Hudson River

Hudson
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

It's not often I get to be in a nice quiet landscape at night but I was lucky enough to be in Nyack this weekend where Francis drove me to this wonderful look out at the Hudson river last night after dinner. It was so beautiful. I had my Nikon with me and decided to take a few long exposures to see what I would get. I really need to take more photos at night.

It's really magical what happens to collected light in pictures. There is light out there vibrating at low frequencies that cannot be seen with the naked eye but which is always there. I rested my camera on a table for this shot because with long exposure you cannot stay still enough for the image no to blur for even a spilt second. I left the shutter open for six sedonds on this one. In six seconds this was the exposure given for the light collected by my camera at this time of night. A longer exposure might have exposed even more light, detail and softness in some areas. I love this kind of photography. I need to find more opportunities to experiment with it further.

SOPA/PIPA Madness

As usual I was doing something completely unrelated on youtube (looking up a Stevie Wonder song) when I stumbled upon this very comprehensive explanation of the STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT on the channel of a Stevie Wonder lover. Check it out. Be informed. If these bills go through, you and I may never get the chance to share information like this again.

Program Yourself a Sweater?

Just a fascinating episode of NYC 2.0 which airs on NYCTV one of my favorite channels on television when I watch television. There is always something good on there about the history, food, hot spots, secret spots and many other aspects of this crazy city. My co-worker who knits as well told me about it a week or so ago. I googled it this morning. Artists, hackers, designers, innovators all in the same game. That's what I like.

Lucky Moments

"Harlem Seagulls" Taken this morning

Been feeling not so great for awhile but that doesn't mean I don't recognize the truth occasionally; that there is beauty beneath all this tangled and apathetic misery. When you see it, wave hello.

Dad loves scarf!

Dad loves scarf!
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

My dad, a professional photographer, is in the book and has a company website in progress so I'm sure he won't mind me posting this photo of him to illustrate the finished puff stitch scarf I made him for Christmas.

He is super happy with it and I just knew he would love it but nothing beats actually seeing him look at the scarf for the first time.

Not only is it stylish but it's super soft and warm, made from pure merino wool. It was a bit difficult working with this yarn as it is thin and soft but I was really happy with the way it came out. I'm presently working on making one for myself in green. I'm halfway done.

Discovering leg warmer love

Discovering leg warmer love
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

I hated when my mom used to make me wear these during Brooklyn Winters as a kid. She would wrap me in layers of stocking and long johns (UGH!!) and a puffy snow bunny suit and then leg warmers! ARRRGH!!! Needless to say, I could hardly move but I was warm.

I was also never into this look during the 80s when "Flash Dance" made them popular. But I'm really digging this re-emerging style lately.

I remembered before I left for work this morning that someone had given me a pair last Christmas and that they were near by somewhere in my room. I dug them out, put them on and didn't hate them. Plus I love the way they feel! I'm pretty sure I'm gonna knit a couple of pairs this winter. My knitting needles have been feeling neglected since I've taken up crochet. Stay tuned.

The Walkman or What I used to do before I started working

I was born in 1975. The Sony Walkman was developed in '79 I think. My family didn't get it's first Walkman until the 80s and I think it was my mom who got it. That big bulky thing with raised buttons was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. Not that I didn't always love music, but I compare the experience of first listening to the Walkman to the first time I listened to an Apple iPod. Total transportation. An insulated, private, perhaps even revolutionary moment. I was maybe nine or ten and having borrowed my mom's Walkmen I would lie in my parents bed listening to whatever cassette tapes we had. I would listen to Elvis' Christmas album and I thought it was magical or I would just listen to the radio to whatever caught my ear.

By the time I was eleven after we had moved from Brooklyn to the Bronx, one of my favorite things to do was listen to my dad's Patrice Rushen (yeah, I listened to my parents' music) tape and lip sync to it in the bathroom mirror or the wall length mirror we had in the living room. That rocked my world. It was like being in my own music video. I had a pretty big imagination in those days. 

I don't think life will ever be that simple again.

Puff Stitch is a Fun Stictch

Puff Stitch Crochet Scarf

So I finished crocheting my dad's Christmas scarf last night and then I wore it for about half an hour because it is so soft and warm and wonderful I just couldn't resist. I just love it. He's really lucky this isn't my color, otherwise I would have a hard time giving it over. LOL!!

I actually used two entire skeins of worsted wool yarn I picked up at the Yarn Company for this project. I've been making several puff stitch hats but this is the first scarf I have finished. I like it a lot. The way the puff stitches line up on the scarf make it hold it's shape in a really nice uniform way. And with a stitch like this, a little error here and there is hardly noticeable and actually adds to it's uniqueness.

There are ten puff stitches in each row for this scarf but don't ask me how many rows there are. I just keep crocheting until the yarn runs out. I've already picked out yarn for my own puff stitch scarf which I will hopefully get started on sometime today. I'm really excited to make a few more with yarns of different textures. Stay tuned.