Wedding & Honeymoon! (And a little knitting...)

It's been a while since I posted on this blog, but I have been so busy!

On July 9th- our WEDDING!

There we are, looking adorable :) Everything went perfectly- even the flower girl (who is not even two years old, might I add) went STRAIGHT down the aisle without getting distracted. I was amazed haha. The reception was fun and everyone had a great time.

Then it was off to Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica!

It was AMAZING... since it was all-inclusive, we didn't have to worry about budgeting food and drinks while we were there (which we are constantly doing). It was super lazy and relaxing, and the weather was great, which is more than I can say for here in Virginia...

Jay doesn't have to go back to work until Monday, so we've extended the laziness to our home and have been sitting around on our butts for the past few days. And, needless to say, I've been knitting.

Last night I started this cowl:

It is loosely based on Lion Brand's Cabled Cowl. I saw the pattern on Ravelry and decided to create a cowl of my own with large alternating blocks of pattern, and I haven't done a cabled project in a while. I love cables! So, here's the result. So far, I'm liking it.

I'm knitting it in Vanna's Choice. Which isn't the worst yarn in the world, but it's kind of awful. The closest LYS to me is now 40 minutes away. Pair that with the fact that we are trying to penny pinch right now (no luck finding a job yet, here), and you end up with lots of acrylic yarn. I know I could order online, but I like to start projects on a whim. I don't wanna wait for the yarn to come in the mail! (how 21st century of me. lol)

Oh, I totally forgot about this fingerless mitt that I designed a few weeks ago:

It was my first time doing picot edging. I love it! So simple and feminine. I didn't have enough of the "barley" color to finish the second mitt, so I ordered another skein- and I ordered two more colorways to make another pair. Berocco Comfort DK- some of my favorite yarn, because it can be washed and is SUPER soft even though it is made of acrylic and nylon. And it's very affordable.

Coming soon... the pattern for the hat in my previous post. It's being test knitted now, with good feedback! And now I'm off to work on this cowl more :)

Product Display and Photography

I always have trouble figuring out the best way to display my knits to photograph them. Ideally, I would have a digital SLR, tripod, one or two photo lights, and mannequins to make a make-shift photography studio. However, I have none of these things. So, after perusing diyphotography.net, I decided to try my hand at a little photography studio in my office, using the stuff I already have. These included: a full-length mirror, a desk lamp, a tall lamp from target, my sort-of-junky Canon PowerShot camera, and... myself. (Boy, do I hate taking self-portraits. blah!!!!)

I was attempting to get some decent photos of a hat that I designed recently and finally finished writing up the pattern to today. Here is what I ended up with:

Comments and suggestions would be helpful. I think I may try again tomorrow during the day for some natural light...

Anyway, I wrote up the pattern and I'm looking for some test knitters. I made two different versions, the one pictured here and a less slouchy version. Ideally I would like at least one person to make each version. If you are interested, comment! :)

...And now, it's past my bedtime.