stop and smell the roses…
And while you’re at it, knit a little.
The scene above is, believe it or not, taken in a rooftop garden. (I missed Self-Portrait Tuesday so this is Hand-WIP-Portrait Wednesday.) One of the wonderful perks of living in the Urban Madness is finding these oasis of calm tucked into the most unlikely places. Since I usually have my camera & knitting with me, it was only logical to do the photo math.
I had a rare mid-day break yesterday, and I spent it gloriously knitting away in the sunshine. This year’s late season Roses are bursting Everywhere – I took my shoes and socks off to pay my respects.
Our KIP group, thanks to Mary, has been more mobile than ever and it is so much fun to bring the craft alive outside. People generally are thrilled by it for some reason, magnetized, mystified and curious. I want to make some little postcards or something to give out with some learning links and other knitting *maps* because people most always want to go to the next step. Anybody ever use the online postcard printers?
I always love love love seeing everyone’s knitting in a locale as well – check out Scout knittin’ away at a soccer meeting! Lesson: always enough time to get in a few rows – I was knitting yesterday in the back of a taxi – but, urp, who knew it would be so different from the #66 – then again maybe it was just the NASCAR driver at the wheel.
Lots of happy time this weekend was spent nose-to-grindstone. I am still wallowing about Adobe InDesign – the more you use/practice stuff, the more natural it feels and thankfully, a lot of it clicked for me. This is a page layout program that is a bit like Quark but I think better. It is tightly integrated with all the other Adobe software, like Photoshop and Illustrator. Using it feels really familiar because the interface and commands match across the boards. I get all wiggly when I master something as simple as *placing* a graphic or making a textbox. Geek ON!
Question: is there any advantage to
upgrading from v2.0 to CS?
for the heck of it, I posted this and last week’s portrait to a flickr gallery – WIP KIP – please feel free to post your mobile work-in-progress portrait and pin the map!
Knitting in public has been quite the experience. People do look intrigued. A postcard size reference would be a great idea as a giveaway!
Did you see the KIP post just for YOU?
That’s a great group you’ve started. I’ve already got some pictures for it too! Just have to upload them to Flickr.
Regarding Postcard printers – I love Vista Print for this purpose…great prices and quality work. Give them a look.
What a great idea. I’ll be looking to snap a photo at the first opportunity. Sounds like you had a very nice day smelling roses and knitting…a slice of heaven!
I’ve got no advice about advantages to upgrading. I bought the whole CS2 suite (educational version) for $400 because I signed up for an online Photoshop class. Huge savings if you can go about it that way…
Yes!!! As another reader said Vista Print is the way to go. Great prices (even Free stuff!!!!!), good quality and fast shipping. I’ve done everything from business cards to post cards to Xmas cards to magnet calendars and magnets with funky graphics.
Love ya—you’re an inspiration!
Another Chicagoan
Excellent idea!
I’ve used both Vista Print (business cards) and Snapfish (custom postcards, calendars, photos). Both do an excellent job from a price point and quality perspective. Obviously I lean toward Snapfish for the postcards since I’ve been using them for the past 4 years to turn selected trip photos into custom cards.
More than a decade ago I used to sit in the bleachers and knit (and watch) when my daughter was in gymnastics (she was pre-comp, which worked out to about 25 hours a week of uninterrupted knitting time). There were actually a fair number of us that were there, either knitting or crocheting. I could churn out striped leg warmers pretty darn fast by the end of that year. But I don’t see many people knitting in public anymore. Or maybe I just am in the wrong places? I know what you mean about wanting to hand out links and what not to the curious – I used to lend out needles and keep balls of acrylic in my bag so that I could teach the really curious right on the spot.
mmmm… gorgeous roses. somehow it’s all the more lovely in an urban space, where it’s less expected.
i am a huge fan of kip! i tend to have people come up to me in coffee shops especially and ask what i’m making, etc. and i had a lovely conversation about moving from scarves to sweaters with the nurse at a recent visit to the doc. great idea to have postcards– easier to convert!! :)