A Belated Happy Valentine's

from the mister.

xo

Amanda

Zion National Park,Utah

Jessica | Faux Senior Portraits

In my efforts to develop a portfolio and get some photography practice, I volunteered my beautiful friend Jess to model for some 'faux' senior portraits. She is naturally shy in front of the camera so I'm glad she trusted me enough behind the camera to give in and accompany me to Floyd Lamb Park for a session. I think she looks stunning in all the photos and I'm already planning on using her for many more practice 'faux' shoots in the future...maybe I'll make her put her wedding dress on for me, or tuck a beach ball under her sweater for some very believable maternity photos.

You know what I think the best thing about these photos are- Jess knows how much I love to photograph my girls in hand knits, so she specifically wore this blue knit sweater in order for my portfolio to be cohesive. What a sweet friend.

xo

Amanda

Elisha & Molly | Newborn Photoshoot

My best friend Elisha recently gave birth to a baby girl, little Miss Molly. She is just the sweetest, most mild baby I've ever met.  It was such an honor for me to be able to capture some photos of her daughter, as Elisha is the one who usually photographs my children. Once the baby awoke from her nap, we moved into the front room which was flooded with natural light, and Elisha mentored me as we moved about the room capturing little moments here and there. 

Isn't Molly just the cutest?! In between shots I was just smothering that baby in kisses. This was my first photoshoot that didn't involve my own children,so I was a bit nervous,but I'm actually really happy with the results. What's more is that Elisha was happy with the results. 

 A couple of these photographs were taken on Molly's favorite blanket- the Striped Cashmere Baby Blanket  I had knit for her of course. It is just a simple garter stitch throughout- any beginning knitter can do it! The cashmere blend yarn and stripes is what makes it special.

beautiful baby and knit talk all in one post. Yahtzee.

xo

Amanda

Watershed Cardigan + Evelyn's 4 Year Photos

Pattern: Watershed by Amy Swenson

Yarn: 2 skeins of Berroco Flicker

I started this project last summer, put it away when I was half-way done, and rediscovered it a couple weeks ago.

Does anyone else do this?

It only took my about two days to finish knitting it and another day to block it. And just in time too! My daughter Evelyn turned four on January 12th, so her yearly portraits were here and I had nothing for her to wear. I like to knit my daughters something special to wear for their portraits but I had totally flaked this year. Luckily, the combination of Berroco Flicker yarn and knitting a size small in the Watershed pattern resulted in a 4T- not in mommy size which I had intended. 

This year I decided to photograph Evelyn myself and I am so happy with the results! The photos were taken up in our loft, her face only inches away from a window shedding the most beautiful light. 

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/250 sec.

F/1.8, ISO 400, 1/500 sec.

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/250

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/400 sec.

F/2.5, ISO 400, 1/500 sec.

 I can't believe how much she has grown...

xo

Amanda 

Coffee Press Cozy

 Recently I have become the proud owner of a coffee press. I had my first french press experience at a local coffee shop, Sambalatte, and had instantly fallen in love with the rich flavor and clean finish of my coffee. I immediately purchased a press of my own and a fresh bag of whole beans to recreate the Sambalatte experience. Once home, I quietly unplugged the Keuriug and as stealthy as I could, carried the hunky thing to the top shelf of my pantry,  hoping my husband wouldn't notice. The Keurig was a birthday present and I din't want to get the eye from a gift giver.

He did notice. And I got the eye.

But! I offered him a cup of the most delicious coffee as a peace offering and I think that made it better.

After a few mornings I realized that though the french press made yummy coffee, it became cold way too fast. I am a notorious slow coffee drinker though, so perhaps it is my fault and not the press's fault at all, but alas, I took this little problem and ran with it. 

"I know what this press needs, a sweater!"

of course.

 After perusing Ravelry I came across a pattern that I not only loved, but used a knitting technique that I had never done before. And I am all for learning new things. The technique is called Mosaic knitting and it is a style of colorwork that uses two colors, but you only hold one strand at a time- like knitting stripes. Unlike Fair Isle for example, where you hold two or more strands across a row- a knitting trick I have yet to try. This introductory colorwork technique was perfect for this small project and helped give me a little confidence to try my hand at more complex colorwork.

Pattern: Mosaic Tea Press Cozy by Tonya Raworth

Yarn: scrap of Noro Kureyon

Buttons: salvaged from an old shirt

Speaking of scraps of Noro, I thought I'd share my progress on the Noro Hexagon Blanket I've been slowly working on in between projects.

isn't she lovely.

I'd love to see what you have recently finished knitting, so feel free to share a link in the comments below!

I've actually been a very busy knitting bee so I have a few more projects to share, but those projects deserve their own post I think.

xo

Amanda

their first pomegranate

One of my favorite things about being a mother is sharing new experiences and information with my daughters. The other morning I had cracked open a pomegranate for Evelyn and Flora to taste for the first time. Evelyn just loved the juicy, little seeds; intent on picking up just one at a time and humming along to each bite. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see Flora's reaction, since she had decided to go back to bed after breakfast.

  She had gotten up at the crack of dawn and took a highlighter to the guest bedroom sheets,her sheets and got her hands on some gum while we were sleeping. After 'pow pows' and time-out, she decided she needed to go back to sleep and start her day over. 

But Casey told me that when she did wake up and had the plate of pomegranate seeds we saved for her, that she greatly enjoyed it. So it was a good experience, 'terrible two' antics aside. 

With Evelyn nibbling at my side as I took some photos, I told her that the pomegranate was a very famous fruit and that there was a story about it. Of course her curiosity peaked and she wanted to hear the story, so I told her the Greek myth about Persephone and the pomegranate. Have you heard it?

 Its a popular myth that I learned a long time ago.  It is about the lovely Persephone who is the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, who gets taken by Hades to the Underworld to be his bride. Demeter is so upset that her daughter is gone, she doesn't let anything on earth grow. Zeus realizing the severity of the situation, then sent Hermes to Hades to try to get him to release her, and finally Hades agrees. But before he lets her leave, Hades gives Persephone a pomegranate. After eating three seeds, it bound her to the Underworld and she had to stay there one-third of the year forever. So, when Persephone is in the Underworld, Demeter in sadness doesn't let anything grow, thus Winter began. 

Evelyn liked hearing this story that explained why there is Winter in such a fairy-tale way. And I liked sharing a mother-daughter moment over pomegranate,pears and coffee.

Have you shared in any 'first' moments lately?

xo

Amanda