Wednesday: An evening of lines. (Or queues, as we call them in Australia)

I got a new camera! And it works!! After work on Wednesday, Sam and I went to B&H. That place is both insane and awesome. Once I decided what to get, I got a printout of the camera. Then we had to wait in three different lines before we actually received the thing. But for such a crowded place, it was so efficient! I was impressed.

Then, we went to a show on the lower east side. Sam's friend's band was playing for. They were having a BBQ on the roof, so we got tickets and waited. And waited. We were in that line for an hour, and we only saw the band's last two songs! Somehow, though, we made the most of it. Waiting there for our hamburgers and hot dogs was pretty comical. And I haven't been out on a weeknight in forever! Years, probably. This isn't something I can do all the time, especially now that I'm in law school, but mixing it up like that can be really fun every once in a while.

I still have to charge the batteries in my new camera, but pictures WILL be coming to this blog! I promise!

the good news and the bad news

I'll start with the bad news.

I called Olympus today. Their tech support has been very helpful (I've also emailed them a couple of times), and apparently, my brand new camera that I've never even used needs repairs and it will cost up to half as much as I paid for the camera to repair it. So I think this is a sunk cost. I have to buy a new camera - my shop can't exist without one.

The good news is that TWO Etsy purchases arrived today. (Maybe if I laid off the Etsy purchases, I could actually afford a new camera!) But these two were well worth it. They're BOTH more beautiful in person than in their photos, but unfortunately, I have no camera with which to take their pictures. But here are the pictures from their Etsy listings.

The first is this pair of earrings by TotusMel. These earrings are my perfect shape, size, and color! And they're so fun/funky and delicate looking at the same time!
The second is this amazing top by iheartfink. I can just tell, it's one of those articles of clothing I will wear every day and only take off (a) to wash, or (b) so that I don't look weird for wearing the same thing every single day - which I have been known to do (just ask my mom!)
Oh, and they look amazing together too!

My new bracelet

Yes, MINE! I made it for me! Ok, well I didn't actually make it for me, but it turned out slightly unperfect, so I gave it to myself as a present. I'd like it to be a little longer, and I accidentally made the ends uneven. You can't tell about the ends, but I still couldn't sell something like that. Also, I have very narrow wrists, so the length is actually perfect for me, but since my bracelets are adjustable, I prefer to make my own wrists the smallest possible size for the bracelets that I sell so that they look good on people with normal sized wrists too.

BUT Sam is home from Chile, I have downloaded the program and I have the cord...and my computer isn't recognizing the cord! I think the store gave me the wrong one! This is the LAST time I buy a camera equipment somewhere other than online! To make matters worse, my old camera, which was already on the fritz, completely died while Sam was in Chile. So here are some really terrible photos that I took of a really beautiful bracelet on my computer's "photobooth."

Camera Saga Continued (and other news)

So I wrote to the camera company (Olympus), and they sent me a program to download. So now I will be able to take pictures AND upload them to my computer/blog/website. The problem? Sam accidentally took the cord that hooks the camera to the computer to Chile (along with the old camera). I have to wait a few more days to get it back.

I did finish another bracelet, but until I am able to get my camera back, I'll just have to leave this as a cliff hanger.

In other news, I seem to have been ignoring my knitting. The reason for this is that a few rows back, I made a couple of mistakes on the sweater I'm knitting. Because it is lace, I'm not going to chance frogging it - I'll have to unknit. That will probably take a couple of hours, and I'm not looking forward to it. So I'm kind of procrastinating.

Some Beady Things

Now that the semester is over, I have some time to work on my Etsy shop. (I seem to recall having said something to that effect last year, but this year I'm really going to do it!)

When the semester ends, I get a little crazy experimenting. I usually want to knit and bead as much as possible before my free time tapers off again. This summer, I'm determined to experiment with color and shape. I've always experimented with different shapes of peyote stitch, and I have some new shapes in my mind that I'm working on. I've been making a bracelet with tapered ends. It's turned out to be thicker than any bracelet I've ever made, so it should be a great addition to my shop.

I'm also entering the July EBW Challenge: Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water. I like the way my entry is turning out, but it's going to take a while - I had almost forgotten just how long these pieces take to make! Since I'm starting my internship next week and I still have a couple of things to keep up with for school, I'm pretty sure I'll need the whole month.

Oh and also, I got a new camera!!! I'm super excited about it! I got it when I was in Canada, and after the salesperson had me set on the model that was perfect for me (good for photographing jewelry AND good for adventurous travel), she realized that the only one left was the display model! I was going to get that one, but it was missing parts! So my dad and I ran through the mall and down the street to get to the camera place's sister store before it closed. The only one that place had, too, was the model, but it appeared to have all the parts, so we bought it. WELL, as it turns out, the battery wasn't just dead, as they told us it was in the store - it was broken! (In hindsight, I really should have ordered a new one online, but hey, I got $20 off!) But then I ordered a new battery online and this one seems to be working!

I've definitely noticed that my pieces that sell are the ones with the better photographs. This makes sense because good photographs (a) show the pieces' true beauty, and (b) look more professional. So I can't wait to use my new camera! :-)

It's been a while (again)

I have so many blog posts in my head but I haven't blogged in so long! January was crazy - I had four Australian friends staying with me at different times (sometimes overlapping), and I finished 8 out of 9 law school applications. I also spent two days in DC to see Sam's dad receive the French Legion of Honor.

I've been knitting like crazy. Once I finished Sam's scarf (yes, I can finally announce that it's a scarf), I went on to finish my dad's scarf that had been in the works, like, forever. I finally knit myself a hat, and I'm a little over halfway done with my first cardigan. Unfortunately, I put my camera somewhere and am unable to locate it. Luckily, facebook exists. Here is a picture my friend Dave took of me knitting my lovely Thorpe hat (pattern downloaded from Ravelry).

Notice it was knit from the top down. Something about that was incredibly exciting and fun.

This next picture was taken at a bar in Park Slope (Brooklyn) after a hard day of football. It normally sits a little lower on my head, but it was kind of pulled up.

I've kind of been neglecting my beading, and I've felt bad about that, but I'm slowly getting back into promoting my Etsy store and supporting my Street Team. I've still been receiving hearts, and that's very encouraging.

I also have another little project up my sleeve that I hope comes into fruition. Here's a hint: what's exactly eleven days from now?

The Return of the Camera

I am a woman of my word, and for that, I will bestow upon you pictures of Sam's reunion. (I can't believe it's already been a week and a half!)

Here is Sam during the gig (yes, that is a dorm in the background, but they pulled it off well!)


And here's one of the two of us in front of one of the houses he lived in in college. I must say, that is a very purple purple!
I've become kind of obsessed with different shapes of peyote stitch. Here's another one I made this weekend (I have yet to add the chain to it, which I guess is kind of crucial for any necklace if it is to stay on one's neck):(Blurry, but you get the idea...)

Another Reason I Can't Use My Camera

This Memorial Day weekend, Sam and I went to his reunion in Oberlin. At Oberlin, they have reunions in clusters, so while Class of '03 was having their five year reunion, Class of '04 and Class of '02 (i.e. Sam) were there too. It was weird (but not a bad thing) staying in a dorm again. It brought back memories of college for me (it smelled like dorm!) and more, I am sure, for the people that actually went to Oberlin.

One of Sam's college bands played. They do punk renditions of Simon and Garfunkel, under a name not suitable to mention on a crafts blog. Here is a clip of a show they played in Boston last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igMZq37ZOdU

We did a "car share" with two nice Oberlin people (and Andy - who of course is also nice!) on Monday and drove for hoooooooooooours. We got back to Sam's place in Astoria and crashed (as in, bed - not crashed the car!)

Needless to say, I was exhausted and running late on Tuesday morning, so I left all my stuff at Sam's place and have yet to pick it up. My camera was there. (So was my phone charger!) So I have no pictures from the trip (and can take none of my latest star necklace).

I promise I will put one or two of our trip up here...and to prove that I am good on my word, I will finally put up some pictures I've been promising for a while.

Here is the custom bracelet - my first sale in 7 years:
And here is that rowdy (but soft, I' m sure!) alpaca that we met in Australia:

And Now....

More on my Etsy obsession....

I have 35 items up now....

Etsy Buy Handmade adinahalperndesigns

I spent the entire day today adding fifteen of them! I didn't realize that adding the entries to Etsy would be so much work! A huge part of the reason for this is probably the fact that my apartment is so small that I have to "change the scenery" for everything I photograph, and this often invloves moving furniture (at least my desk chair) out of the way! I'm also learning what looks good as far as the photographs, and what doesn't. Today, I started to master that skill.

I've read that no flash and direct sunlight are best, and that cameras that have some manual features work best for detail. Needless to say, I don't really have access to any of these things. Having not sold anything yet, I just can't afford to buy an expensive new camera. And living in Manhattan, I have no yard at all to use to photograph. I could go to Central Park, but that would be kind of hard, especially on days like today when I have a lot of things to photograph, especially since I would have to take some of my own backgrounds with me (foam boards). So I open the shades of my apartment and only photograph during daylight hours, but especially on cloudy days like today, the flash on my very automatic camera turns itself on automatically. But I've learned that white backgrounds, ironically, work best to not reflect flashes and therefore to show jewelry in intricate detail and true to what it really looks like (for example, its true color). I've learned how to take pictures of myself in anklets without making them too distorted. I've also learned how to take photographs that will still look good when Etsy crops them to make them square. I will probably learn a lot more over the next few weeks and months, but I know so much more now than I did when I started - and that feels great!

this and that

I'm still a little afraid of my camera right now, but I did take some pictures. I have yet to upload them, though.

I just finished my first commissioned work in about seven years. My co-worker's daughter's birthday is next week, so I really wanted to get this one done in time. I'm making two bracelets and a pair of earrings, but I'm going to give her the first bracelet tomorrow.

I took some pictures of it, so when I get through downloading my vacation pictures and taking old ones off my camera if necessary, I'll put them right up here. It's becoming increasingly clear to me that I'm going to need a better camera. From some tips on indiepublic (which I just joined, and which has already been extremely helpful for networking and tips!) I am also beginning to realize that I'm going to need more natural light for my photos, which might prove difficult in my tiny NYC studio.

The Case of the Missing Pictures

I found them! It seems that I am running out of memory on my memory card and that when I erase pictures, new ones take their places, literally. I'm used to seeing them at the end of the rows of pictures that I upload onto my computer, but I found these sneaky ones throughout. I found that picture of the red, white, and black necklace, and this blue one which I must say I am really pleased with.

This one took a while to make - the cylinders always take longer than I think they will. I really like it, though.

My camera is doing weird things. It takes pictures fine, but it won't save new ones to my computer. (It will, however, save old ones. And it's not a memory thing, because I keep erasing different ones, but the same ones will save.) This picture from my phone will have to do.

:)

A big shoutout to Jen, Kathleen, and Joanna! Last night, we went to Cafe Lalo (of "You've Got Mail" fame) and I taught them to knit (well, re-taught Jen and Joanna.) It was so much fun, and I'm so excited that I now have more people to read this bad boy (err, knitting blog.) My "students" were awesome. We are totally going to do it again.

Of course, my camera was at Sam's place, so I only had my phone for pictures. I took some good ones, but now I can't figure out how to get them onto my computer. (I have a trip to the Verizon store pencilled in for tomorrow evening.)

There was a mother and her son at the next table over who kept watching us. The mother was very proud of the boy, who much have been about seven, who knits. I think that's pretty awesome. At one point, they came over to our table to watch me knit a hat with five needles. I tried to explain it to them - I hope my instructions were clear enough.