web.

The spider has since disappeared. I guess it wasn't an ideal location for a web-- too breezy.

288/365 - Skink

2010-08-11T16:50:00.000-05:00

I've been seeing this little skink with the bright blue tail every now and then, this season. I love the colors on these things! I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but the lines that run along the body gradually shift from orange (on the head) through yellow and green to blue (the tail). Very vibrant little creatures!

287/365 - Banana Spider

2010-08-11T16:43:00.000-05:00

This was the first banana spider I've seen in a while, but there will soon be many more of them, I'm sure. They're such creepy things-- mainly due to their size.

286/365 - Woven

2010-08-11T16:40:00.000-05:00

Macro of a small ceramic trinket box I bought at a yard sale... (Naturally sepia-toned photo!)

285/365 - Moonlight

2010-08-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

I woke up too early and saw that the moon was extraordinarily bright...

284/365 - Dragonfly

2010-08-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

Just another metallic dragonfly on another hot, summery day...

283/365 - Trixie & the Red Ball

2010-08-11T16:11:00.000-05:00

"Okay... I did 'down'... I'm waiting... You can go ahead and throw it now... Any day now would be fine."

282/365 - Fronds

2010-08-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

I spotted these fuzzy fronds popped up in the center of our large sago palm. A few days later, they were rich green and spread out-- already much more like the mature sago palm fronds, but still a lot less rigid. A couple days more and they were hardened and inhospitable.

281/365 - Dog Food Dish

2010-08-09T16:27:00.003-05:00

I stocked up on ceramic dog dishes. They were just $1 each at Dollar Tree. (Thanks, Granny, for letting me know they had them back in stock!)

I really like the style of decoration on this one. It feels like illustrations for children's picture books. Cute!

280/365 - Kibble, Kibble Ev'rywhere

2010-08-09T16:23:00.001-05:00

So, I put a mixture of kibble (regular dog food that she gets every day) and small soft treats (which are, well, treats-- i.e. not something she gets all the time) in Trixie's food cube toy. The (probably predictable) result? She ate the treats and left the kibble.

(She did go back and eat the kibble later, but this was messy enough that we probably won't put kibble in the food cube from now on.)

279/365 - Pink Rose, Green Lynx

2010-08-09T16:16:00.000-05:00

You can count on the green lynx to be posing nicely on a flower. Very considerate spider, the green lynx. ;o)

278/365 - Polymer Clay Do-Dads Painted

2010-08-09T16:13:00.000-05:00

These are the same polymer clay do-dads a couple photos back-- only now they've been painted to resemble metal. Since I used a brown mixture of scrap clay, I started by painting them black. Then (once they dried) I dry-brushed metallic paint-- just enough to highlight the non-recessed portions and reveal the texture. (Oh, and I sealed it all with a clear, matte, indoor/outdoor acrylic coat. It's not strictly necessary, but I think it might help the paint to last a little longer.)

I'm happy with these results! Now I just need to get around to restringing the wind chimes. . .

277/365 - Yarn Ends

2010-08-09T16:05:00.002-05:00

I started what will probably be a long process of weaving in ends on the hexagon afghan. These are the little snippets of yarn I'd trimmed. Too bad there's no really good use for these little bits of brightness...

276/365 - Polymer Clay Do-Dads

2010-08-09T16:02:00.000-05:00

I played around with some scrap clay, (clay-dedicated) cookie cutters, and a handful of texturizing tools and came up with these. I planned to paint them (which is why any-color scrap clay was perfectly fine) and later attach them to some wind chimes that were either missing sails or were in need of a little sprucing up.

275/365 - Concrete Desert

2010-07-30T15:26:00.000-05:00

Our patio must seem like a vast concrete desert, from an ant's perspective...

"Day 3: I have almost given up hope of ever returning to the lush green forests of the lawn. Why did I ever agree to be a scout? Why? Why? WHY?"

(Only it wouldn't really take a determined ant more than a few minutes to cross the patio, even at its widest point.)

274/365 - Silver Lining

2010-07-30T15:24:00.000-05:00

Last minute photo of some pretty sunset clouds.

273/365 - Glowy Sky

2010-07-30T15:22:00.000-05:00

Every now and then we get these evenings (as I suppose many places do) when the sky seems to glow-- natural sepia-tone!

272/365 - Snail

2010-07-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

Found on the door frame of our kitchen door when I let Molly out for her morning walk.

271/365 - Aqua Chair

2010-07-30T14:46:00.001-05:00

I was touching up the paint on a few chairs. There are a few major paint jobs still waiting to be done, too (mainly cabinets). Maybe it's best to wait until it's cool enough to have the windows open...

270/365 - Shadows

2010-07-30T14:26:00.000-05:00

Shadows on the shed wall...

269/365 - Novelty Yarn Granny Squares

2010-07-30T14:21:00.003-05:00

This was my first time crocheting with novelty yarn. Using the knitting loom, novelty yarns were a little challenging, but nowhere near this messy to deal with! I wanted to use up some of the fluffy yarn I'd bought on clearance back before I'd really learned to crochet. (I won't be buying more, no matter how good the deal is. It's just not fun to crochet with. However, I already have a good bit of it in my stash...) These are sewn together, now-- just need to finish putting the two sides together to make a cushion from them!

268/365 - Pet the Puppy

2010-07-30T14:11:00.000-05:00

Trixie approves.

267/365 - Crispbread

2010-07-29T16:59:00.001-05:00

I still maintain that it doesn't have a whole lot of flavor on its own, but I do occasionally eat crispbread, these days. (It's better eaten with a flavorful soup or stew, I think-- more suitable as a substitute for crackers than bread.) It's a good way to fit a little extra fiber into your diet, and it doesn't always taste like cardboard. ;o) It's kind of interesting to look at, too.

266/365 - Hexagon Afghan "Finished"!

2010-07-29T16:51:00.000-05:00

At this point (July 7th), the hexagon afghan was "finished"! "Finished" because I still had (and, well, have) a lot of loose ends to weave in and trim. However, because I'd finished the hexagons and half-hexagons-- even added the border-- I declared it "finished".

This was a very enjoyable project, once I had the pattern down pat and was confident with joining new colors of yarn-- but whew, there are a ton of tails to weave! I tried crocheting over them, but with this pattern, I just wasn't satisfied with how that looked (or how secure it felt), for most of the rounds. Oh well! That's just part of the craft.